There are words to a song I heard in a movie. I cannot remember the name of the movie or song, but the movie starred Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyonce. The words went like this,
“Sometimes I always fall short of being worthy, But I ain’t good enough but he still loves me. I ain’t no superstar the spotlight ain’t shining on me, but I ain’t good enough but he still loves me.”
That was my mother. Sometimes her sons would fall short, but my mother always had forgiveness in her heart when it came to her sons. It is one of those dignity lessons we learned from her. The other lesson I learned was standing up for those whose voices have been silenced. I think it is why I took on this role as DEI officer. It was built into all the sons of Phyllis King. She was our rock and our voice when others tried to put us down. She helped us believe we could be more and that helping those in need is a part of who we are.
I see this in my brothers who model dignity in their everyday lives. My brother Ken and his work with his church and his giving nature. My youngest brother Tracy who has stepped up to care for our Pop. We do these things because they are the right thing to do. We do them because as the saying in my family goes WWPD (What Would Phyllis Do). We were poor but my mother always found a way to give. She would tell me that there were others worse off than us, and we are obligated to help those in need. It took me awhile to see that, but it is the foundation of who I am. It is the foundation of who the Redd men are. We are not perfect by any means, but we work to be the best we can be because of the sacrifice our mother made for us to be great.
I want to honor the memory of my mother by continuing to move forward with the message of dignity. She built the foundation within me, and my brothers, and it grew because of my friend and colleague Yemisi Oloruntola-Coates who introduced me to an amazing book “Leading with Dignity” and an amazing colleague and partner in dignity Dr. Donna Hicks. Change comes when we recognize the importance of dignity in our lives. It is how we care for ourselves, how we care for others, and how we live up to our higher calling. There are so many challenges and hardships in the world. I am not saying dignity will fix them because bad things will always happen. It is how we treat each other that will help us get through those difficult times. It is how we stand up for what is right and point out the things that are undignified and rob people of their dignity. I will tell you this my mother had the Mandela Consciousness defined by Dr. Donna Hicks PhD and that is that no one will ever rob her of her dignity.
I say to you on this day that I stand for all of you like my mother stood up for her sons and her soulmate. I stand as a voice of dignity and the voice of truth.
Have a Blessed Holiday season
We miss you Ma.
Charles Redd RN
Dignity Freedom Fighter
Dignity Freedom Fighter 