Pennsylvania Activists Enlighten on Leadership and Inspiration

There is always more than what meets the eye to a person observing a protest. Just ask Dr. Johnathan White, associate teaching professor in history and Black
studies at Penn State Greater Allegheny (PSUGA) and local activist, Giuseppe Bagheera.

“Often when I ask students ‘are you an activist,’ the first image that comes to mind is the 1960s,” White said. “When you study the Black freedom struggle, you see a wide array of methods and strategies for resistance, but what you always see is resistance.”

The scholar, now in his 15th year at PSUGA, explained that his first experience of activism had been in the 1990s in college where he experienced a drug store protest about its wages for workers. “It was chaotic because you had a lot of older people (working) there and that was their life…we were college students so we thought I’m not in the real world in terms of my employment,” he said.

“There was a breaking point with one of our friends. We found out she was working at this place [the drug store] afterwards. That was my first time in that chaos, just following people but not really knowing the issues to make a real stand,” White said. He added that the people from the store were shouting at him saying “y’all don’t understand even though you’re in college, you don’t know what it’s like.’”

There are nine ways “we can protest and really number one is the first liners.” White added that you can then see eight other things that are all critical to the freedom struggle “that really do not have anything to do with being on the front line,” he added.

The others include organizers, strategists, diplomats, helpers, financers, storytellers, sustainers, restorers and healers, and technicians.

One of White’s favorite quotes which he lives by is from Maya Angelou that “love is a condition so strong that it keeps the stars in the firmament and pushes the blood through veins.”

This kind of love Angelou speaks of demonstrates Giuseppe Bagheera’s compassion for people. She believes she has been “educating myself and others about humanitarian issues and world issues” for as long as she can remember.

“An activist cannot be active if they are not willing to learn more,” she said.

Bagheera’s perception of activism was labeled as not being “an easy job” and “not for the weak or lazy.” She said that it would be impossible to be an activist if one does not feel inclined to learn more. Bagheera mentioned that she had been encouraged her whole life to use her voice.

“My experience with protesting is a journey in itself. Protesting doesn’t have to be an entire march…it just happened to be around the time of 2019…COVID…lockdown…it was just a perfect opportunity to use a space and time where there was nothing…and a lot of void that could be filled up,” Bagheera said.

Although the role of an activist is not thought to be a professional title, it is still an imperative role to play in society. Often, activists experience trial and error and must develop their own way of being proactive.

Bagheera made herself an independent organizer and temporarily partnered with Black Young &Educated (B.Y.E), a nonprofit organization led by youth to advocate for “Black voices through community and media” during that year.

“The marches were given many names, the most notable being ‘Civil Saturdays’ every week for months on end,” Bagheera said.

She stopped near the end of 2020 due to being overwhelmed from attending protests, weekly and daily meetings. “It really drains you, and I didn’t expect it to because I have never been drained before. I’ve always had excessive energy and never a lack of, so when it came down to putting my own well-being first, I had to stop protesting.”

Bagheera responded to the idea of attending another protest anytime soon by stating, “I think that time and place is a thing and it is necessary and at that time and place it was perfect. I can’t wait for another time and place.”

Bagheera added that at that time she discovered that her voice could be used in a variety of ways, “other than screaming on the streets of Pennsylvania – and I love to scream…it’s useful to learn from your lessons and I learned from my lesson of activism.

“I’ve met many activists and none of them are of the same breed,” Bagheera said. “It is really just a bunch of different people who can cohesively announce a message that is needed.”

She said that people who joined in the protests were band members, outspoken people, activists that started the protest, and creatives. “It was really nice to be there. It was so loud and beautiful but also intense, so that can be bad for some people, you know, intensity is not for the weak. It was really a lot.”

When asked what traits characterized a leader, White and Bagheera cite nearly the same qualities.

“A leader to me is someone who is courageous by speaking their truth – not fearless, but able to push through their fears,” White said. “Leadership is the courage and compassion to follow your convictions and to stand up for the least of these.”

When asked if he thought of himself as a leader, White responded, “There are certain times I try to model things.

I am a leader in a sense that I have had formal titles, but it is really a form of when God is calling me, responding to that and just trying to love the people.”

The professor said that people who inspire him are his mother for nurturing him, his dad for working for their family, his sister who has always carried a “fearless” attitude, and his brother who has always been a “family man.”

Bagheera thinks of herself as a leader because “I lead myself, I don’t let anyone else’s thoughts, emotions, or opinions affect my own. I observe my own thoughts and realize that my thoughts are not myself.”

Then she paused for a second and said, “It’s only an observation. Life is the observation I have to learn from.”

Story by: Mariah Greene (mmg5949@psu.edu)