This week was an incredible reminder of the impact of Change Agents. It was the 50th anniversary of 9 brave black teenagers ascending the front steps of Little Rock Central High School in a headwind of institutional and personal bigotry that had pinned down the status quo for centuries. The images of these kids maintaining their composure while being taunted and threatened by the twisted, malignant white faces is gut wrenching. The courage they mustered to go back to school day-after-day under the protection of 101st Airborne Division is nothing short of breathtaking.   

This great video interview with the Little Rock Nine from the NewsHour delivers the message that 'putting it on the line' - every bit of it - is sometimes the only way to get it done. For Change Agents, risking life may not be a daily part of the job description but it can be reality. 

The demonstrations in Myanmar are a fresh example in the here and now. 9 killed so far. Hundreds arrested. Amazingly, when the Buddist monks who initiated the movement were forceably removed from the scene through crackdowns and a series of night time raids on monasteries, everyday people stepped in to fill in the ranks and keep the pressure on. Again, courage that defies comprehension…unless you know firsthand what it means to live under the wet blanket of oppression. Then it starts to make sense.

Finally, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger called it as he saw it when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to campus. This was less life-on-the-line and more career and professional reputation-on-the-line, but a stark and refreshing break with the conventions of polite institutional norms. The guts to say what needs to be said in public at the risk of rotten tomatoes (or a whole lot worse) is what Change Agents are about. This is not a popularity contest and (predictably) the arrows are flying.

Let's just say I laughed, got angry, cheered and choked back sobs this week. It’s the range of emotions that comes from being a witness to courage. The goal is to increasingly be a participant in courage. To be a Change Agent.