"The Dream Recalled; the Hope Reclaimed"
May 22, 2024
Presented by Dr. Ruth J. Simmons
President Tim Sams, faculty, staff, and guests of the graduates and, finally, members of the mighty Class of 2024, good afternoon. I am pleased and honored to be with you today to celebrate your achievements. This university has set high expectations for itself and its students, demonstrating an eternal truth – that exceptional achievement is the consequence not of dispassion, disinterest or modest effort but of impassioned, intentional and sustained attempts to mine the wellspring of knowledge and talent god has granted the human race. Making no concessions for the adverse conditions that we know you to have experienced during recent years, you have kept your eyes and efforts focused on the horizon. This constant focus on the future and hope for betterment is the essence of mankind’s fearsome potential in myriad domains of human capacity.
There are no doubt some of you graduating today who have not yet found the perfect job and there may be some who fear that you may never attain your career goals. Many of your parents, whether exultant as the proud parents of first generation college students or content that their children have followed a predictable course in earning a college degree, may also harbor concern that you will have a less economically secure or less successful future than they imagined when you were born. These worries are normal but they may be less relevant in the context of the future you will actually face. The
question may not be whether you will face enticing choices or have access to opportunities but whether you will recognize and pursue the best options and act wisely on them. But valuable and life affirming choices there will be for all of you. Take care that you set your sights on those opportunities that offer continued learning as well as the chance to contribute to enhancing the life choices of others.
I did not believe I would face such choices when I graduated from a small, little known college in New Orleans. It was the late sixties and our country was roiled in a manner similar to what we see today. I was advised that because of my race and gender little awaited me after college but a limited array of pursuits deemed fitting for those of my race and gender. Offended by these limitations, I further complicated the outlook for a career by choosing to major in French. “What on earth,” I was repeatedly asked, “did such a major have to do with the times, with societal needs, with the problems of my people, with the need for employment?” By nature a dreamer, I concluded that my idea of and hope for my future called on
me to make a choice meaningful to me. And so I stubbornly persisted in studying language and literature – an act of defiance, to be sure, but one that was one of the best decisions of my life. For I claimed hope in the face of limitations and held on to my dream of having a satisfying life in spite of naysayers who worried about how much I stood to earn and how few opportunities would be open to me.
My dream was perhaps modest by today’s standards. I aimed for no high faluttin’ recognition, no wealth beyond the means to live comfortably, no accolades for high achievement. Accolades were foreign to my ilk in that horrid era of legal discrimination. I simply knew that I had to impose my own high standards for the totality of my life and work hard to meet them. Having had so many sacrifice and die for my freedoms, how could I do less than lead an impassioned life that honored that sacrifice? That was my American Dream.
The so called American Dream has, over time, had scores of interpretations. Although we generally interpret this term to be
related to personal social mobility, it is also often linked specifically to home ownership. Running as a motif through American literature, philosophy and popular culture, the American Dream has become short hand for “the better life that I dream for myself and my children.” My parents never expressed such an ideal for this kind of aspiration in their time was for others – those who mattered; those who were legitimate citizens; those who were accorded rights as a birthright without the need to fight for them. They never expected to own their own home and I believe they did not expect their children to either. Their legacy to us was much deeper than the aspiration to have social status, an important job, or material wealth; they simply wanted us to be honest, respectful and decent human beings. This simple vision of basic decency and respect for others allowed me to dream of the opportunity to work toward shaping a world where peoples and cultures interacted in an environment of mutual respect and cooperation. And so, I studied language and culture, lived and traveled abroad, and made my way to higher education, which seemed the ideal place to work toward that end. This notion of a healthy community in which people work together across difference still propels me, fuels my interactions, and informs my decisions.
E. O. Wilson’s delineation of the modern dilemma of mankind is apt: how can we achieve what far less intellectually endowed species like ants have been able to do so well: to work in harmony to enhance survival? That harmony may seem like a distant dream in today’s world. Not only are we in the throes of enormous economic, religious, and political travails but the world has recently been beset by political violence, exposing the frayed hopes of many who believed in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s notion of a Beloved Community where freedom, equality and respect is achievable for every stratum and stripe; every gender, color and religion; every ability and preference.
We seem unable to solve the intractable dilemma of humans accepting and respecting others in the interest of a common life affirming humanity. We build unscalable walls to separate ourselves from others in a manner that belies the openness and freedom that we claim for ourselves.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a wonderful embodiment of the vision of a unified world: his faith in this concept reassured us; his seriousness of purpose persuaded us; his inclusive vision lifted us beyond a sordid history of discrimination and revenge. His beloved community was more than a concept; it was a calling.
Envisioning a compassionate future in which we care for one another across a chasm of difference, King saw love as the ultimate solution for the divisions in our country. He saw compassion as not only the most effective salve for deep divisions but also as the bridge to a more equitable reality in which socially constructed differences and narrow personal ambitions do not impede our common aims and understanding.
We stand today in need of reaffirming the importance of that dream of a beloved community. Recent events may have shattered the hopes of some for a country in which all are treated equally. It is time to reclaim King’s dream. Following this dream can be far more powerful than fighting the reality of challenging economic goals. It is more powerful than rioting to gain freedoms withheld. This dream sets before us a standard of moral behavior that often gets lost in our efforts to become wealthy or successful. It ushers us onto a meaningful path that cannot disappoint because it embraces a gratifyingly shared future that builds a better world. It bridges chasms that angrily hurled projectiles cannot. It animates in each of us a common striving. It gives us a deep and abiding contentment that narrow prejudice can never afford.
What will you do to advance this dream alongside your other goals? Pursuing important career goals is an entirely laudable endeavor and I wish you great success in attaining those goals and living a satisfying life. But will you insist on taking what you have learned here and applying it to the betterment of life for those without the benefits and freedoms you enjoy? Will you commit to working toward a beloved community in which everyone is treated fairly and with respect? Will you retain your diverse friendships and eschew segregated communities of belief and identity? Will you build walls or work avidly for reconciliation?
In these and the times to come, your dream cannot just be a great house and a fancy car. It cannot just be an entitlement to earn more than your parents and to live better than others. It must be an aspiration to improve upon the benefits that we have all received from those who fought for our freedoms. By being equitable, by respecting difference, by speaking truth to power, by accepting the full burden of citizenship, by fighting hopelessness, by not giving in to tribal instincts, and by proclaiming unashamedly that you believe in this dream, you can help bring about the change that we desperately need. Wherever you go, whatever you do, be a believer in justice, a believer that every human being matters, a believer who actively works to make this nation and the world the beloved community of Dr. King’s dream.
Thank you and I wish you the best in honing your skills as a dreamer.