The Higher Education Graduation Speech You Deserve
Recently, I was nominated to be the graduation speaker for the Higher Education Masters Hooding ceremony on my campus. I didn’t really want to, mostly because I didn’t have the energy to address a mostly white cisgender heterosexual crowd. However, I thought about the handful of graduates of color who used their vote to have me speak- so I agreed to be considered.
The Process:
Step 1- students nominate potential speakers
Step 2 — professor contacts possible speakers to gauge interest and availability
Step 3 — professor brings updated speaker list to class, and the entire cohort takes a paper vote
After learning of the process, I remember speaking with several students of color who voted for me. I let them know that there was very little chance the rest of their predominantly white co-hort would select me, and to get comfortable with the idea of a well-intentioned white woman being their graduation speaker.
I was correct.
This is a significant example of how we refuse to interrogate and think critically on the processes we create with an equitable framing, or how we intentionally protect the institution that is higher education. Because our graduate students of color at dynamic intersections deserve better, I decided to create my own podium and give the speech I would have given if I were selected.
The Speech:
{Steps up to podium, adjust mic, line-up tight, lips perfectly hydrated, and skin properly buttered up}
Dear Higher Education Graduates,
As I give this speech, I need you to commit to being radically honest with yourself and our current conditions. Fight through the fragility.
{Actual speech begins}
I want to remind you that something built on exclusion can never be the home of inclusion and safety, unless we’re prepared to reckon with the past and dismantle the rules that got us to this toxic place. The system that is higher education continues to escape an honest and comprehensive reckoning, and at the current pace will remain beyond arms length.
I’m not interested in a feel good speech today- a speech that would inevitably reinforce the status quo in regards to justice and liberation. f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶f̶e̶e̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶e̶m̶p̶t̶y̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶t̶r̶i̶b̶u̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ I’m not interested in telling you that you are the brightest and the most talented bunch of professionals- you’re not. I’m not interested in telling you that you’re entering a field that values inclusivity and humanity- it doesn’t. And I’m not interested in telling you that you are a good person because I’m more interested in helpful people.
Your academic programs continue to fail you. Your faculty continues to fail you. Your assistantships and supervisors continue to fail you. And you continue to fail the students who need you the most- the students who have been resigned to the margins of the margins. You are exactly what this system has created- folks who are unhelpful and steeped in performative gestures.
I’ve worked in higher education for the past 16 years in this Black fat queer body. Being conscious of my Blackness, my fatness, and my queerness came a little later in my career, but I always knew that I didn’t fit in.
I̶ ̶a̶l̶w̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶k̶n̶e̶w̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶v̶a̶l̶u̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶i̶g̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶e̶d̶u̶c̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶s̶p̶a̶c̶e̶s̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶l̶e̶v̶e̶r̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶o̶l̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶I̶’̶v̶e̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶e̶r̶i̶e̶n̶c̶e̶d̶.̶ ̶ ̶A̶n̶d̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶I̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶I̶’̶m̶ ̶m̶e̶t̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶s̶p̶e̶c̶t̶a̶c̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶b̶e̶l̶i̶e̶f̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶t̶e̶n̶ ̶r̶e̶-̶t̶r̶a̶u̶m̶a̶t̶i̶z̶e̶d̶.̶ ̶
I continue to be tokenized on taskforces and search committees;
I continue to be labeled unprofessional because I center truth and refuse to put my fat ass in uncomfortable “professional” clothing;
I continue to be invisible until shyt hits the fan, and then I’m magically scapegoated and hypervisible;
I continue to experience gaslighting;
I continue to be violently surveilled;
I continue to be underprioritized, underrepresented, and underpaid.
A̶n̶d̶ ̶I̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶t̶i̶n̶u̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶…̶e̶x̶h̶a̶u̶s̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶I̶ ̶a̶t̶t̶e̶m̶p̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶u̶r̶v̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶f̶i̶e̶l̶d̶.̶ ̶
It is relentless and unending. It continues.
This field is violence, and if you’re still struggling to make sense of this, you are the problem.
We work in a field that allows white rich men to proudly sing “there will never be a ni**a in SAE.”
We work in a field that uplifts white mediocrity and demonizes Black and brown bodies.
We work in a field that allows trans people to be berated on the streets of our campuses a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶v̶a̶r̶i̶o̶u̶s̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶r̶o̶o̶m̶s̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶m̶u̶r̶d̶e̶r̶o̶u̶s̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶i̶s̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶d̶e̶.̶ ̶
We work in a field that allows Black and brown undocumented peoples to live in a constant state of fear, and a complete afterthought to every decision made and policy enacted.
We work in a field that Blacklists Black liberation seekers and truth tellers.
We work in a field that uplifts and promotes false profits and frauds.
We work in a field that breeds white feminism and white woman solutions.
We work in a field that allows a white woman to put feces on her roommate’s (a Black woman) toothbrush with very minimal consequence.
We work in a field where a white professional can publicly state that it never occurred to them that Black students might be affected by the happenings in Ferguson, MO. And then continues by blaming their Black colleagues for not telling them.
We work in a field that refers mentally ill students to inaccessible services.
We work in a field that allows academic buildings and residence halls to operate without accessible entrances.
We work in a field that still allows monuments and symbols of oppression to stand proudly on our campuses.
