Legendary activist, educator Harry Edwards shares ‘Views of America’s Future’ in Dublin

Education is the driving force of America’s future, according to sociologist and civil rights leader Harry Edwards, who delivered a profound keynote address in Dublin last week.

Local officials, high school students, military personnel and other community members gathered in a theater at Regal Hacienda Crossings to hear Edwards’ talk titled “Views of America’s Future”. The event was hosted by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce as part of its Thought Leadership Speaker Series.

While Edwards, 80, kicked off his speech by stating “I’m a teacher and have been for more than half a century,” he is well-known for a number of other roles and accomplishments over the course of his distinguished career, including organizing the Olympic Project for Human Rights movement that influenced the winner’s podium protest by Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the Mexico City summer games of 1968.

Edwards is also a former Black Panther, an author and has been a staff consultant to the San Francisco 49ers for several decades. He also spent 10 years as a counselor and consultant on player personnel development with the Golden State Warriors and was previously involved in the process of developing and hiring minority talent for front-office executive positions in Major League Baseball.

As a Black man standing at 6 feet 8 inches tall and a former athlete, much of Edwards’ work over the years has focused on the intersections of race, sports and society.

During his talk in Dublin, he drew from his experiences working with professional athletes and teaching college students at UC Berkeley to illustrate his points and underscore the importance of education.

“In human affairs — with the notable exceptions of acts of nature — the future is never a consequence of predestined or preordained fate. Rather, the future is born of the human and institutional actions and the perspectives that motivate and drive them. The future of America is no exception,” Edwards said.

He continued, “In the normal course of developments, by virtue of the structural relationships and dynamics driving the evolution of the future, formal education is a critical component of that process and teachers by definition are leaders and participants in formal education.”

Edwards noted that in times of crisis like the coronavirus pandemic, first responders are often at the forefront of conversation, which he said is justifiable, but teachers are in an even more significant classification that he referred to as “indispensable responders”.

He doubled down on that point by highlighting the invaluable role teachers played when schools closed across the nation and even now in the aftermath as students still work to overcome the education gaps and mental health effects of the pandemic.

“Without a viable, functioning educational institution in our modern world, democracy is reduced to a charade and freedom to a farce,” Edwards said.

In addition to addressing the value of education, Edwards also spoke about the challenges currently facing education today including teachers being overworked, book bans, restrictions on classroom topics of discussion and limitations on establishing educational policy and curriculum, among other obstacles.

“It doesn’t matter what profession you are in or the loftiness or celebrated status of that profession, somewhere at some point in your journey along your path to it, you can thank a teacher,” Edwards said.

Toward the end of the approximately hour-long discussion that incorporated both poignancy and humor, Edwards reiterated the crucial place of education in the future of America.

“Let me conclude by recalling again what’s at stake here; the future of not just our students, not just education but the future of this nation that we all care so much about,” he said.

He continued, “These students will be the leaders, the problem solvers, the indispensable responders, preparing future generations of students to confront the challenges of their times, of this society and of this world. We owe them the best preparation, the best education and the best chance of providing for those generations to come that we can possibly muster.”

During the Q&A portion of the event, Edwards was asked what was next in the evolution of his storied career to which he replied, “I’m done.”

Referring to his diagnosis of terminal bone cancer, Edwards shared that his sojourn on Earth is coming to an end. “It’s not a sad or a morbid thing, it’s part of the deal on this planet. So we get over it, get on with it, make the best of it and realize that nobody gets out of life alive,” he said.

He also shared an excerpt from a letter he wrote to his grandsons the day after his diagnosis.

“At this — the conclusion of my 80th trip around the sun — I feel the transcendentally profound privilege of being part of a universe so great that it evolved us; nothing less than a consciousness of itself to gaze out upon its beauty, diversity and immensity with wonder, awe, amazement and the curiosity and capacity to ponder the mysteries of its very existence in hopes of understanding the mind of God,” Edwards read, adding “You asked me where I’m headed next? That’s it. That’s my last statement.”