There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about my mother. I fondly call her the CEO of the Redd Family. She is the first and most important example of leadership that my brothers and I have. She set the standard for how you should lead through adversity. She lived her life continuing to set the stage for her young men to become leaders. The most valuable lesson she taught us was that life is going to put mountains in front of you. You have a choice you can plan how you will get over or through that mountain or you can stand before it and focus on all the things that mountain represents and why you can’t overcome it. I am not saying this is easy because in my life I focused on what those mountains represented and there were times I surrendered to the challenges because I saw them as too much to overcome, but it was the lessons and the examples set by my mother that helped me to change the course of my life.
The lessons she taught me, and my brothers have created those guiding principles that we live by. We are not perfect by any means, and we have made our share of mistakes but the legacy my mother built that lives within us is how we hold tight to her memory. It is how we honor her. We celebrate Phyllis Redd King 365 days a year by our actions and by being the men she raised us to be. We have special days of the year where our mother’s memory comes to the forefront like her birthday (9/7), the holidays and the day we laid her to rest (12/18) but how we truly remember her is to share her wisdom and values with our family and the people we work with and the ones we lead. My mother would tell me it is what you do not what you say that helps to make change. My brothers and I thrive on “doing” every day and our hope is that we make a difference.
There are great people in history that we take a day to remember like MLK Jr. whose birthday is on January 15th and the King Holiday which is on January 20th. It is great to take the time to remember the man and what he did that has influenced generations. Because of what my mother taught me I choose to honor Dr. King every day by not only my words but my actions. It is why I took on the role of health equity at Berkshire Health. I wanted to give back to a community that I have called home since 1987. It is the place where I have raised my children. I celebrate Dr. King, and I celebrate my mother by taking the gifts and the opportunities I have been blessed with and helping to create change. This is how we keep their dreams alive. I am not saying what my mother did compares to the work of Dr. King. She worked to create young men who will work to keep the hopes and dreams alive of Dr. King and all those who came before and after.
Ma, I hope you are proud of your 3 sons and the men they have become today. It is because of you that we can instill your strength and your “Ain’t No Moutain High Enough” attitude that we hope will remain in our family for generations to come.
Charles Redd RN
Dignity Freedom Fighter
Dignity Freedom Fighter 