We work in a field that honors dead unhelpful white men by naming buildings after them and displaying their portraits in conference rooms and student unions.
We work in a field that consistently have all white staffs in institutional equity offices, conduct offices, academic departments, residence halls, and health centers.
We work in a field where a woman and gender non-conforming human can be stalked, verbally abused, and murdered and nothing will happen systemically.
We work in a field that allows a white graduation marshal to push and tug at Black students as they walk across the stage on one of the most memorable days of their lives.
We work in a field where a white woman can call the cops on two native students on a campus tour- all because she thought they were “creepy kids” with weird symbols on their clothing.
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list on how we fail marginalized peoples in higher education, but the above is more than enough to get conversations going.
At some point we must stop lying. Ask yourself, h̶o̶n̶o̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶q̶u̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶p̶e̶e̶c̶h̶, how much of the aforementioned list did you discuss in the classroom? In your assistantship?
We can’t even call ourselves well-intentioned at this point; we are willfully violent. Jim, Jane, and Jessie Crow are alive on our campuses.
Honesty, authenticity, and integrity are words that we throw around, as if we possess those attributes. We create unattainable goals and expectations from this falsehood. So then. This whole profession becomes a game. Who can be the kindest, the most inclusive, and the most concerned? Except it is all performance and renders no real positive outcomes. No actual reckoning with self occurs. We allow ourselves to be great in this made-up world, and quiet the internal and external voices that inform us of our complacency and collusion in the murder of our so-called fellow humans. And this only applies to the folks who acknowledge our current state as toxic and phucked up- many still do not and many are actively clinging to status quo…Re: the barista firing VP.
Moreover, we are disingenuous. Often asking, “what can I do?” “What should I do?” At times, even demanding to be told what to do- all informed by our lack of commitment to justice and liberation. Most of the time we know what must be done, and we choose not to do it. We know we should say something when the president of our university confuses the two Black women on their senior cabinet. We know we should do something when peers and guest to our campuses consistently misgenders a colleague; We know there is more to do when a colleague compliments a person of color on how articulate they are or when a man colleague continues to speak over women in departmental meetings. Although your responses may not address the issue systemically, it’s still critical to call these aggressions out.
I want to live in a time and place where radical honesty is centered. Where we can call racists racists and transantagonists transphobic. I want to live in a place where we can discontinue the band-aid framing, and move towards systemic initiatives. I want to live in a time and place where I don’t have to convince people to act humanely. I want to live in a time and place where you don’t expect me to tell you what to do next (typically unpaid).
I want to live fully and safely. I want the rules to protect people like me. H̶o̶w̶e̶v̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶e̶n̶t̶i̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶h̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶c̶o̶r̶e̶,̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶c̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶c̶a̶m̶p̶u̶s̶ ̶p̶o̶l̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶r̶e̶p̶o̶r̶t̶ ̶m̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶i̶t̶u̶t̶i̶o̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶a̶u̶t̶h̶o̶r̶i̶t̶i̶e̶s̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶k̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶t̶t̶a̶c̶k̶-̶ ̶c̶e̶r̶t̶a̶i̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶ ̶m̶a̶d̶e̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶a̶t̶t̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶m̶a̶d̶e̶-̶u̶p̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶l̶d̶.̶ ̶
Wake up! N̶o̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶f̶u̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶u̶t̶i̶l̶i̶z̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶d̶ ̶w̶o̶k̶e̶.̶
{End of speech; w̶a̶l̶k̶s̶ ̶a̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶p̶o̶d̶i̶u̶m̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶o̶s̶s̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶n̶e̶r̶}
The Take-Away:
Because higher education loves a take-away, and I’m unwilling to tell you what to do next, below is a processing activity to explore within your organizations, departments, and communities. All questions should be first explored as an individual then discussed as a group. Please remember that risk does not look the same for everyone in this conversation, so adjust facilitation when needed to ensure safety. This activity is no good if honesty is not centered.
What do you fear most as you engage a journey of justice and liberation?
What did it feel like to be honest with yourself (in regard to the first question)? Was it easy/difficult? Why?
What does it look like to reckon with the truth?
What must you do as an individual to aid in dismantling a system that intends on killing the people you say you care about? Include life outside the 9–5.
What must you all do as an organization or department? What policies, practices, and behaviors must be interrogated?
Bio:
Cody Charles is the author of Roseanne Is Back! And This Time I Am Not Tuning In, Mudbound: Uncovering The Parts Of Ourselves We Sacrifice In Order To Survive,Student Affairs is a Sham,19 Types of Higher Education Professionals, Favorite Blackity Black Quotes In Black Cinema, Engaging My Black Fat Body, Black Up The Cast: Re-imagining Iconic Horror Films, I’m Fearful of White People and Whiteness, Re-Imagining Black Love, You Can’t Outdo Black People, Black Joy, We Deserve It, The Night The Moonlight Caught My Eye: Not a Review but a Testimony on the Film Moonlight, 5 Tips For White Folks, As They Engage Jordan Peele’s Get Out. (No Spoilers), and What Growing Up Black And Poor Taught Me About Resiliency. Join him for more conversation on Twitter (@_codykeith_) and Facebook (Follow Cody Charles). Please visit his blog,Reclaiming Anger, to learn more about him.
