Being a civic leader doesn’t mean that you have to make monumental change in society. You can be a leader by fighting for what you think is right in your community; one such example in the Seabury community is Ms. C.

Ms. C is the President of the Resident Council at a senior building and Seabury nutrition site in DC’s Ward 6, where she fights for changes at her residence. As part of her role on the Council, she helps residents find job opportunities, organizes weekly trips to local places of interest, and stocks the vending machines with snacks residents like.

Ms. C is also a mother of three children, all of whom, she proudly boasts, are college graduates. “Black History Month is great,” Ms. C said. “People like Martin Luther King Jr. and Fredrick Douglas paved the way for us. Because of them, my children were able to get a better education and jobs.”

Despite this progress, Ms. C worries about the future. “Watching television or seeing what’s happening, it is like we’re going back,” Ms. C said. “That is going to cause chaos because our people are not going to stand for it.” Leadership isn’t just defined by the historical change led by the select few, it is also defined by the small acts of the many, people like Ms. C.

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Vincent Tran served as the Marketing and Social Media intern at Seabury Resources for Aging in the spring of 2016.

Feature Photo Credit.