WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama was the keynote speaker for the Graduate Together celebration over the weekend. The national event was meant to highlight graduates whose graduations were put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. He delivered two speeches.
He was about halfway through his first commencement speech when he said,
“These aren’t normal times. You’re being asked to find your way in the world in the middle of a devastating pandemic and terrible recession”
That's I realized that while Obama was there for the graduates, he was speaking to all of us.
He delivered that line during the ceremony honoring the graduates of our nations HBCUs. He let those young grads know how proud he and the community is of them. How they should be proud of themselves, dealing with everything that has been dropped into their laps. Pointing out how the virus has exposed inequalities and added burdens that certain communities have had to deal with, he reminded them, and us, that injustice isn’t new in this country. That if this country is going to be better it’s up to all of us to make it so, but it’s going to start with them.
That they are who we’ve been waiting for.
That was the matinee appearance. For his second show in the evening, he started by letting those high school graduates know how proud he was of them. How strong they are for dealing with things that generations that came before them had no clue about. How it’s time to start to put their childhoods down and pick up the pressures of adulthood. And they are going to have to do it faster than many of us had to, because,
“All those adults that you used to think were in charge and knew what they were doing? It turns out that they don’t have all the answers”
I, too, want to wish congratulations to the class of 2020 and tell you how proud I am of you.
The world feels unstable right now, but we’re gonna right this ship, and you’re gonna be a big part of how we do it. And thank you President Barack Obama, Lebron James, Alex Rodriguez, Amy Schumer and everyone involved in this weekend's commencement events, for being that calm voice of reassurance and stability that we all needed to hear.