Live Human Signposts - Community Guidance and Hope in Action

Executive Summary

The concept of "live human signposts" represents a powerful framework for understanding community guidance and mentorship, developed by civil rights activist and educator Vincent Harding. These individuals serve as embodied beacons of possibility, offering direction through their lived experiences and demonstrating alternative pathways for others navigating challenging circumstances. Unlike abstract ideals or distant role models, live human signposts provide tangible, accessible guidance through direct relationship and authentic storytelling, creating networks of support that illuminate possibilities for personal and collective transformation.

Conclusion

The live human signpost concept recognizes that hope and guidance are most powerful when they are embodied in real people who can demonstrate through their lives that change is possible. Vincent Harding's vision continues to offer valuable guidance for how communities can identify, support, and learn from the signposts that already exist among them while creating conditions for new signposts to emerge, bridging individual possibility and collective transformation.