Hello Terriers, and congratulations.
Thank you to my fellow trustees, to Dean Fiedler, to the faculty, staff - it is really a privilege
to join you today to celebrate the class of 2016 and also to give another shout out to
the parents, grandparents, family, and friends. This is your day too.
As my mother said often, we need to savor the moment. Welcome to the new Boston University
Alums as you join over 300,000 living alumni on the planet who share a legacy of excellence
and commitment to education.
Nearly 50 years ago, as I was about to graduate from COM, I could never have imagined standing
here before you on such an auspicious occasion. You will obtain many memories and many friends
from your BU experience, including the tragedy of the Boston Marathon Bombing, just as the
class of '68 remembers the assassination a few months earlier of Doctor Martin Luther
King Jr. We learn from these experiences and we move forward to make a better world. And
so today, for these few moments together, we're time travelers, going back to the future
and simultaneously gazing into a crystal ball, envisioning your journey over the next half
century in the year 2066.
By sharing the highlights of my family history, I hope to inspire each
and every COM graduate, whether you are a first generation college student, or you
hail from an established generation of college educated folks. Regardless of how you got
here, with or without financial aid and from whatever region of the nation or the world…
you are beneficiaries of a world class academic experience that equips you to compete and
contribute to your communities.
The key question for us in this moment is "What will be your legacy?" The American story
that I’m about to tell is populated with a cast of characters that includes me, both
of my parents, a sister, two uncles, the father of my three children, a nephew, and several
cousins. The common denominator between the 20th and 21st century African Americans and
each one of you is their BU alumni status. In fact, these 9 members of my family have
earned 10 graduate or undergraduate degrees at BU, in law, art, music, violin, history,
and communication, since 1935.
[Applause]
Thank you, this is an important part of my legacy. This odyssey begins nearly 100 years
ago when my uncle, Willard Brown, a graduate of West Virginia State, which is a historically
black college and university, enrolled in BU Law school and stayed for five years to
earn an LLB and an LLN. Segregation and racism paved the way for his BU education, since
many Southern states denied admission to Negroes, as we were called then, for graduate programs.
However, many qualified, determined Negro students who were not accepted to these schools
received state subsidy grants to attend northern schools and it is ironic that many of these
disenfranchised students from West Virginia and other southern states ultimately returned
to fight for economic and social justice, which transformed their communities and improved
the quality of life for everyone….
This BU pioneer in my family, Willard Brown, was my Mother's Brother and the only son of
A.H Brown, a successful entrepreneur and realtor with a 4th grade education. And when Willard
returned to Charleston West Virginia with 2 BU Law degrees, he became lead lawyer for
the West Virginia NAACP in the historic US supreme court in the 1954 school segregation
hearing, generally known as Brown v. Board of Education, which was the far-reaching case
that included West Virginia and 16 other states.
A year later in 1955, with the help of his son Willard, my grandfather filed the lawsuit
that prevailed against Sky Chief 5:28 restaurant, desegregating lunch counters in Charleston
at the airport known as Jager airport. Then moving forward in time, 1963, Uncle Willard,
as the President of the local NAACP for nearly 16 years, organized the West Virginia delegation
to the 1963 March on Washington, and it was on that trip
that I was an eyewitness to history and first heard Dr. Martin Luther King Junior,
one of the most celebrated BU alumni. This was surely a defining moment in my youth that
significantly has influenced my life’s journey. Willard went on to become the first African
American attorney to sit as a judge in court at a court of record in West Virginia, he was
subsequently elected to the Charleston city council. He litigated the most civil rights
cases filed in West Virginia back to 1935. His accomplishments are too numerous to mention
here. It is fair to say, however, that he lived a busy life dedicated to service and
the state of West Virginia and in fact the entire country received a great ROI from
Willard's BU education. His legacy endures as a champion for civil rights, especially
matters of race, justice, and inclusion.
Another character in my family tree may inspire the storytellers and
creative spirits among you in the class of 2016 is Willard’s sister, Dellah Brown,
my mom. She arrived on the BU campus in 1943, also from West Virginia State College, where
she studied pre-med, but in Boston she pursued her love of art and earned her MFA in 1945,
remaining in Boston for a decade while working at the Fogg museum on the other side of the
river and teaching art in local schools. Ultimately though, Dellah returned as to Charleston,
West Virginia, with her BU training and dedicated her career to lifelong learning and teaching,
becoming a professor at West Virginia State. And when she retired after a 30 year stint
there, she left as the chair of the art department of the college. Always a risk taker, Dellah
applied for a sabbatical a year before her retirement to complete her residency and her
coursework at Kent State University for the Doctorate she always dreamed of. When asked
why she chose to pursue this lofty goal at such a late stage if her career, she promptly
replied and I quote: " To be an example for my three adult children, my seven grandchildren,
and to demonstrate to other people with a passion that it's never too late to pursue
your dreams. She subsequently retired to a coastal community in Massachusetts where
the Obamas like to vacation in the summer that will not be named to complete her dissertation.
