Harvard University has called 2016 graduate Donovan Livingston's spoken-verse commencement speech "one of the most powerful, heartfelt student speeches you will ever hear!"
President? it's been a long time since that was used to mean a smart person. They are usually ppl filled with lies that support the prejudices of majority or straight up dictators
Their never going to change and we will never find our place in their white institutions, as he sat back and observed their brokenness, hatred, privileged dismissal of 'real work'--dumbing himself down-- to afraid to show his light! I can only imagine what they put him through--and I can't wait to see what he got out of them with that Education!!!! 👊🏾 It's also funny cause a buddy of mine SD that's why Black American mom's to this day are the first to put their children down, bc she always had to make him/her look like they were 'no good' or no better than theirs, or they would sell em off 🤔🤔🤔
@@xJUDAZ It is the psychological manifestation of what YOU perceive to be the ideal privilege of living in America ;however , it is just an illusion created by your mind in the hopes of finding a bright future in a place that you cannot relate success to unless you work hard for it. The American dream isn’t really American , I would say. Rather , it is what WE foreigners make and produce of it in the form of achievements that solidify our belief that we could improve our lives by focusing on pushing ourselves to our FULL potential , BEYOND the limit. Just as our friend Livingston said here , “The sky is NOT the limit.” So we should brace ourselves for a LIFT OFF with our hearts and souls and ambitions for the creation of a bright FUTURE !!!!
Backpack Adventures where ever you came from you racist piece of trash!!! Edit: this message was meant for Lo o the user who made the racist comment above me not you
+Charles Deng Using more sophisticated and fancier words just for the sake of using more sophisticated words. Just makes it hard to listen too. The message itself was very boring and unoriginal. He just presented it well.
"Spill your emotions on the big dipper and pour out your soul, light up the world with your luminous allure." Gorgeous. If he ends up writing a novel, I'll be the first in line to buy it. He has a way with words.
"Injustice is saying education is the key, yet you keep changing the locks". Then that ending, " The sky is the beginning, Lift Off". I could feel his pain in that speech. Very moving and powerful.
He used everything, alliteration, metaphors, hyperbole, similes, his grammar and pronunciation were strong... great speech, I wonder what his major/focus was in
1. He ask us whether education a great equalizer (socioeconomically speaking) 2. Then wonders whether we question the keeper of the keys (meaning the government) 3. He argues that for some the only difference between plantation and a classroom is time (basically means that we are taught stuff to fit into the system and not to give us the tools to achieve our dreams. 4. He then mentions that he is the strange fruit that grew too ripe for the popular tree. (Meaning he is different and wont follow the masses) 5. He then argues against the standardised assessment goes against the individual reaching his best potential. 6. Then he insists that education is no equalizer but rather education is how they, the government gets us to sleep (by getting us into debt and reduce us to debt slaves) 7. He tells us to wake up,that we have dreams and we should follow them. 8. And finally that Sky is not the limit but only the beginning (meaning don't let education define our quality of life because we will get disappointed by the result.Rather we should regard the graduation as the beginning of our journey to succeed.) He basically reduced to ashes the whole education system. Fellow graduates clap because he is right. Academia claps because of the fancy words.
for some reason the young love to crap on everything that came before them. i'm still relatively young, but just noting the truth. i'm not sure there's anything profound in all that crapping so much as just a common manifestation of an adolescent mind, biologically pre-disposed to establish its own identity in a lot of experimental ways. maybe we should listen to people precisely at the midpoint of their biological urge to prefer the "new" vs. the "status quo." what is that, say 30? Maybe 32? no idea, but an interesting question IMHO..... what i'm not sure is interesting is the very young and idealistic. they'd all be communist just to be different. then they'd all starve to death like the poor people in Venezuela. or they'd be trump supporters. and support a man ape child to "overturn the system" when he's clearly a fairly incompetent borderline idiot. whatever it is it's unlikely to be informed by much reason and empiricism. outside people who instinctively or by training really bend that way.
He speaks like me with confidence. I wish I had the money to afford Havard. I want to be a cardiologist and I would be great to come out as a product of Harvard. I remember hearing people say,"Harvard is one of the big schools to make one's dream come true." If I don't come here ,I would try to bring my son there one day. Congrats to all class of 2020.
Harvard is affordable, if you cant afford it... If your income is below 65000 dollars then it's completely free. Not a lot of people know this. It's not about whether you can afford Harvard, it's about can you get in to Harvard?
@@axd2312 Harvard is very hard to get jnto. There is no specific entry test. They look at your highschool grades from 9-12th, your extracurricular activities (like hobbies) the awards you have one, essays lors and alot of things.... It's not just about an entry test. You have to be an all rounder you have show leadership, how have you been contributing to the community and a lot of things. Admission to Harvard doesn't revolve around one factor. They take the holistic approach.
