“Racism persists, inequality persists”. Echoing his 2008 speech on race relations, “A More Perfect Union”, Obama urged the students at the historically black college to embrace their heritage and affect systemic change through the political process.
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Washington Post said Barack Obama denied that his presidency was the reason why the U.S.is a better nation for black Americans.
He said: “When I was graduating, the main black hero on TV was Mr. T. Rap and hip-hop were counterculture, underground”. He also went on to mention achievements of successful African-Americans in pop culture including Michael Jordan, Beyonce and Shonda Rhimes, as examples of how things have progressed with regard to Black ownership relative to when he was a new college graduate back in 1983.
But today, he said, “we’re producers, studio executives”.
“The Class of 2016 celebrated with the FIRST African-American in his last term as our United States president”, she said. “We’re mayors, representatives” – and, someone in the crowd shouted out, ‘president’.
“If they’re wrong, rebut them, teach them, beat them on the battlefield of ideas”, Obama said.
At Howard, he tailored this message toward the campus, noting some of the famous figures who have graduated from the school, including Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and calling Howard the “centerpiece of African American intellectual life and a central part of our larger American story”. “So, enjoy the party, because you’re going to be busy”. Or”, the president continued, “as my daughters tell me all the time: “‘You be you, Daddy'”.
‘But as complicated and intractable as these challenges may seem, the truth is your generation is in better position than any before you to meet those challenges’.
“America is a better place today than it was when I graduated from college”, Obama said, adding “by nearly every measure”.
Without neglecting all the negative stuff – Obama didn’t mince words about the persistence of racism and inequality – he said: “I wanted to start, Class of 2016, by opening your eyes to the moment that you are in”. That line drew cheers and applause, and Obama then said “that’s a different discussion for another speech”.
“That is our particular awareness of injustice, and unfairness, and struggle….” We can not be ignorant of history.
Obama also warned against a sense of entitlement.
Never mind the actual inequities that exist; it is the mere mentioning of those inequities that they fear.
In addition to the President, 91-year-old legendary actress Cicely Tyson also spoke to the students briefly after being presented with an honorary degree. “And if you don’t get what you want long enough, you will eventually think the whole system is rigged”.
“You gotta get in his head, too”, Obama said.
He encouraged students to vote “all the time, not just when it’s cool”-seeking, perhaps, to ensure that the young minorities who helped him win two presidential elections stay engaged when he’s not on the ballot this coming November”.
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Obama, 54, opened by telling the graduates that a lot of them were just starting high school when he was first elected in 2008.
