CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Leadership is never easy. Putting yourself out there at the risk of public criticism, insult or failure can be uncomfortable. But when you’re Black – particularly during the Jim Crow or civil rights era in the South – those risks go well beyond discomfort. In honor of Black History Month, let’s look back at not just at the “firsts” in local history, and not just at athletes and artists, but to leaders who took the risks and rose to the top to make Clarksville a better place for everyone.