First, best Lessons in leadership and legacy from today's civil rights movement

Steven L. Reed

Book - 2023

"The first Black mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, shares his story of making his way in a world that wasn't built for him, drawing on his rich heritage as the son of a civil rights leader. As a proud son of Joe L. Reed, Steven 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 by showing, through story and example, their power and potential in a world that doesn't always root for them"--

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BIOGRAPHY/Reed, Steven L.
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  • Chapter 1. Origins
  • Chapter 2. The Mothers of the Movement
  • Chapter 3. The Pain of Change
  • Chapter 4. More Than Race
  • Chapter 5. Journeys
  • Chapter 6. Homecoming
  • Chapter 7. Epiphany
  • Chapter 8. The Other Side of the Ball
  • Chapter 9. The Problems that Are Opportunities
  • Chapter 10. Rewriting the Narrative
  • Chapter 11. The Lessons
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • About the Author
Review by Kirkus Book Review

The first Black mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, recounts the life lessons that led him to a career in electoral politics. Is Montgomery really the "capital of the South"? Perhaps not, given Richmond, Atlanta, and Nashville, but Reed isn't shy about making the claim while insisting that his city is prepared to go up against the bigger metropolises by taking their example and "building a more inclusive economy, an opportunity economy that gives everyone the chance to achieve their level of success in every way possible." Part memoir, part motivational treatise, and part political manifesto of a kind that often precedes a bid for higher office, Reed's book honors his father, Joe, a member of the "Moses Generation" that pioneered the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and beyond. One of the lessons his father imparted was that all politics is personal--i.e., that building relationships is part of the business, but maintaining them and not letting them go stale is even more important. "Of all crimes, the worst is ingratitude," he told his son. On the practical front, for Joe, this meant forging alliances as the leader of the Alabama Education Association with people who might not have seemed likely candidates for them, a lesson that the son has brought to his mayoral office by attempting the greatest inclusivity possible, building a new South that works from the premise that "diversity was a strength." Recounting lessons learned at his parents' side about making the best effort one can and expressing gratitude to those who marched against police dogs and batons back in the day, Reed ventures some operating principles of his own: Even when other parties seem unapproachable, leaders seek to build alliances and coalitions; leadership is more important than effectiveness ("The civil rights movement was resource-poor but leadership-rich"), and so forth. A readable, useful manual of practical politics wrapped in an inviting, anecdotal narrative. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.