It's Been a Minute Who will be the next great civil rights leader?
7 snips
Mar 6, 2026 
Kellie Carter Jackson, Africana Studies chair at Wellesley College, recalls compassionate, community-rooted organizing. Marcus Lee, Princeton assistant professor of African American studies, analyzes Black political leadership and shifting archetypes. They discuss the decline of charismatic savior figures, the rise of networks and local civic action, and new queer and female leadership reshaping movements.
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Charismatic Leaders Create A Single Point Of Failure
- Charismatic single-leader models signal possibility but create a single point of failure for movements.
- Marcus Lee and Kellie Carter Jackson explain Jesse Jackson's archetype inspired voter registration yet risked dependency and sudden collapse if the leader fell.
Jesse Jackson's Prison Ministry Was Quiet And Personal
- Kellie Carter Jackson remembers Jesse Jackson visiting prisons and supporting families without cameras present.
- She recounts seeing him minister to incarcerated people and comforting families, demonstrating quiet, sustained care.
Shift From Saviors To Group Centered Leadership
- Build group-centered, people-powered leadership instead of waiting for a Moses-style savior.
- Kellie Carter Jackson cites Ella Baker: collective local networks are harder to thwart than a single celebrity leader.