History shows the most powerful tool man can possess is an idea.
The Romans knew it. Columbus knew it. Luther knew it. Napoleon, Lincoln, Princess Di, Gandhi, Gutenberg, Mandela, Mother Theresa and Einstein knew it. Kennedy, Malcolm X. and Reagan knew it. The Pope knows it. Obama knows it too.
In my dissection of the accomplishments of these "greats," I realized that there's something even greater and more powerful than an idea alone. After all, don’t we all, at least once in our lives, have some profound, transient thought with the potential to change the course of history?
There must be something greater than an idea alone, or we’d all be creating new governments, inspiring new inventions and starting new religions. Getting to know one woman, Anne Holcomb, helped me capture this elusive force that can turn a simple idea into a beautiful reality.
Growing up Anne lived a turbulent life at home with a father who was mentally ill (diagnosed with psychotic major depression disorder). She admitted to me that when he was in a state of rage, he was uncontrollable. He even “put her through a grandfather clock” once. At the age of 16, Anne was practicing driving a car, and her father, sitting in the passenger seat, became angry, grabbed the wheel and tried to kill them both by crashing into a tree.
When her father’s actions became unmanageable and unpredictable, Anne would run away, often to folk festivals or the like. She would call home and speak with her mother to see what state her father was in, and if things had returned to normal, she would go back home – knowing full well that it was never permanent.
Anne went off to college at DePauw University in Indiana, living in a dorm-size apartment with the bare essentials… until someone burglarized her home, and she was left with nothing. Anne, though she was working, couldn’t make ends meet.
Eventually she became homeless. But she never gave up.
She even bought an abandoned building and made that her home. In graduate school at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies, she formed her thesis around the history, causes and levels of homelessness in Chicago. But her shining moment came four years ago when her idea became reality.
Inspired by her own struggles and passionate about her own success, Anne opened a “drop-in” center for homeless youth in the Lakeview neighborhood which, in the beginning, could only hold 10 people in the small store-front office. Now housed at the Broadway Youth Center, the organization offers case management, medical care, counseling, HIV testing, support groups, mentoring programs and more. Anne even showed me the artwork that program participants have crafted as a fundraiser, including provoking political cartoons such as “Land of the Free, Homes 4 the Rich” and “Who’s Supporting Homefulness?”
Observing this astounding woman interacting with those young people, hugging them, laughing with them and giving them a little glimmer of hope is stirring. She cares for them with a nurturing sort of watchfulness that none of them has ever known, and she does this because she has known what it is to be forgotten. This woman, having had as painful a life experience as any, took her heartache and turned it into an idea. Her idea has since changed the lives of hundreds of young people in this city alone, including mine.
What is greater than an idea?
Love.
Love paired with an idea = change.
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Lauren Fleming
Lauren Fleming was born and raised in rural east Texas and now calls Chicago home. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Tyler with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism and works full-time in Illinois politics for a state official. She has volunteered with the Homeless Coalition, served in AmeriCorps National Service, has tutored at-risk youth and coached youth basketball. She has a heart for the homeless and the hurting and works alongside various organizations to help eradicate social injustices. More
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