On the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and just days following the Apalachee school shooting, hundreds gathered in the famous Fox Theater to hear renowned scientist and activist Jane Goodall speak. For an hour and a half, this exceptional nonagenarian stood and spoke with grace, humor, honesty, and no notes. She told her life story, shared her hard-earned wisdom, and inspired everyone present, making her case for hope even in dark and discouraging times.
A trailblazer in her field, Goodall helped establish evolutionary and behavioral links between chimps and humans. She observed chimpanzees constructing and using tools, experiencing emotions, and forming social hierarchies- all activities previously thought to be uniquely human. Her discoveries, made in a literal field, redefined how scientists view and classify animals, and how they distinguish wild animals from human beings.
Though she is best known for her ground-breaking research on chimpanzees, Goodall cares deeply about humans. She sees the fate of the natural world as intertwined with, if not inseparable from humanity’s. “Where animals suffer, humans suffer,” said Goodall.
In the 1990s, Goodall partnered with Tanzanian youths to combat deforestation in Gombe National Park. They worked to conserve the forest, protect its chimp population, facilitate local stewardship of nature, and create educational opportunities for young people. Their efforts restored the forest, nurtured the community, and planted the seeds for Roots and Shoots, an international youth organization that empowers youths to create positive change in their communities. Goodall has hope for the future because of young people. She tells them what her mother told her: “If you work hard and seize every opportunity, you can do anything you want.”
Enamored with ‘indomitable spirits,’ Goodall told other stories of perseverance, resilience, and hope, such as her own. Though she had been obsessed with wildlife from infancy (she would sneak worms into her crib), Goodall, being from a poor family, could not finance college. Instead, she attended secretarial school. It wasn’t where she dreamed of being, but Goodall threw herself wholeheartedly into her profession, striving for excellence in the domain. She made the most of it, and ultimately, it was her secretarial skills that afforded her a job working in the scientific field.
Goodall engages with reality as it is and works to make it as she wishes it could be. She doesn’t shy away from facts, even the harsh ones. Her honest appraisals of reality gained her the trust of her audience at the Fox. Unafraid to candidly address causes for despair, Goodall made her reasons for hope all the more meaningful. As Americans look to pave a way forward in the wake of disparaging and unconscionable acts of violence, we should follow Goodall’s lead, and rather than ignore reality, embrace it, so that we can change it for the better.
