Ralph Harper - Own the Change: How Our Children Will Lead the Next Cultural Movement

To Catherine L. Harper, my mammathere are no words to stress my gratitude to you for prioritizing the lives of your ten children and others before yourself. You left us way too soon. Your profound passion for helping and guiding others has shaped me and brought me closer to God and His purpose for me. I will spend the rest of my life guiding children on a path of righteousness to the futurethe 2060s.

To Black American children and the complete pool of underserved children in the United States of America and around the world: help accompanied by foundational guidance is on the way.

Erected in 1857 by the worn and scarred hands of slaves, Swayne Hall is the cornerstone of Talladega College. Its been a long row to hoe, yet the price still being paid is immeasurable. Spiritual symbolism marks the walls of Swayne Hall. The souls of many of our ancestors rest there. Slavery took its toll, yet Black Americans prevailed by clinging to a profound belief in possibilitieshope. May God bless the sacred land on which it stands, each structure that makes up its collective presence, and every student, faculty member, and executive that has and will traverse the realm of Talladega College for the purpose of higher learning. Talladega College: the Alpha Lyrae Vega of them all.

Foreword

My friend Ralph Harper and I pray everyone who reads this book has a deep burden to do something; to hear our children and not forget them; to see our children and not turn away; to support our children and own the change.

In this magnificent writing, Ralphs words cry out to unite us around the greatest call of mankindownership and responsibility for our childrens whole lives: their bodies, their minds, and their souls. We are, after all, responsible for following the principles and values of our Creator. Those values, throughout the globe, unequivocally and most assuredly require us to look after the innocentthe children of our land.

When Ralph and I first met, true to form, he was serving on a panel to share his experiences and solutions to address workforce disparity. The focus was on companies responsibilities for diversity, equality, and inclusion. I was not surprised when he asked me to read a book he was working on related to Black American children and the next generation. Ralph suggested with confidence he had a plan to change the world.

Ralph is a man of conviction. The kind of conviction to labor over every word while putting his work together. The kind of conviction to share with extraordinary transparency his own weaknesses, disappointments, and shortcomings. And the kind of conviction to lay it all on the line with straight talk, hard-hitting confrontations of societal dysfunction, and common-sense solutions.

Ralph shares his views about politics, fairness, and very real and relatable personal experiencesfrom race, bias, and discrimination to disappointments with his father; from shortfalls of his own to mountaintop experiences with his son and his career. Ralph has learned the hard way from each experience and bears it all. And while these experiences shaped him, they have not diminished him in any way. Ralphs will to steadfastly stay on his mission is unshakable. His conviction of ensuring a better and united nation is real. His goal is to make his priority our children and yours.

Coming from a conviction of my own about what leads to good citizenship and a fulfilling and successful life, I was more than intrigued. After all, the benefits of discipline, strong parenting, proper nutrition, a foundation of faith, education, and hard workand their high correlation to good citizenship, economic success, and a fulfilling lifeare no secret. However, it is also no secret that not all our children share in such a prophetic outcome or experience such a promising approach.

With great curiosity, as I read his work, I questionedWhat would my friend Ralph Harper do differently? Why havent we, as a caring, well-resourced, and prosperous nation, been able to solve these aged issues? Would I agree with his precepts? Could his plan catch fire? And then it dawned on me. No two people agree on everything completely.