We Are the Leaders, Issue #7- George Washington Carver

by BREAKTHRU Team

December 5th, 2025

Dear Leaders,

This time of year isn’t slow — it’s full. Full of lists, logistics, celebrations, deadlines, obligations, emotions, and the small moments that remind us how much we’re carrying. And in the middle of all that movement, many of us feel a pull toward reflection.

Who shaped us this year? Who helped us grow? Who deserves our care and generosity as we think about giving?

For me, the answer always circles back to teachers — the ones in classrooms, yes, but also the teachers who guide us in less formal ways: mentors, therapists, coaches, elders, neighbors, colleagues, and sometimes even strangers. They show us how to view the world with curiosity, courage, and compassion. They light the way without requiring the spotlight.

And this week, I found myself researching a leader whose entire life was an act of teaching : George Washington Carver, a great example of the Pathfinder. The more I learned about him, the more convinced I became that Carver is one of the greatest examples we have.

This Week’s Reflection: George Washington Carver and the Art of Lighting the Way

George Washington Carver’s life began in profound uncertainty. Born into slavery in Missouri near the end of the Civil War, he and his siblings were kidnapped as infants; only George was returned. (Imagine if that is how your life started out.) Frail and inquisitive, he spent his childhood wandering the woods, collecting wildflowers and soil samples, learning from the land long before he entered a classroom.

Nature was his first teacher. The forest was his first laboratory.

Carver carried that attentiveness into adulthood, eventually landing at the Tuskegee Institute. There, he encountered a South ravaged by cotton farming — soil exhausted, families trapped in cycles of poverty, communities struggling to survive. Carver saw not just depletion, but potential.

Through decades of work, he taught farmers to plant peanuts, sweet potatoes, soybeans, and pecans — crops that restored nitrogen to the soil. And when they asked, “What do we do with all these peanuts?” he responded with astonishing creativity, developing hundreds of products: fuels, dyes, medicines, paints, building materials, oils, livestock feed, and more.

But his brilliance wasn’t just in invention —it was in the way he shared his ideas with the world.

Carver refused to patent most of his discoveries, believing knowledge should be public — especially for those who needed it most. He built a mobile classroom, the Jesup Wagon, and traveled from farm to farm teaching directly in the fields. He didn’t just teach techniques. He taught dignity.

Carver believed creativity was sacred, curiosity was a calling, and education was an act of service. He once said:

“When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.”

He did the common thing, paying attention in the most uncommon way.

A Modern Reflection of Carver’s Legacy: Germaine Jenkins

As I thought about Carver’s pathfinding spirit, I was reminded of someone we’ve had the honor of working with here at BREAKTHRU: Germaine Jenkins, founder of Fresh Future Farm in North Charleston.

Germaine’s leadership echoes Carver’s philosophy in a deeply modern way. Where others saw a food desert, she saw a farm. Where others saw systems not designed for her community, she imagined and built systems of her own.

Her work is beautifully captured in the documentary Rooted (IMDB). One day, we’ll feature her fully in this newsletter. For now, she stands as a living testament to the legacy Carver planted generations ago — a reminder that his way of seeing is still reshaping the world.

A Story About Teaching — And Why It Matters This Season

Before beginning his lessons at Tuskegee University , Carver would take his students outside, kneel in the dirt, and ask them to place their hands on the soil.

“Feel it,” he’d say. “Listen.”

He wanted them to sense life beneath the surface — to ground themselves in attention and humility. Carver believed that if a student could pay attention to the world, they could find their place within it. And as we enter the giving season, I find myself thinking again about teachers — the ones who shape our children’s days, their imagination, and their sense of what’s possible. Teachers who show up early, stay late, and often ask for almost nothing in return.

Many teachers are Pathfinders, too. While parents and caregivers are busy protecting their families, we rely on these guides — teachers, coaches, mentors — to light the way in small, steady, transformative ways. They awaken curiosity. They cultivate courage. They help shape the leaders our world will one day need.

Carver understood this. Germaine embodies it.

From Reflection to Action

As you move through this full, busy season, consider:

Who are the Pathfinders in your life that we should be honoring?
Who am I teaching, mentoring, or coaching — and how can I bring Carver’s attentiveness and generosity into my own practice?
Where is the “depleted soil” in my life or leadership — and what could I plant there to bring renewal?

Because leadership doesn’t have to be about having the answers. It could be about helping others discover theirs.

Until Next Week

We’ll be here — building this conversation together, one story and one reflection at a time.

Next week, we’ll explore The Visionary’s Way, featuring Luvvie Ajayi Jones, a cultural critic, truth-teller, and courageous voice who helps us see beyond the moment and imagine what’s possible.

Lindsay Gaskins

Co-Founder and CEO of BREAKTHRU