And in 1994, at the age of 72, I had the pleasure of witnessing my mother receive her
Ph.D.
[Applause]
Finally, we are pleased that the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center here at BU requested Dellah’s
papers in 2006, and more than 200 boxes of materials, including diaries back to 1937,
her dissertation notes and more than 300 obituaries remembering family and friends, many written
by her, are in the Mugar library to inform and enlighten scholars and researchers with
an interest in examining Dellah's life and legacy.
So that's Dellah's legacy, a proud Boston University Grad. But once again I ask you,
each of you in the class of 2016 to take a moment and ask yourself the question, “What
do you want your legacy to be?”...
My own life story is still being written. Each day brings a certain amount of wonder
and possibility. Recently I assumed leadership, as you heard, of the Birmingham Civil Rights
institute: a museum of the future, about the past- This role has made me even more keenly
aware of the importance of legacy from an institutional as well as an individual perspective.
And the value of preserving history while also reinterpreting the lessons of the past
to promote future civil and human rights efforts in the US and worldwide. Each of you has an
open invitation to come and visit the institute, and it may actually be a good place for you
to reflect upon the idea of legacy.
Last week, I participated in two separate events that are illustrative. The first was
the Day of Remembrance program sponsored by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington
D.C that honored the rapidly dwindling population of Holocaust survivors that are among us.
And the second event was in Birmingham, the Soldier's reunion that honors the students
that were terrorized with dogs, hoses, jail, and bombing in 1963 when they participated
in the Children’s March, and the movement led by Dr. King and other leaders.
Your journey is just beginning, in a time when the world continues to evolve in dynamic
and dramatic ways. The need for innovative solutions, new knowledge, improved communications,
and better human relations in and between people locally, nationally, and globally has
never been greater. Societies have always looked to young people to lead the way to
be disruptors, to challenge authority, to bring forth new ideas that will transform
our communities…. There are many, many pathways to success… There are no cookie cutter guidelines.
There are no right or wrong answers. However, knowledge from what previous generations have
done can be a guide, but new models - I repeat, new models are required to deal with the challenges
of today’s world. Some qualities for success don't change, such as leadership, vision,
adaptation, innovation, and commitment. How they are applied in today’s context is what’s
important. But looking back, 35, 45, or even 50 years from this graduation day, I ask again,
what will your legacy be? It may sound like a long time from now, but take it from me
and I have the gray hair to prove it. It will be here before you know it. No one knows for
sure at the start of life’s journey what lies ahead, but everyone leaves a legacy,
whether planned or not. Surprisingly, 100 years passes quickly, as my family story can
attest. So take the long view, in the era of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other
tech tools that populate the contemporary landscape, I encourage you to take some down time. Pause
from time to time to think about what you can accomplish through leadership, disruption,
and public service… There will be plenty of opportunities to acquire new knowledge
and training as effective communicators - to move people to tears, and to spur action.
In our rapidly changing society there are infinite set of issues clamoring for attention--
climate change, quality education, health and wellness, infrastructure, poverty, urbanization
just to name a few. And the cacophony of voices in the public square often becomes quite shrill
and truth remains elusive. Those who take the time to understand what’s happening
and importantly, why things are happening, will be able to chart new paths for others
to follow. Regardless of who you are in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin,
or other characteristics, the potential that you have to be great and to make a difference
resides within each of you. What you choose to do with this amazing gift of a Boston University
education is hanging in the balance, and I ask that you leave here today with the willingness
to consider a plan of action to identify, commit to, and achieve your personal and professional
goals. You have unlimited potential. The world needs you and all young people to continue
the legacy, to be the stewards of the planet, and to contribute to human development for
all people. Your journey is just beginning. The whole world is watching and cheering
from the sidelines, as millennials, the generation of which you are a part, steps onto the world
stage with the energy and the desire to transform local, national, and global society. Remember,
defining and expanding your legacy begins now.
As communicators, use your voices wisely. We are listening. I leave you with dreams
by poet Langston Hughes: "Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged
bird that cannot fly…hold fast to dreams, for when dreams go, life is a barren field
filled with snow." Good luck, and enjoy the journey as you build your legacy - savor the
moment, class of 2016. Thank you.