From Memorial Day to Flag Day, Father’s Day, Juneteenth, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day, there will be countless celebrations across our nation where the word “hero” will be applied. That word will be the underlying theme of speeches, TV shows, parades, fireworks, barbeques, marathons, and sales throughout America.
We celebrate heroes. It’s our custom. Even though today, the actions of some of our hero standard-bearers are now being reexamined, there are still plenty to go around.
Webster’s dictionary defines the word “hero” as “a person who has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal.” In classic mythology, a hero was someone who was thought to be godlike—a talented warrior, a chieftain with special strength, or an immortal being.
Today, we tend to think of our heroes in a more down-to-earth way—still very noble, but a mortal among us who has done things—big and small—that make a difference in our lives. Everyday heroes: the Little League coach. The motorist who stopped to help you fix your flat tire. The neighbor who saved a child in a burning building. The person who found and returned your lost dog. Your parent.
Several celebrities have weighed in about being a hero, among them, Whoopie Goldberg, who once asked: “Who amongst us doesn’t want to be a hero?” Mariah Carey suggested, “If you look inside yourself and you believe, you can be your own hero.” Maya Angelou defined a hero as “any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.” Perhaps it was Arthur Ashe who summed it up best: “True heroism is remarkably sober and very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”
A hero doesn’t need a specific classification or category to qualify. In fact, that could actually limit the accomplishments. Morgan Freeman reminds us that “Martin Luther King Jr., was not a Black hero. He is an American hero.”
Whether it’s the countless men and women in the military who bring dignity and valor to the uniform they wear in defense of our freedom, or the school safety agents who provide students with free prom gowns, or the NYCHA worker who makes sure the flowers are in full bloom by the benches where the elderly ladies sit, we take special pride in knowing that many Local 237 members selflessly help others. To them we say, “Thank you.”
Among them is the late Tuskegee Airman Dabney Montgomery. Dabney was a NYCHA housing assistant for 14 years, who distinguished himself as an exemplary soldier, known for his bravery in World War II, yet was denied the right to vote when he got home—it took nearly 60 years after War II ended for him to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. He was on the security detail for Dr. King on the historic march from Selma to Memphis. Now, the heels of his shoes from that march are on display at the first-of- its-kind National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and a street sign in Harlem bears his name. Wow! How many unions can boast of having a Tuskegee Airman among its members?
Clearly, the word hero applies to the highly acclaimed and the virtually unknown—men and women who rise to the situation but might not get a parade to honor their accomplishments, medals to wear on their chests, trophies for the mantelpiece, or their names in news headlines. Just everyday heroes whose reward is knowing that they made a difference.
To them we say, “Thank you.”
Gregory Floyd is president of Teamsters Local 237 and vice president at-large on the General Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.