Jason Koski/University Photography

Common Council Rep. J.R. Clairborne (2nd Ward) recounts several stories of inspiration from his own life at Soup and Hope, Jan. 31.

A longtime Ithaca resident, former reporter and the 2nd Ward representative who is the longest-serving member of the current Ithaca Common Council, J.R. Clairborne sees evidence of hope everywhere.

“You don’t have to look to Hollywood or TV or the movies for stories of hope or inspiration; these stories are all around you,” he said at the Jan. 31 Soup and Hope talk in Sage Chapel – and proved his point by sharing a number of them.

“What inspires and sustains me is the power of everyday people to overcome what are seemingly insurmountable odds, obstacles that make you wonder, ‘How can they do that?’ and yet they seem to keep going every day,” he said.

For instance, Clairborne recalled, early in his journalism career he was at a camp for children with the AIDS virus and their families and had an animated interview there with a girl of about 7 years old. She was full of strength and vitality, and seemed oblivious to the disease she had. Then, once he moved to Ithaca, Clairborne met Diann Sams, then a single mom and the 2nd Ward alderwoman on Common Council. She had severe rheumatoid arthritis and yet made “living look easy,” Clairborne recalled, saying she raised two sons who are now in law enforcement, served on the Ithaca City School District Board of Education, was a local civil rights leader and active with the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC). Before her death in 2005, Sams received numerous awards as well as inclusion on the Wall of Tolerance at the Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, Ala.

Jason Koski/University Photography

Cornellians enjoy soup and mingle in Sage Chapel.

“I am also inspired by the stories of people who go to great lengths – out of love or determination – to simply do somebody else good,” Clairborne said. He recalled watching first responders run toward the site of an explosion in the town of Caroline to assist those who had been hurt. More recently he has been inspired by Tony Augustine, an Ithaca police officer who almost lost his life last October after being shot while in pursuit of a suspected car thief. Clairborne says that in January Augustine, as a way of giving back during his recovery, collected and donated numerous toys, games and equipment to GIAC as a first step toward building connections between the police force and children in the community.

Others who have inspired Clairborne include Cal Walker, Cornell’s outreach liaison to the Ithaca City School District and co-founder of the Village at Ithaca education initiative; Nathaniel Wright, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, who was the church’s assistant minister at just age 15; and Clairborne’s wife Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, a Tompkins County legislator. When they met, she was a single mom with one son and raising a foster son, whom she later adopted, while providing respite care for other foster children. And he is inspired by the organization Loaves and Fishes, where Clairborne works, which feeds 125-150 people daily through a staff of six, along with volunteers.

Finally, Clairborne connected the song “I Go to the Rock,” which opened his talk at Sage, with stories about the “rock” of his life, his mom, the Rev. Earline Clairborne. During Clairborne’s childhood, this former nurse educator would see a need in their community in Kansas and make things happen to meet that need. She was a civil rights pioneer in her own right and the person whom everyone sought out for help because she never took “no” for an answer. Today she is far progressed with Alzheimer’s disease and talks little. Still, on a recent night, she unexpectedly mustered the lucidity and recognition to say “I love you” when Clairborne visited her.

But stories of hope are not just around us; they are us, Clairborne said. “When you want to look for someone who is a source of inspiration, you need look no further than in the mirror: Look to yourself, and remember that you are somebody,” Clairborne said. “There is always someone watching you and watching what you do. They will adjust their life according to what they see as the lesson in your life,” he said.

He should know. Since Clairborne’s talk at Soup and Hope, he and his wife were named co-recipients of this year’s J. Diann Sams Annual African American History Month Recognition Award.