Harvard Valedictorian, will be working as an analyst at some cubicle farm topping out at 100K, a good few years until the long hours either break him into changing careers completely or just destroy all the relationships in his life. Meanwhile, the good old boys with the trust funds and daddy's connections with bottom of the barrel grades will be the ones making millions.
@@jt48 this is so true and yet so sad, I'm 16 right now and that's one of the reasons why I'm into enterprenuership , I'm currently teaching myself about how the business worlds works ,like investing in stocks, real estate , trading , how social media ,technology and politics work, school is meant to manipulate the masses and make them into slaves so they are depended on the system aka the rat race or should I say 9 to 5
His expression throughout the speech is what makes me like him more. Sure his speech, words, body language, tone and flow is great but his face tells how much he means the speech. Loved it!
it's simple as just finding some you like and that challenges you. Just keep at it until you're the best. Find the passion and reason to commit to it, is the hard part, good luck!
DUDE !!! don't say that! i know that everybody in this world has something he or she loves dearly and with passion! accept and acknowledge your own quality and talents! search for the truth within and don't fear setbacks, cause if you do what you love, life will give you a way and you can do anything! i don't know you but i believe in you and everybody who may read this! go for it, it's out there! LOVE
ALEXANDER BLAKE Three years ago the #1 thing that I wanted was a passion. So I searched everywhere in every possible way every single day. After the first year, I realized my passion at the time was finding my passion. So I became passionate about doing so. I DEDICATED myself to finding it. I would journal every day asking myself reflective questions, I would search a multitude of things online trying to figure it out like "How do you find your life's purpose?", I watched RU-vid videos, I talked with friends. And eventually I found my passion. And it is just as amazing as I'd hoped. So I encourage you to become passionate about finding your passion. *Work very hard* at finding it, do not hope for it to come. Be intentional. Good luck. Much love.
After listening to this young man's inspirational and eloquently delivered speech I went to press the "like" button when I noticed the amount of "dislikes." I wanted to know why 5k people hated it so I scrolled through some of the comments and realized just how awful some people's realities must be when hate feels normal and positivity is treated like poison. My immediate reaction was to disparage "the haters" but how would my negativity be any different than those I intended to shame? Instead of mocking remarks I didn't like I decided to let this young man's speech lead me to a better truth: You don't change a negative song by singing along with the lyrics. Dare to sing a new song of hope. If you sing long enough you will inspire others to sing along with you.
@sistakia33 oh my well said 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿. The young man's speech is the true definition of being woke👀. Your response to the dislikes is the true definition of class,grace,and courage, with elements of poetry, you and him can "drop the mic" and walk off stage👊🏾.
I went to a conference at another high school and he gave us a presentation! It was so awesome, he did a ton of fun stuff such as rap, and immediately woke all of us up. He was very funny and uplifting, and also incredibly kind and understanding. I wish him the best!
One of the most inspiring speeches I've ever heard. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Donovan! This inspires me to get up right now and finish my school work and then plan my future. A true hero, thank you!
Amazing Speech. I'm tearing up. I'm saddened by his passing. Gone too soon.What a smart, intelligent Man. Rest in Peace 🙏 💔🙏. You'll be missed. My condolences to the family and wife.
Beautiful. "None of us were meant to be common" meant to be common" is something we should say to ourselves and others every day, no matter the age or circumstances. Thank you Donovan!
Another affirmative action graduate...Harvard...the once great school that hired a fake Indian and also someone as a professor of The Constitution who obviously had never even read the constitution. Ivy league schools suck....The Bushes, the Clintons, the Obamas, Al Gore ALL ivy grads yet everyone knows NEITHER could pass a fairly given GED
I cried from this speech, that power, and passion is just overwhelming. It reached right through me, despite of only watching in youtube. Just. Wow. I just discovered this gem at 2020.
@@Jackdaniels19894 also that’s not all rap is bud. Sounds like you don’t listen to it. Real rap is about peoples lives and the struggles they’ve been thru. You’re thinking of the new gen mumble shit.
@@crimson1763 regardless of location "proceed" means to move forward, "precede" means to happen before. While the speaker may have been trying to say that education moves the American dream forward, which would of course be a coherent thought, it would not be phrased correctly using the verb "proceed," as it's an intransitive verb. So it's much more likely that what the speaker means is that education must be achieved before the American dream can be realized.
Another affirmative action graduate...Harvard...the once great school that hired a fake Indian and also someone as a professor of The Constitution who obviously had never even read the constitution. Ivy league schools suck....The Bushes, the Clintons, the Obamas, Al Gore ALL ivy grads yet everyone knows NEITHER could pass a fairly given GED
I think he should get in a room with all the kids that struggle, every third world country, and all those that don't believe in themselves. Kendrick knows his worth. Let others realize theirs.
You can feel the passion in his words. No one here knows his personal experience, so the negative comments seem to be from either racists, or people who want to trivialize this young man and his commitment to bettering young people and their minds.
