By Greg Horner, Senior Editor.
“When we’re talking about ordinary citizens and extraordinary change, you have to think about, ‘what does a leader look like?’ ” says Jasmine Rand during her speech at the Ricker Center, Saginaw, on Feb. 2.
Rand, who teaches social justice at the University of Miami and worked as an attorney for Trayvon Martin’s and Michael Brown’s families, was invited by the Student and Civic Engagement Office in honor of Black History Month.
“What does an agent of change look like?” asks Rand. “Is that somebody who never fails? Who walks around with this little cloud of hope above their heads every single day? Because there’s a little part of my day, everyday, where I think I’m insane for doing what I do.”
A first generation college student and the daughter of a teenage mother, Rand dreamt of being an advocate for social justice since the age of 10. But her path toward being a modern civil rights advocate didn’t always seem within reach.
“A leader is not somebody who never fails, [and] a leader is not somebody who never loses hope,” says Rand, who faced low scores on the LSAT ( the lawyers SATs) and faced rejection from law schools throughout the country.
“I sat outside of this mall that was near my house and just cried and cried and cried,” says Rand. “I said ‘god why would you tell me who I am, why would you give me this vision as a little girl…Why would you fill my heart with this purpose and then fail me?’ ”
Rand wants the story of her struggle to inspire others to achieve their vision. “My vision is so real to me, that what is less real is the world I see around me because the world around me is filled with situations like Flint, it’s filled with situations like Trayvon Martin, it’s a world that still has not achieved equity.”
When asked about how to deal with injustice at the workplace, Rand says that you must first look at the local laws, then look at whether it’s a battle that can be fought. “It’s a very real thing when you’re telling someone to lose their job, when losing their job means losing the ability to feed their family. Maybe they’re not in a position to push that change by themselves, maybe they need other people to help them.”
Rand also responded to a question about people that don’t believe in white privilege. “The term ‘all lives matter’ is natural, that’s where most people want to see this nation, but the sad truth is [that] we’re not in a position where we can stop talking about race specifically… all lives don’t matter yet, and all lives don’t matter equally yet.”
Rand encouraged the audience to embrace their role in social justice.“Every person in this room has the ability to do what I did, which is look within yourself, know who you are and tell the world who you are…”
Valeria Elmore, a resident of Bridgeport, attended the event and worries that people have difficulty connecting to the history of the Civil Rights Movement.“We live in a society where some seem to think that we have overcome the injustices of our past. However, through my own experiences, I’m 55 years old, [and] it still occurs.”
Bria Smith, the vice-president of Delta’s Black Student Union, admires Rand’s passion and believes that people are concerned about civil rights in their own way. “They have to find their own voice and I believe that events like this can show them how to do their part.”
Rand says that young people feel like their actions don’t matter, but thanks to new technology, “young people, especially with social media, have a tremendous amount of power to be a part of greater change.”
