Black History Fair Speech
Briana Adams
George Santayana once said, “those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it.” I chose to begin with this quote because I think it is extremely
important for us to be mindful and aware, of the significance of this moment. Our past
defines our present and sets us on a course towards our future. This is why we study
history and why we are here today remembering and celebrating Black History. America
has a long and complicated history especially regarding the African American population
and their struggle for justice and equality.
Though remembered for its victories and triumphs, the Civil Rights Movement, in
a sense, was America’s moral conscience. The movement held a mirror up to America,
asking it not just to listen to the voices of the oppressed but to listen to itself. What do I
mean by this? Well let’s take a closer look at Dr. King’s famous I have a dream speech.
Though we typically focus on the last few lines, which resonate themes of brotherhood
and equality, Dr. King had some harsh criticisms deeply embedded in his address. He
argued that,

the Negro is sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of
discrimination

the Negro is languished in the corners of American society and finds himself
an exile in his own land

that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of
color are concerned

instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro
people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds”

we can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable
horrors of police brutality.
Do these claims sound familiar? Can we recognize them in the discourse of today?
My task today, is to encourage all of you to engage on a quest towards moral
consciousness. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and many others
were able to impact the world around them because they were morally conscious. Or in
other words, they were sensitive and in tune with the racial and political climates in their
respective communities and abroad. Furthermore, they took action to rectify the injustices
and illnesses in these communities for the betterment of humanity.
Those of us who have had the opportunity to be a member of the Antilles
community have been able to thrive in a community of excellence and diversity. Look
around this theatre! We don’t see the world in black and white, but in a kaleidoscope of
color. We are united because we all call St. Thomas our home. We share in the pleasures
of local foods and the pain of untimely WAPA outages. However, at some point, you will
be confronted with some of the harsh realities and injustices that exist outside of our
island bubble. This is why it is so important for us to engage in conversations and make
active choices to become more morally conscious.
During my sophomore year at Penn State, I enrolled in a Civil Rights course and
over Spring Break, we embarked on a tour of key Civil Rights landmarks. We visited
Washington, D.C., Greensboro, North Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia, and Montgomery,
Birmingham and Selma, Alabama. We met civil rights legends such as James and the late
Julian Bond of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; walked across the
Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of the Selma to Montgomery March; and even looked at the
teddy bears and Christmas lists that belonged to the four little girls who were killed in the
bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. That trip changed my life. It helped me realize
that the civil rights struggle was ugly at times, and it still continues today. There is still
much work to be done.
Last year, members of the black community at Penn State were outraged with the
non-indictment of Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown of Ferguson,
Missouri. It was then that I decided to take action and become an active participant in
Penn State’s history. It was then that I decided to act on my moral consciousness. I joined
the other black leaders on campus, and we decided to hold a series of “die-in” protests on
Penn State’s campus to symbolize Michael Brown’s death, with the goal of bringing
awareness and showing that Black Lives Matter. After one of our protests, we were
joined by the President of the University, President Barron, who thanked us for being so
courageous and standing up for what we believed in. I then asked him if he could raise
his hands in the “hands up don’t shoot” position and take a photo with us. Imagine me, a
young black girl from the Virgin Islands, standing with the President of the Pennsylvania
State University with our hands held high in support of black lives. The backlash of this
photo in the Centre Daily Times exposed the true racist mentality of many people living
in Pennsylvania. In fact, many state senators demanded that President Barron resign and
apologize for taking the photo; however he stood by his decision and felt it was important
to support his students on such a morally charged issue. Following the die-ins, we were
able to sit down with Penn State’s administration and list a series of recommendations,
ranging from mandatory diversity courses, to frequent meetings with local enforcement
and more transparency from our administration. Our increased moral consciousness gave
Penn State’s administration an opportunity to improve our community, making it more
tolerant and inclusive for its students of color.
So what can each of you do to become more morally conscious? First, embark on
a quest for knowledge and information. Surround yourself with different types of
literature that can broaden your perspective and opinions. Second, travel somewhere new.
Third, be willing to understand someone else’s experience and embrace paradigm shifts
for the global progression of people. However, it is not enough just to know. Those who
become morally conscious must engage themselves in ways that actively challenge the
world we live in. We must create safe spaces for minorities and oppressed communities;
we must be open to learning about those who are different from us. We must
acknowledge race and gender discrepancies and empower others to do the same.
I want to encourage all of you today to continue the struggle that Dr. King and
many others have started. We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go
before we can truly live out the American dream. I have faith in America. I have faith in
humanity. And I have faith in Antilles School. Antilles, we shall overcome.
Thank you to Ms. Bennett for inviting me back to speak with all of you. I am truly
honored to be here and I hope I was able to inspire someone here to make a difference.
Thank you.