During grad school at NYU I had the great opportunity to attend a course taught by Irshad Manji: Public Leadership and Moral Courage. It was a stimulating class that even led some students to complain that their head hurt after each session!

For our midterm we were asked to write a “manifesto” to describe how we will apply the concept of moral courage in our lives.Here is a small excerpt from my manifesto:

• I vow to continually bear witness, “like a woman bears a child, with all her might, born out of the greatest pain, into a Grand Canyon of light” (Ani DiFranco).  I will protect my ability to bear witness by refusing to accept moderation when it comes to my core beliefs and morals.

• I vow to give emotional shelter to others who display moral courage and have faced backlash for doing so. When given the opportunity, I will mother, support, and comfort those who have been rejected by their own.

How can I learn to be morally courageous?

I sensed a lot of ambivalence from my classmates about completing the assignment. I think this exercise taught many of us that we need to better understand how we individually exhibit moral courage in our lives, if at all.

Through my experience with the class, and my later experience as Campaign Manager for the Moral Courage Project (MCP), I have become interested in how to help people “learn” to be morally courageous.

I believe that one of the best ways to encourage people to be bold and speak truth to power is to expose real stories about how every day people all over the world are doing it. If the MCP can show through these stories how empowering if can be to speak truth to power I am sure a chain reaction will start with people applying these concepts in their lives.

Why is it so hard to pin-point moral courage? Perhaps it is because moral courage is more than mere bravery. It is more than joining a movement or marching in a demonstration. Those with moral courage bring the movement to their own communities and explore how we are perpetuating injustice locally. Moral courage requires one to act even in the absence of a movement.

The notion of “grassroots organizing” has become very popular in the U.S. in recent years. I often wonder, though, if those who use the term really know what is meant by it.  By definition, grassroots activism is undertaken to effect change by those who stand to be most impacted by the change. It cannot be effectively demonstrated without the presence of moral courage, without the willingness to confront your community, and yourself, for that is where the prospect for the most change lies.

I look forward to using this blog to explore the variety of ways that people exhibit moral courage in their lives. And I welcome you to share your thoughts with me about who should be featured on this blog.

15 responses to “What do you think moral courage means?”Write yours at the bottom of the page!

1. Andrea says:
   September 20th, 2009 at 7:26 pm

   I like that you brought up the idea of confronting yourself for change. A lot of people don’t understand the major impact of recognizing our own prejudices and changing our own behavior can have on the big picture.

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2. Glenn Llopis says:
   September 25th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

   I love this concept of Moral Courage! For me, moral courage represents having the ability to “trust yourself” (your personal brand) to limits unimaginable. Moral courage is about making a difference to issues that matter to YOU for the betterment of a healthy whole.

   Why do we work so hard? Why do we dream? For opportunity! Opportunity that matters for your community, your family, your business for those around you. It starts with Moral Courage. Learn it, live it, love it!

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3. laura driscoll says:
   September 25th, 2009 at 2:51 pm

   i am so impressed by the Moral Courage Project and by prof.Manji.i taught for 25 years and felt my mission was not to just educate my students about British and American Literature and poetry,and Cr. Writing-but to think about how we treat one another-how to embrace the different,the unloved,those who are of a different race,gender,creed,or idealogy than ourselves.there were amny who did not agree with me-who felt our job was just to “stick to the curriculum”-but what we choose to teach,who we choose to read,and how we QUESTION and THINk-is to me-our biggest responsibility.I am thrilled to be able to read this website’s material and hope i can help in the future.now,more than ever,when hate divides our country,when people talk with hate about our President,and when lies are growing like weeds-we must speak the truth despite fear of displeasing those around us.thank you for giving my courage a boost.
   laura

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4. Irshad Manji says:
   September 27th, 2009 at 5:53 pm

   As someone who teaches moral courage, I’d like to share what I believe it means. But rather than give a “definition,” let me give an example.

   Last year, a young Muslim named Amin emailed me to suggest that a female Jihadi blogger in Europe should be recognized as a champion of moral courage. After all, Amin said, moral courage is about speaking truth to power for the sake of a greater good, and that’s what this woman is doing. How so? in Amin’s words, “she blogs about the need to destroy the West. She acts within the law, which makes her non-violent, and she seems willing to accept public disapproval for what she believes in.”

   Here’s my response — and in reading it, you’ll see why his example simply doesn’t wash: http://www.irshadmanji.com/im-a-jihadi-and-a-bushie-walk-into-a-bar

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5. Kay Jarvis says:
   September 30th, 2009 at 9:55 am

   Loved watching Irshad on MSNBC this AM. I relate to Laura Driscoll’s comments, above, regarding her experiences as a teacher. I, also, believe that a basic part of being a teacher of Special Education is to take time to explore the situations of my students of ‘not being good enough’ or of have obvious disabilities in mental health or academic areas. They feel shame amd limit themselves in many ways. But, I was told, directly and indirectly, to follow the curriculum and REDUCE the work load instead of truly addressing group and individual needs. I feel like a square peg! Thanks for inspiring. KJ.

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   Janice Formichella Reply:
   September 30th, 2009 at 11:12 am

   @Kay Jarvis, I enjoyed what you said about moral courage and your work with people with disabilities. I have actually wondered recently about the level of moral courage that people such as yourself require to work with special needs students and adults. It appears to be the type of profession where you may not gain much support from those outside the field. I can imagine it takes a lot of motivation and perseverance to keep at it. I would love to know more, especially because I have three special needs foster brothers that I love with all my heart!

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