ACTIVITY UPDATE
by Deborah Shoemaker, Lobbyist and Ethics Specialist
Who is a hero? What makes them a hero? Depends on who you ask… As we enter the fall, our lives are still not back to normal. The leaves have begun to change, but many things are yet to be decided including state and federal election results and if the US Senate will confirm a Supreme Court justice prior to the presidential election. So, in these trying times what do we need? Heroes of course. Finding a hero is easier said than done. It is not like you snap your fingers and they are here, ready to jump into action. Heroes come when we least expect them, and in the most unlikely of places. And remember, heroes often have altered egos—whether it is their “regular day job” or some type of concealment of their identity. Lastly, all heroes possess some type of superpower, or extraordinary ability to move people toward greatness, instilling hope, and positivity for the future. Over the past few months, we have lost some huge heroes, all for different reasons. I would like to highlight some of them below, including how I think they have shaped our world and what we can do to keep their memory alive.
The Notorious RBG: unrelentless in fighting gender equality and protection for all Americans Before Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg became “the Notorious RBG”, she was just little Ruth “Kiki” Bader, a Jewish girl born in Brooklyn, New York. She was one of only nine women in her class of 500 at Harvard Law School. During law school, she nursed a husband with cancer and a three-year-old child while still studying full time to be an attorney. Prior to her appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court under President Bill Clinton, she fought for gender equality (and not just for women). In her 27 years on the nation’s top court, she fought to override onerous policies that would mandate DREAMers to be deported. She was also the dissenting vote on allowing women to be admitted to the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and a fierce supporter of keeping Roe v. Wade intact. All the while, RBG fought numerous bouts with cancer, burying her husband from the illness that later took her life in September. She never complained. Even those of her colleagues that disagreed with her had nothing but kind words to say about her. Former Justice Antonin Scalia (the most conservative justice on the court during his tenure) was her best friend. Until her last breath, she fought. To me, that is a true hero.
Chadwick Boseman: not just Black Panther, but an example of true humility and silent pain Yes, he was the superhero Black Panther. He portrayed the Godfather of Soul, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall … just to name a few. Boseman automatically became a superhero because of his role as Black Panther, so why would I mention him?
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There are so many things people did not know about him. He was born in South Carolina in the late 70’s, experiencing racism first-hand. He went to Howard University, where he was exposed to his future craft. While awaiting the fame that would later beset him, he volunteered in Harlem as a drama instructor at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. His parents raised him to be humble, to be grateful for all that he had, putting himself last. In that vein, he kept his four-year fight with colon cancer a secret until he succumbed to the disease. During those four years, he arranged his surgeries and chemotherapy/radiation treatments around filming, visiting hospitals to see pediatric cancer patients, and dedicating himself to numerous charities. His legacy will live on past the 43 years he spent on this earth. Black Panther became a beacon of hope for not just Black children, but for the principles he held dear in his life: silent service and a quiet strength with a moral compass that spoke volumes without speaking a word.
Congressman John Lewis: stalwart fighter for civil injustice and for a better world for everyone To call this man a hero is an understatement. Born in 1940 in Alabama, his entire life was a struggle: as a son of a sharecropper fighting to have enough to eat, as a child living in segregation, as one of the original Freedom Riders, and as one of the “Big Six” leaders with Martin Luther King, Jr. organizing the March on Washington. His skull got bashed in on “Bloody Sunday” at the Edmund Pettis Bridge in 1965. When he saw that the Civil Rights Movement needed expansion beyond Alabama, he ran for United States Congress. Lewis was elected and served from 1986 until his death. His platform went beyond just civil rights, by addressing criminal justice reforms, voting rights and necessary gun reforms. Lewis was not afraid to take on injustice regardless if you were the president of the United States. Ironically, on the day of his death, an opinion piece ran in the New York Times on redemption. Trained as an ordained minister, his heroism went beyond just telling you what to do but living it.
Camille Paglia, MD, JD: unsung hero for individuals in crisis, unrelentless amidst personal adversity Dr. Paglia and I met over ten years ago. My first interaction with her was at a Philadelphia chapter Benjamin Rush event. Her first words to me were, “first off, call me Camille. My consumers call me Camille and so should you. I have heard so many good things about you, Deb. It is my pleasure to meet you finally.” From that day, we became fast friends. She came into psychiatry later in life after being an attorney. Her passion for healthcare went beyond a profession, rather her life’s work. She delved into community psychiatry, laboring at Temple Episcopal’s Crisis Response Center in Kensington. Often she would tell me how she loved being there, treating people that she knew by name, in her words
