I came along 30 years after Dr. Hayling and the fantastic coalition he led and coordinated burst on the scene as the leading edge that helped St. Augustine propel the nation to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. When Dr. Hayling moved to St. Augustine to take over a dental practice, I'm sure the last thing he expected to do was commit himself to helping protect young people from the ills of alcohol, drugs, delinquency, teen pregnancy and a sense of hopelessness as youth director of the local NAACP. But Dr. Hayling -- much like my other lifetime hero -- Dr. King, was unable to not engage, not push for excellence and self-sufficiency, to look the other way when people were hurting and our nation was failing to live up to the high morals it professed to be built upon. He could have seen the struggle for civil rights and human dignity as someone else's fight. After all, he was handsome, highly educated and already successful. But Dr. Hayling was willing to risk it all, his career, his reputation, even his precious family, for a cause he was willing to die for. I feel incredibly blessed to have had the special pleasure of getting to know Dr. Haying, Kat Twine, and other phenomenal unsung heroes and sheroes. They transformational contributions pushed me to document their amazing stories. And of the dozens I've been able to meet and chronicle over the past 20 years, none impacted me like Dr. Robert Hayling. Still ramrod straight when I met him in his late sixties in 1997, he epitomized black manhood for me. Much like his colleague, King's field general, Rev. Hosea Williams, Hayling exemplified an uncommon courage and resolve that encouraged and strengthened those he led, while eventually convincing those who opposed him that he was unwilling to back down. My only regret is that I had not been able to spend anytime with him, be present for any of the times he was honored, during the past few years. I had long planned and looked forward to bringing him to Atlanta to be honored at an institute to honor the foot soldiers, as well as produce a film about his life. My thoughts, prayers and deeply sincerely thanks go out to his family and friends. As someone who is blessed to speak to young people at colleges and universities frequently, I am committed to sharing his rich legacy to future generations every chance I get. I will never forget him and forever thank God for allowing me to be inspired and shaped by his life.
