These four young men – Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., and David Richmond – sat down at a lunch counter which was forbidden to them solely because of their skin tone. The four men sat peacefully, but refused to move. And they remained at the counter, regardless that none of the “student leaders” at their university showed up as promised.

These young men persisted, and others slowly joined them. Eventually the business relented and treated them like everyone else.

There comes a time when honest men and women must take a stand, if they are to live with self-respect. And these men, even though quite young, did precisely that, at considerable risk. As it turned out, they helped change one corner of the world, but more importantly they changed themselves.

* * * * *

Now, before going back to the mundane, please think about situations in which you might do something like this. But don’t look at the heroic aspect of it. Rather, consider the risks involved, and the very serious possibility of failure. What matters about such actions is not their success, but that we do what we believe is right… that we value ourselves above the demands of the collective.