The Reverend Jesse Jackson’s recent comments about Senator Barack Obama, “I wanna cut his nuts off” and “He's...talking down to black people...telling niggas how to behave," publicly revealed the contemporary divide and conflict that often exists behind closed doors between a new generation of black leadership struggling to find the space to co-exist, thrive and lead with an older generation not always willing to pass the baton and graciously make room.

I have experienced the pain of this divide first hand. As a leader within my own field, I represented the new black leadership on a national board for which I was chair. While the rest of the board was comprised mainly of older leaders, some gave only conditional support for my leadership. The conditions for this support were based on things such as: whether ‘deference due’ was given to them before I exercised my role and decision-making responsibilities as chair, or whether they understood, appreciated and/or approved of my leadership style. Some even went so far as to serve as barriers to the very change they said they wanted to see in the organization, simply because it was someone of the new generation who was leading the change. While I expected to fight external battles in promoting our organization’s mission, I was disheartened to have to simultaneously fight internal battles with those who, instead of working with the new leadership, chose to work against it – even if doing so served as a detriment to the very organization they claimed to love.

Unfortunately, the new generation of black leaders often fights battles on two fronts: 1) we fight to remedy and mitigate against the vestiges of racism and inequality that still remain; and 2) we struggle with some older generation leaders who are unable or unwilling to make room, make way, get on board, be led or at the very least – get out of the way.

New generation black leaders often find themselves in a constant struggle to both recognize, honor and respect those who came before while exercising our own authentic leadership relevant to the 21st century and beyond. We struggle to find the space to lead and to do so in our own way, with our own style, vision and methods; and we long to do so with the respect and support of older leaders whom we typically came into our work admiring, respecting and wanting to emulate. Mine is among a growing number of painful experiences new generation black leaders too often have with our older leaders - something very few of us talk openly about.

To be sure, there are older generation leaders who support and graciously make room for the new generation to lead and thrive. Indeed, I have benefited greatly from such leaders. But, there are those who, in their desire to remain relevant and influential, seek to maintain their own power, position and authority by constricting the space in which new generation leaders can exist thus significantly contribute to this generational divide.

As Jesse’s comments show, this conflict is not only real, but also dangerous and damaging for the negative impact it can have on our communities’ need for real, united leadership – at the very least leadership that is not self-destructive. If this conflict among black leadership can lead to such remarks revealing true feelings that serve only to widen the generational divide, making it difficult to bridge the two in ways that allow us to work together with genuine respect and support, then what does this mean for our communities in desperate need of real, solid leadership?

The good news is that such leadership does exist and is embodied in the new generation of black leaders who have proven themselves fully capable of taking the mantle to further advance civil rights and social change. The challenge is will older leaders, the trailblazers whose shoulders many of us stand on, get on board to work with and support the new generation of leaders so that we can experience the manifestation of the very dreams they fought hard for? Or, will they dig in their heels, refuse to be moved and allow those dreams to be sacrificed in favor of petty displays of envy, as Jesse Jackson acted on, thinly cloaked in archaic and outdated notions of how things are supposed to be done?

For the sake of progress, now more than ever in our history, leadership in the black community needs to be cross-generational, united and mutually respectful. Anything less is a recipe for failure. Certainly our dreams, and our communities, deserve better than that.

Judy M. Ford is a new generation leader in the philanthropic sector and is the owner and principal of Sunrise Consulting, LLC , based in Maryland.

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