By Chida R. Darby
John C. Maxwell said “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” On Friday, October 17th, Dwayne Crenshaw and Tony Young proved that they know the way, are going the way and are showing the way by debuting their new partnership. RISE San Diego is an organization focused on Civic Engagement, Leadership Development and Nonprofit Partnership. Through their inaugural breakfast titled “What is Community Leadership? A Post-Ferguson San Diego Dialogue,” Crenshaw and Young were able to draw over 200 people to Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, to hear panelists dialogue on the topic. Spearheading this important discussion were Pastor Terry Brooks, senior pastor of Bayview Baptist Church, Dr. Zachary Green, Professor at USD SOLES, Pastor Terrell Fletcher, senior pastor of The City of Hope International, Ms. Uma Viswanathan, Urban Habitat, and Ms. Norma Chavez-Peterson, executive director of the ACLU.
Many expressed their surprise at seeing Young and Crenshaw doing anything together. Primarily because of their strong rivalry as politicians vying for the 4th District Council seat years back. “Maybe we can show the community that we can do things with a civil discussion,” shared Young as he stood side by side with Crenshaw, welcoming breakfast attendees. “We are really interested in civic debate,” he said.
Moderated by Voice of San Diego CEO, Scott Lewis, various questions were posed about leadership and life after Ferguson. Simply asking questions such as “What happens when you become a leader?”, “What does being heard mean?” and “Where can leaders step up in San Diego,” allowed Lewis to usher the panelists into organic and very fluid conversation. “Leadership is about network. It’s about community,” said Viswanathan. “Leadership is about vision and influence,” shared Fletcher, emphasizing that his job as a pastor is to rally individuals around a spiritual vision. In addition to his views on leadership, Fletcher, who is from Ferguson, gave insight into the history of the city’s racial dynamics and also shared his experience there, landing a few days into the tragedy of Michael Brown. “Young people in Ferguson [are] finally apart of something that mattered…the biggest thing they’ve ever been a part of,” he said. Through various points made about the injustice there, attendees were able to view the issues in Ferguson and connect the dots on the importance and need for great leadership, past, present and future. Professor Green highlighted the importance of making this more than a black and white issue, stating “Leadership requires community connections, and strengthening those connections.” Pastor Terry Brooks tied in the iMatter movement that he launched locally, shortly after Brown’s death, sharing “We can only be America’s finest city, if we have America’s finest citizens… It’s about knowing that your voice matters.”
During the discussion, attendees were encouraged to tweet their thoughts about what was being shared from the panel. Stephen Heverly tweeted “@RiseSanDiego #LeadershipIs looking beyond political parties and interests to make great things happen for #allofus.”
While serving as the 4th District Councilman and Council president, Young recalls seeing a lot of issues come through City Hall that were confronting San Diego’s urban communities, but no representation. “What struck me was that there weren’t a lot of issues being advocated by the people who live in those communities,” said Young. Along with his partner Dwayne Crenshaw, they created an organization to help individuals take leadership into their own communities. Every month, RISE San Diego will host a breakfast in San Diego’s various urban communities addressing all types of matters, and continuing discussions among San Diego’s citizens. In addition to bringing people together, the organization has partnered their Urban Leadership Fellows program with the University of San Diego’s Leadership Institute, which will identify and nurture rising leaders that are ready to engage in meaningful community change work. The first class will start in March 2015, with the application process beginning in November.
The mission of RISE San Diego is “to identify and develop urban leaders through promoting resident-led civic engagement, strengthening community based nonprofit organizations, and providing training and support to increase the capacity of the people to lead themselves and positively impact the future of their neighborhoods.” According to their website, they plan to develop the people within communities who actually make it happen. The organization is about building a real neighborhoods first agenda with urban residents and community based organizations, and working in partnerships with everyday people at a grassroots level. For more information visit www.risesandiego.org.
