Listen To What Heroes Dr. Jeffrey Wright and Artist Michael Davis Say When They Answer the Heroes Question “Who are the HEROES in your life now?”
Jeff Wright: My wife is a tremendous hero in my life right now. Lakita Garth is doing and has done a tremendous amount of work mentoring and being an example to young people that you can live a virtuous life that you can adhere to qualities that would make you a better person.
She’s poured her life out into millions of young people around the country and around the world and she is a tremendous hero to me. She’s done it at great personal sacrifice and I have the great blessing of being able to be married to her right now.
I also believe just tremendously in the work and the results that the life of Melvin Banks who founded Urban Ministries represents. I think that he is a great hero for all of us, both in terms of Christian entrepreneurship as well as pursuing a vision. One man leaving the comfort of a secure job and possibly a reasonable future to take care of his family, to sacrifice and create UMI, to create the company that today touches millions of individuals.
Then there are some people that we all know. I think Oprah is a hero. When I look at what she’s done in the area of bringing a positive voice in media. I wish she were more overt and explicit in her faith in Jesus Christ if it’s there, and I hope it is, but despite that I can’t help but celebrate the positive content that she brings to televised media.
I appreciate Dennis Peacock and the work that he has done in trying to develop and propagate a Biblical worldview that goes beyond simply getting people saved but getting to a point of transformation in life, and there are many, many others.
Michael Davis: Well, my cousin, William T. Williams will always be my hero. My mom is my hero. She is retired now but she’s lived a real life. She is a real, real good person. A lot of people who would have faced what she faced would have just given up. Those are my personal heroes.
There are some people who I really, really admire. I don’t know if I would call them my heroes but I admire them. I like Bill Gates on a business level because Gates is a smart guy, and love him or hate him, I can’t deny his accomplishments.
The stuff that he’s doing with AIDS and the stuff that he’s doing with education is just phenomenal. To have that kind of bank it’s really easy to sit down and go give a couple of million dollars a year to charity because it’s a tax shelter. This guy is giving billions of dollars and he’s devoting the rest of his life to his main thrust, which is going to be helping humanity.
You create something like Microsoft and then you decide at the height of your career that you are going to now help humanity? That’s a hero! People are still taking shots at him for a variety of different reasons. You know, love him or hate him, business is one thing but he’s a real man. He’s a man.
Another person I admire was Frank Sinatra. Frank Sinatra back in the 40s and 50s, before the Civil Rights movement really got its national television push, was advocating equality for African Americans and Latinos. Frank Sinatra would refuse to play places if they didn’t let Sammy Davis, Jr. sit in the audience.
One of the things I admire about him, Frank Sinatra was the biggest star in the world and he lost it all. He went back to playing saloons. Imagine selling out stadiums and then a couple of years later you’re playing saloons in Hoboken, New Jersey, but when he got back on top he never forgot his friends. Love him or hate him, he knew what he wanted. You knew what kind of person he was.
So basically my heroes are, like I’ve said, my cousin, my mom. From a business standpoint I love what Bill Gates is doing, and Batman. (Laughter)