LEADERSHIP: The Legacy of Christ
...by Marcus Garvey
The Negro World Celebrates its 4th Christmas Issue!

If the world is God's, if the creatures therein are the children of God, and we essay to lead because we know better than the rest of those who sin and suffer, then it becomes our duty and obligation not to only act human, but to act as a Christ in dispensing justice, love and mercy to all those who look to us as leaders and representatives of the ONE who should rule, but who does so through us, his agents.

For man, elevated to the position of leader, teacher or law giver, having under his control the children of God, not knowing that his act in regulating the affairs of his fellows must be based upon the conscience or soul of a Christ, and not man, makes him unfit for the call of service to humanity and misrepresentative of the Divinty of God.

There is nothing in the world as serious as leadership. We can all follow, but we cannot all lead. Christ was a leader, and the greatest of them all. He came to a new and modern age and set the example we should follow, and those who must lead man after Christ cannot but expect to fail, if they act not as he would.

We cannot mix the human and spiritual of life in leadership of humanity. We cannot love and then hate. We cannot be merciful and then revengeful; we cannot take from Paul and give to John. All these irregularities can be, however, if we do not lead; but if we lead, we must do as Christ would do or else we ourselves suffer and not those whom we lead.

The responsibility of leadership in a modern world after Christ is exceedingly great, and none of us, because of our imperfections, can see glory of our work. In our sins of omission, caused through the preponderance of our human over our spiritual, we destroy the good of our work, as, no doubt, planned from the most righteous desire of service to humanity. [This happens when our] soul fails [us] as a Christ, in being just to all men.

The leadership of this age must be of the soul and not only of the head, if we are to be just to our fellows and win the love of God. This does not mean to say that our leaders should be bishops and priests, rather than statesmen. The bishop or priest is not a statesman, but the statesman must be bishop, priest and himself. To lead and be spiritual, does not mean that we must be all humility and obliging; we must be ourselves; we must be like Christ; we must resist, yet not resist; we must fight, yet not fight; we must be JUST. Those who must lead, should learn that the responsibility is great, that it is not a mockery; it is a calling, and to each and every one there will come a summons to report the deeds of love, justice and mercy to the greatest of Judges, who pardons not after the judgement.

Africa has still its lesson to teach the world. We will teach man the way to life and peace, not by ignoring the rights of our brother, but by giving to everyone his due. We glory in Africa's new responsibility, for we know that the Psalmist made no mistake in prophesying that "ETHIOPIA shall stretch out her hands." The hand of justice, freedom, and liberty shall be extended to all mankind, so that in the death of our leaders not only man will mourn, but the angels will rejoice in admitting into the kingdom of everlasting glory the faithful servants of the Son of Righteousness.