The class of 2024 honored me with the Great Teacher Award this year. As part of this award, I gave a speech at the senior honors convocation on Friday, May 10, 2024. Since this was an invite only event, I have included a YouTube link of the speech here and the text of the speech below. This is dedicated to class of 2024 near and far and in solidarity to my students who were censored during commencement yesterday for asserting their human right to speech and protest.
Good afternoon everyone. What a monumental day, and I’m so excited to share this achievement with you all. When I found out I won this award, based on your votes, I was so honored. My dear friend and colleague, RL Watson, inspired me with this 🔥 title, in honor of my love of Hip Hop, which is having its own special moment (shoutout to Kendrick Lamar Duckworth and Megan Jovon Ruth Peters every day). As I accept this award today for Best Teacher, I want to first thank me, just like Snoop Dogg when he got a Hollywood Star, marking his complete journey from real gangsta rapper to pop culture icon
Yes, best teacher was the case that you, the class of 2024, gave me. And I accept the charges, proudly. But it’s not just y’all who gave me this case. Here are a few others:
My family: teachers in my family, my aunties; tutoring my cousins during summers
My ancestors: Black folks LOVE education, Haitian people like my parents left their home for their kids to pursue education
My community: my community of teachers keep me sharp; we care about teaching as an art, a skill, that one refines over time. Going back to my daycare teaching days, my first out of college job, then all that babysitting, nannying, YMCA coordinating…I’ve learned from teachers for over 15 years, and I hope I have inspired them to think about education as serious business, something to take seriously.
Since this is a commencement event, I wanted to impart some advice and adulting tips for class of 2024 from a Black woman millennial educator:
Y’all started school in 2020, the worst of times, so have NO FEAR. Nina Simone (a true OG), once said, you know what real freedom is? No fear! Times are wild, so be FREE. Don’t worry about what society or others tell you do to, the status quo no longer applies.
Stand on business: Have a code, like Omar from The Wire (RIP to another OG, Michael K Williams). Here is a bit of my code.
Be decent and respectful to people. You do not have to like or agree with someone to respect them. As my dad always says, I’m not better than anybody but nobody is better than me either. And that’s bars.
Say what you mean and mean what you say. Cuz word is bond (and that’s on the Wu, and you know they ain’t nothing to play with)
Be accountable aka be ok to be wrong and to learn from it. We all mistakes/have messy fumbles, but it’s how we respond that really matters. In the words of Prophet GloRilla, every day the Sun don’t shine, but that’s why I love tomorrow.
Have a backbone. You need one to “stand 10 toes down” as y’all like to say, which ties well to my next piece of advice….
Be brave: Being an adult is about doing hard things and being brave about it. No one really knows what they’re doing, but some are trying more than others. Y’all have made me braver. To use my voice against injustice and oppression near and far. So I cannot leave here today without taking stock of our present moment. Hands of Haiti, Free Palestine, Free Sudan, Free Congo. Free all unjust prisoners and stop police brutality. Protect trans and queer people, believe survivors and Black Lives always have and always will matter. I’m sure saying these things has made some folks uncomfortable and angry, but teaching is not about making folks comfortable. It’s about encouraging people to face hard truths and be better because of it.
Love Yourself: As I stand here before you today, I can say I love myself again for the first time in decades. I used to be a confident kid but let external voices dampen that. (Tell baby stories about knowing I was cute and smart) Folks close to me and that I did not even know popped shots, and I let that chip away at my self-love. I’ve been told I’m too angry, too aggressive, too emotional, too much in general. As a Black woman in the academy, I found myself navigating similar messages and I have learned firsthand that this space is not about building folks up. Especially not people who look like me and teach about what I teach about. Yet, for the last several years, I have been on a real journey, back to loving myself. And it has been hard, humbling, and continually tested. But, I can’t stop loving me now. And I really hope you all do the same, because no one can love and respect you like you do.
So as I close out. I want to give you all a chance to be like Snoop: thank yourself, class of 2024. Cuz y’all did it big. And I thank you for seeing me do it big too and letting me rock this mic. Congrats and many blessings on your next steps!
