you have got to take that torch and run
with it and do everything that you can
to become knowledgeable because when
you're knowledgeable there's power with
that maxine Ingram some of you may have
never heard that quote let alone know
the woman behind it but to me as a
student of revolt high school the woman
behind him is an important figure you
see Maxine Ingram was one of the 10
african-american students to integrate
into reball high school at the
desegregation Maxine in WA once told me
the stories of how her first day pulling
into the gates of revolt High School in
a motorcade coming out in a black
limousine with police escort she said
her first day of school in the classroom
she sat down when she sat down the white
students on the side of the class she
said on got up and went to the other
side she told me the story about walking
in the hallways and saying how she would
be the only student on one side of the
hall because the white students did not
want to walk with her
Maxine Ingram told me there would be a
chant that would be sung it would say n
es TL e Nestle makes the very best
chocolate and they were saying that she
was coming the dark-skinned girl Maxine
Ingram also told me the story that still
haunts her today that even her teachers
who were there to educate her often
asked her why was she here and she told
me that while in lunch one day eggs were
thrown at her and a teacher had to
escort her out you see Maxine Ingram
along with these other nine African
American students will be the ones to
reshape the culture of revolt high
school and the Northside community had
sits in I come to you all today because
I want to speak to you a letter that I
wrote to my school and also to my
Northside community here it is this is
my love letter to Reebok and our beloved
Northside community you see I believe
the local inner city high school is an
institutional anchor in our community
that is set forth
prepare us for our future in a road map
to where it takes us
they often say it takes two to tango but
to me it can take three it takes the
students the administration and the
community working together to bring
about change of pride excellence and
knowledge something we all feel good
about to my administration I imagine
sitting in a room I see the
administration of principals assistant
principals and key teachers talking to
students asking us how we feel about our
school leadership how we feel about our
school environment and what is going on
in our classrooms and how we can be
instrumental in changing what happens at
3701 wouldn't drive to my students I
feel the ways that we can bring about
pry into our school is working together
we work together by making sure that we
show people that our school is better
than what they see and what they hear we
show people how we care about our school
by taking care of the facilities that we
work in that we learn in we show them
how we care about the beautification of
our school we show people that rebar is
more than what they hear we show people
that we are a school full of innovators
performers athletes and leaders we show
people rebar has history we show them
that we are the School of Olympic
gold-medalist Chandra cheese borough the
school of Jacksonville City Councilwoman
Brenda Jackson the school of NFL
superstar Lavernia Scholz we Sean we
have history we show them that rebound
high school is grand
we are indeed the true pride of the
Northside to my community the Northside
is time you step up it's time you just
don't come to rebar just for reigns and
Reebok week and then the day of when
it's all over you leave and never come
back it's time you come before during
and after
it's time the community shows us that
there is more to offer than the fact
that in the north side in the northwest
side of Jackson where we have over 40%
poverty rate it's time the community
shows us that there is more than the
fact that over last year in 2019 we had
over 158 159 people in the City of
Jacksonville died most of them young
black men who look like me and the
brothers that I attend school with it's
time that the community shows us that
there is more to the fact than that we
have in our Northside community that a
low household income of only $22,000
annually it's time that the people who
have came out of rebound and have become
successful come back and show us that
there is more to offer than what we see
it's time that community comes in and
step up it's time that we as a people of
the Northwest Side we build our school
it's time that our leaders step up bring
back the old actions of former reball
leaders like the late great Alvin white
early locking and dr. James young
leaders who knew all their students by
name and care for them as a parent cares
for their own child we build a vision of
hope and saying that it brings to me a
quote that the great ancestor George
Washington Carver once said where there
is no vision there was no hope civil
rights leaders rustlers Pearson and
Wendell Holmes they had a vision and
they had hope their vision and their
hope was a revolt in their vision and
their hope was that the reball ten would
bring on a different change in this city
at the desegregation their vision and
their hope was at the reebok ten would
set out a course of what rebound and
Jacksonville's future would look like
and as president of my class as a
student of my school I will not enough
shall not allow their vision and their
hope to die I shall not let their
sacrifice the rebar tens died thank you
ladies and gentlemen
[Applause]