As a college student, we are faced with many challenges that can make or break you, from trying to keep a certain GPA to keep a scholarship, trying to network in hopes of getting a job/internship and not being able to afford anything. The struggle is indeed real; we are sponges just looking for something inspirational to keep us going such as TED talk videos or poetry but this week, I stumble upon a video of a recent Harvard graduate by the name of Donovan Livingston that I feel every college student should watch.
Donovan Livingston, Ed.M.'16, was a student speaker at Harvard Graduate School of Education 2016 Convocation exercises. As he stepped up to the mic to speak, Livingston gave his speech in the form of a stirring five-minute spoken word poem called "Lift Off," where he addressed the trials and tribulations black people have endured, especially in the education system.
He began with a story about speaking at his old high school several years ago and how his English teacher found out he was going to do a poem for his remarks, she threatened to take him off the program. Now he had the moment to present this poem and thanks Harvard for giving him the opportunity to show his most authentic self.
Livingston opens the rousing poem with “Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin,Is a great equalizer of conditions of men.” – Horace Mann, 1848. Which Mann quote means that educating the common man is the secret to success that progressive societies must understand to remain successful.
He spoke of the inequalities in the education system that has either held many black people back or used them as mere tokens:
Unfortunately, I’ve seen more dividing and conquering
In this order of operations — a heinous miscalculation of reality.
For some, the only difference between a classroom and a plantation is time.
How many times must we be made to feel like quotas —
Like tokens in coined phrases? —
“Diversity. Inclusion”
There are days I feel like one, like only —
A lonely blossom in a briar patch of broken promises.
But I’ve always been a thorn in the side of injustice.
Livingston, implored graduates and professors to help free their students rather than to speak “over the rustling of our chains.” He used his seventh grade teacher, who helped him find his voice, as an example. He goes on to say he "sees the same twinkle that guided Harriet to freedom” in his students’ eyes. He asked that educational leaders don't give up on their students and help them achieve their full potential:
“Education is no equalizer —
Rather, it is the sleep that precedes the American Dream.
So wake up — wake up! Lift your voices
Until you’ve patched every hole in a child’s broken sky.
Wake up every child so they know of their celestial potential.
I’ve been a black hole in the classroom for far too long;
Absorbing everything, without allowing my light escape.
But those days are done. I belong among the stars.
And so do you. And so do they.
Together, we can inspire galaxies of greatness
For generations to come.
No, sky is not the limit. It is only the beginning.
Lift off."
So grateful to be able to speak my truth, in a place that wasn't historically meant for me to thrive. #LiftOff https://t.co/xTd71Xn85z
— Donovan Livingston (@DLive87) May 26, 2016
This is the response from Livingston Twitter page about the viral video.
I applaud Livingston for giving us this video it is a source of positivity and inspiration that any college student will need to follow the same twinkle that guided Harriet to freedom.