+Day Dreamer It's the context and tone in which he is criticized from some people. If you get to use your hate and bigotry to have a negative opinion then I get to have an opinion about your opinion. Merica, right? You on kindly fuck off with your dribbling from your keyboard. Asshat.
ProfoundClarity Your own personal bigotry manifests in your inability to differentiate opinion from racism. Other than a few trolls, most of what I see is a righteous reaction to a dumbing down of Harvard and intellectual society in general. Passion does not automatically translate to good taste. I'm actually happy for him on one hand. But I support the right people have to judge this speech. To me is was disappointing. I want equality and diversity. I help fight for it. All this does is waste my goddamn efforts. Do you see where I'm coming from now?!!?!
+Day Dreamer I have read through the comments and I see more than a few trolls. It's just sad. I would love to see more people coming together for a common good but even in today's world it seems insurmountable against what I see spewing on the internet.
ProfoundClarity That is your opinion and I cautiously will say that to me it's a natural reaction. To a society where trophies are given out for any old speech just because a person is black. I'm all for trying to boost people up. But to me this was horrible and divisive. And that's where you fail to see the nuance of what really just happened. Instead of this young man making a humble speech, he rambles on arrogantly and bitterly directing comments at white people. One comment on here put it succinctly. Don't people have something better to talk about than slavery or racism ALL THE TIME? I agree with that statement. This was a perfect oppurtunity to inspire the next generation of black leaders but not finger pointing. But instead, truly inspiring and speaking eloquently.
Tim stupid ignorant name McVeigh You’re a racist creep. Smash Racism End supremacy Kill the kkk Pay reparations now Ps. I wouldn’t compare this Harvard scholar to a racist prig president..you do him a disservice.
But he never adressed the injustice of black students getting boosted SAT scores while asian and white students get their scores docked because of their skin color. He is not a victim.
@@xJUDAZ I would relate it to how education judges you based on how you score on standarized tests. People who score A are led to think they are intelligent (stars), but there is so much more (the night) than those tests, which has to be discovered through the engagement of creativity. Education kills creativity and hence does not allow you to look beyond the light onto the night to realise your true potential.
No comments about his oratorical skills. All i read was "hes black, hes rhyming about slavery, hes self centered". His speech had nothing to do with slavery but how he found his calling to become an educator. We're fucking doomed as a nation.
walter yanez I apologize for the misunderstanding. I completely agree. The morons in the comments are intimidated by his vernacular so they pretend that they don't understand and criticize everything irrelevant. Racists did the same to Martin Luther King in response to his speeches, so I'm not concerned about anybody not getting the message just because the comments suck. The ignorant are always the loudest.
We are doomed because those that control think ignorance is a tool for continued control but in reality it is just the opposite as you have eloquently stated. Damnation is the price of hate and ignorance.
Beautiful words, young man! What good do they do? Does this stop a white cop from killing an unarmed black male? Do your words provide ownership of corporations that can provide gainful employment for people regardless of race, creed, origin? There are some who wish to oppress others but, ultimately....the oppression is conducted and supported through force.....not beautiful words!!!! Please provide a solution to this problem.....not another means of eloquent statement of the problem. Talk is cheap!!!!
We aren't African American either. We are the children of Israel according to the Bible. Another LIE perpetuated by American Education or should I say Indoctrination!
Hey moron welfare leeches... Im your boss, im your warehouse manager, im your neighbors lil league coach, im your Dr, ....we don't like what bullshit George Soros funded garbage you spew! Now Rage 4 M3 Mthr Fckrs Rage.......
+Jonny Stugotts as far as your concerned I could be a multi billionaire or multi millionaire, I could also be the boss of thousands of white people, you dont know me? I don't know you, but I do know a racist when I sense one, I defend black people from racism because I have seen black people suffer it and I speak out for God created every race as equals no superior
@@AdityaPillai009 while I can appreciate this the perspecrive here is more relating to the darkness being so ever apparent and obvious, being reminded of the light brings the focus back from the darkness, and so in not doing that would be an injustice as well.
John Smith it's an analogy and it's a good one too. None of us are the same because we all make a difference in the world, no matter how big or small is what he means. Not dumb.
John Smith lmao I don't even use facebook. I wouldn't post that type of stuff anyways, but since you are so convinced that it's dumb, please explain. And don't reply that I'm a dumb toxic 5 year old and the internet is stupid or some random bs like that.
That's a smart intelligent young man.its so much more we all can accomplish.if we didn't try so hard to block what God has given us that's inside of us. To make the world a better place. Thank you
J W lmao and youre also to ignorant to understand he meant both, thats why it was such a powerful statement, you should have known that considering the speech was about his black history , brainiac.
@@jamesbruce5257 He didnt say anything though ? Can you tell me just ONE interesting fact I can get from this speech aside from the boasting and cheesy motivational metaphors :/
You said reach for stars.I needed to hear that so bad . I need a heart transplant,have 34 stents on my left.Have lupus, fibromyalgia, diabetes Ra, in severe pain.You are a blessing.
