03358cam a2200373 i 4500 975949195 TxAuBib 20231023120000.0 230221s2023||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2023005620 9780593421758 HRD 28.00 0593421752 HRD 28.00 TxAuBib rda Reed, Steven L., author First, best. First, best [BOOK] : lessons in leadership and legacy from today's civil rights movement / Steven Reed with Fagan Harris. New York : Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House, [2023] 246 pages ; 24 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references and index. Origins -- The Mothers of the Movement -- The Pain of Change -- More than Race -- Journeys -- Homecoming -- Epiphany -- The Other Side of the Ball -- The Problems That Are Opportunities -- Rewriting the Narrative -- The Lessons. As a proud son of a civil rights leader, Steven L. Reed grew up hearing stories about how his father integrated Montgomery lunch counters and took advice directly from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Reverend Ralph Abernathy. However, it wasn’t until Reed was in the fourth grade and received a death threat against his father that he began to understand more fully the importance of the lessons his father was trying to impart. At this pivotal moment, his father explained, “My job is to prepare you to be a cross-bearer and not just a crown-wearer. Bigotry has no place in our household. It will only hold you down and make you small.” First, Best is an essential antidote to the perpetual dehumanization and distortions of Black men in our culture and media. By sharing the story of forging his own path, Reed offers an alternative narrative to Black men coming of age, catalyzing their hope and sense of possibility. Although Reed took a circuitous path to the office of mayor that began by forging his identity at Morehouse College, pursuing entrepreneurship and exploring the wider world, and serving as a probate judge, each step was guided by the values of his father’s generation. First, Best is not just about assuming the mantle of manhood or leadership, nor is it only about the expectation of greatness. Fundamentally, it’s about responsibility and preparation, serving others, and being willing to pay the price of leadership by carrying the weight of each decision. First, Best affirms the next generation of Black men and women by showing, through story and example, their power and potential in a world that doesn’t always root for them. -Provided by publisher. 20231023. Reed, Steven L. Reed, Joe L. African American mayors Alabama Montgomery Biography. Mayors Alabama Montgomery Biography. Civil rights movements Alabama Montgomery History. African American civil rights workers Alabama Montgomery Biography. Civil rights workers Alabama Montgomery Biography. Montgomery (Ala) Biography. Harris, Fagan, author.