[Music]
[Applause]
well son I’ll tell you life for me ain’t
been no crystals there it’s had tax in
it and splinters and boards torn up and
places with no carpet on the floor bear
these verses take it from Lansing uses
poem mother the Sun captures a phrase
that many of us know all too well the
struggle is real but when I talk about
the struggle what am I talking about
exactly I’m talking about the struggle
just to make it to school each and every
single day I’m talking about the
struggle to survive inside and outside
of the classroom walls when I talk about
the struggle i’m talking about someone
seeking answers to important questions
no one seems to be taking seriously
questions like why do i go to school
questions like what is the point how was
school preparing me for life outside of
the classroom space is it life for me
ain’t been no crystal stair what is your
story and how is it connected to a
larger struggle take a moment and think
about it I remember when I graduated
high school I remember my dad literally
pressing his pride into my long black
graduation gown you see I was the last
of my sisters to graduate from high
school and my success was their success
I am because they are I remember when I
walked across the graduation the stage
no one screamed louder than my family in
the audience I mean there was so much
excitement it was another chapter that I
was completing but after all of that
die down and after all the confetti
cleared the next question came okay so
how are we going to pay for school at
that moment it felt like all of the
possibilities that once seemed endless
were being crushed one by one by one I
mean I had gotten and maintain good
grades I studied for and passed all of
my region’s some on the second try um I
remember poring over databases trying to
find ways to alleviate the cost of
attendance so much so that I lived in
the college office my advisor nicknamed
me midnight because if it took until
midnight to get that work done I would
be there I mean I had done everything
right right hard work pays off right so
then why did I feel like I was being
punished because of my socioeconomic
status why did I feel like I was being
penalized for not being able to afford
my dream school life for me ain’t been
no crystals there what happens when life
beyond the classroom impacts your life
within it Ben Kirchner and shun jian
right they co-wrote a piece and they
frame young people as agents of change
they talk about youth organizing and the
ways in which young people from working
class and poor communities Latinos and
African American students came together
when they talk about youth organizing
there’s three features that they discuss
the importance of identifying the social
origins of our pain mobilizing and
working
you see my story is connected to a
larger struggle of increasing access to
higher education for students whose
backgrounds are similar to mine but also
for students who look just like me what
are the tax and what are the splinters
in your own life when they talk about
identifying mobilizing and working what
does that mean what are they talking
about what does it mean to identify it
means to name and establish what or who
something or someone is have you
identified the roots of your pain the
roots of your oppression you see in the
poem I recited earlier a mother is
talking to her son about oppression
about injustice a mother is talking to
her son about a world that thrives off
of the pain of other people have you
identified the roots of your pain have
you taken the time to critically think
about what that might be when Jen Ryan
kirschner talk about youth organizing
they talk about mobilizing finding
people and allies and friends and
trusted adults in your communities and
your neighborhoods who are also invested
in healing who are also invested in
making a social change and lastly they
talk about work so once you’ve
identified the roots of your pain once
you understand once you understand it
more deeply and you’ve gotten together
with people to initiate some form of
action get to work because there’s work
to be done what does work work is
movement towards an intended outcome
purpose or goal you see life for me and
for many of us here ain’t been no
crystal stair it’s had tacks in it and
splinters and boards torn up and places
with no
carpet on the floor bear but today I ask
you to work with me as we engage in the
struggle so that all of us can have a
deeper understanding of the roots of our
pain and so that all of us here can
experience restoration from unhealed
wounds thank you [Applause]