- To all of you out there who are just getting started,
who are finding your place within this next generation
of leaders and artists and change makers,
look, I know this time in your life
might feel overwhelming.
You're coming into your own, trying to create a new path
for yourselves just like so many gifted black artists
on this program once had to do for themselves,
and that means taking risks, making mistakes,
deciding who it is you are underneath all the pressures
and expectations that other folks want to put on you.
It's a lot, and that's not even considering
the unique power of this moment in history.
Your generation knows all too well that
those old fault lines of fear, racism and discrimination
based on the color of your skin weren't erased by a civil war
or the passing of the Civil Rights Act,
and certainly the election of a black president.
You've seen too much, too much hate in the news
and in your social media feeds,
too many torches burning and racist flags waving,
too many black folks shot cold or choked out,
too many folks ransacking the very center of our democracy.
And too often, this behavior goes unchecked and unpunished,
leaving us with the sad realization
that in America, liberty, justice,
and accountability are not for all,
and it all leaves a pit in your stomach.
It courses through your nerves the minute you step out the door,
and it feels like a threat not just to our country
or even to our rights,
but to us, to our safety,
to our lives.
And when you're faced with all of that,
the natural response is to want to turn inward,
to harden yourselves against the outside world.
Look, I understand that instinct.
Believe me, I do.
But I've also learned that shutting everything out
is only a temporary fix.
And you and me? We need something that lasts.
In politics, yes, we've gotta participate,
we've gotta vote, but even more than that,
we need something that allows us
to live fully and freely,
to be who we are every second of every day.
And that means we gotta let people in,
into our stories, into our experiences,
into our hopes and our fears and our rawest vulnerabilities.
We gotta talk it out.
We gotta write it out, rhyme it out,
sing it out, shout it out,
and do it with all the sweetness and spice
and frustration and joy
and celebration that makes us who we are.
We've gotta share it with our girlfriends and our brothers,
with our neighbors and our mothers.
We've got to share it with everybody,
because that's how we help people see the truth of who we are.
Now, to me, that's what the Black Renaissance is all about.
All the creators and artists who by baring their truest selves
are shining their light out wider
out on to all of our stories,
illuminating all their beauty
and their pain so that as a community,
as a country, we can find our way
through this world together.
That's what we celebrate this month,
and what we should be celebrating
every day of our lives--
the truth that our lives matter,
our stories matter.
And when we share them,
that's better for everyone.
So, I simply hope that all of you out there
see yourselves as part of this renaissance,
because we're not gonna get very far without you.
I want you to see the beauty in your experiences.
I want you to put your stories out there,
because when you do those things,
you'll let the world in,
and you'll bring us all a little closer together.
I cannot wait to see the art, the songs,
the hope you all will create in the years to come.
Love you all.
( music playing )