Dear Friends,
Black History Month invites us to reflect on service and how it shapes lives across generations. In my family, that history picks up with Robert and Mitchell Higginbotham, both Tuskegee Airmen. They served a country that denied them full recognition, yet they carried out their duty with precision and resolve. Their example was not about recognition. It was about responsibility and commitment to doing the work that needed to be done.
That standard carried forward with my father, George Diggs, who served two tours in the Army during the Vietnam War. His experience left a lasting mark on how he viewed duty, family, and perseverance. Outside of the military, my family operated a small local business on Cape Cod where trust mattered and your word meant something. Service was not talked about as an idea. It showed up in how you treated people every day and how you took your obligations to heart.
As a young man, boxing became my way into the big, wide world. It gave me structure and discipline at a formative time in my life. Through the sport, I traveled, met people from different places, and learned what it meant to earn respect through effort. Boxing teaches you quickly that you do not succeed alone. Coaches guide you. Training partners push you. Even opponents play a role in your growth. Those lessons stayed with me and helped me to achieve success.
Later in life, service took on a more personal weight. I lost my son and my brother to drunk drivers. That kind of loss forces you to decide how you will move forward. I chose to stay engaged and to channel that grief into work that could make communities safer and more connected. I was able to do that because my community stepped in and stood with me when it mattered most.
Service does not belong to one role or one moment. It can look like military duty, public office, or community leadership. It can also look like caring for a neighbor, running an honest business, or showing up when someone is struggling. At its core, service is about accountability to one another and a belief that shared effort, being part of a team, leads to better outcomes.
Black history is filled with people who understood this truth. They leaned on collective strength and stayed rooted in their communities. Their progress came from persistence and cooperation, not shortcuts. Those lessons remain relevant in Massachusetts in how we govern and how we live together.
Service is not about a title or a moment. It is the daily work of showing up with integrity, listening, and doing right by the people you serve – God bless.
