Why We Need More Super-leaders not Superheroes

As a child, I always loved superheroes. Through comic books and Saturday morning programs, I could escape into another world. DC Comics. Marvel. Superfriends. For a while, Superman was my favorite. He was a strong, All American male, handsome with super strength, X-ray vision and Lois Lane. He had it all, at least from my perspective as a chubby, nerdy, bespectacled Haitian kid from Queens. However, as I grew older, I felt that Batman was more of a figure with whom I could relate. Although a millionaire, Bruce Wayne was just a human with no superpowers but a slew of innovative weapons. I wasn’t a mutant, so I knew I could never be Wolverine or any other of the X-Men. The odds were slim that a radioactive spider would bite me, so becoming Spider-man was also out of the question. But Batman, I thought, could be within my reach. I just needed to be innovative and to work to develop tools for my success. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts to create my version of the Batbelt, I never became Batman. But something magical happened. I realized that I didn’t need to become a superhero to enjoy my world. Rather, I just had to utilize my imagination and I would be able to bring some of my fantasies into the real world. I could make an impact through my writing and my every day actions. I could be a leader.

The hysteria about Michael Jackson’s death and the recent dismay about Tiger Woods’s so-called “transgressions” has brought into sharp focus our society’s obsession with idolatry and with superheroes, usually manifested in the form of celebrities. My thesis is that we could do a lot better if we were seeking, or better yet trying to become, super-leaders not superheroes. Whenever I heard a parent talk about how disappointed his or her child was about Tiger Woods, I cringed. Tiger Woods and any athlete should be celebrated for their athletic abilities. However, that is where it should end. In my opinion, Tiger Woods or any other celebrity should never be a role model for any child. When I was younger, I had posters of my favorite basketball players on my bedroom wall. From Hakeem the Dream to Patrick Ewing to Clyde Drexler, I admired their athletic prowess. But I was clear that they were not my role models. I might try to copy their moves on the basketball court, but I never considered them persons I wanted to emulate. My parents instilled in me the desire to achieve academically and to create my own successes. I was not celebrity-struck because my parents were not celebrity-struck. This notion of celebrity obsession was foreign to me. Logically, it never made sense to me. Watching people faint at the sight of another human being, as often happened when Michael Jackson was in public, was silly and embarrassing to me. “He is just a man,” I would think.

But I recognize that something is missing in many peoples’ lives. Rather than taking control of their own lives and becoming super-leaders, they spend their time being more concerned about the lives of others, namely celebrities. What are Brad and Angelina up to today? Where did Britney go last night? Who is TMZ following now? Frankly, who cares? Psychologically, I understand the dynamic. People love escapism. Celebrity gossip allows them to leave their perceived mundane existence. It gets them excited. It allows them to dream about other realities. It makes for great water-cooler, and in this generation, wonderful Facebook chatter. I understand guilty pleasures and don’t begrudge people their desire to let their brains vegetate for a minute. I also recognize that many of us need superheroes, people who we can look up to, who we can aspire to be, who give us hope for greater things and comfort about infinite possibilities. However, I worry that too many children are growing up wanting to be Miley Cyrus rather than Cyrus the Great (minus the issues of violent conquest).

The recent and relatively unnoticed death of Mr. Percy Sutton illustrates the contrast between super-leaders and superheroes. Percy Sutton was a super-leader, a pioneer. He was a Tuskegee Airman, served as legal counsel for Malcolm X, was a New York State Assemblyman and a one time Manhattan Borough president. He went on to co-found Inner City Broadcasting, which featured WLIB and WBLS in New York City, and also invested in the New York Amsterdam News and the Apollo Theater. While not perfect (and none of us are), he inspired many to become leaders, and paved the way for the first (and only) Black mayor of New York City the Honorable David N. Dinkins. Super-leaders, like Percy Sutton, are real and they work, not only for their benefit, but for the good of others. Superheroes, like Tiger Woods and other celebrities, are socially constructed idols, admired for their individualistic accomplishments, and placed on never to be touched pedestals. But, unfortunately, they are not real.

While Michael Jackson’s passing touched me because it signaled the loss of a particular time of my youth, those carefree Off the Wall and Thriller days, the death of Percy Sutton has impacted me even more and made me recognize the urgency for me to step up and to be a super-leader. As a new father, I especially worry about how my daughter will be influenced by our celebrity-obsessed culture and how to shield her appropriately from it. So, while I don’t suggest that we need to permanently give up our superheroes, I believe that we could benefit from more super-leaders. Without getting on a soapbox (or maybe it’s too late for such a disclaimer), I resolve to use my Batmobile for good while attempting to change the world.