MLK Day Keynote Address: Kent School 2023

This is a transcript of Nelson Thomas's Keynote Address to Kent School students and faculty on January 16th, 2023.

Hello everyone,

Nelson here.

Below is the full written keynote speech I performed at Kent School, my alma mater, during MLK weekend 2023.

If you would like to watch the full speech. Check it out now on?YouTube.

Thank you, and enjoy.

- Nel

Goodmorning Kent School,

What an honor it is for me to be here again on this day: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.?

MLK Day has?become quite the celebration here in the valley.

When I was a student here only a short five years ago, there was no celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Day.

Today would have been like any other.?

We got up around 7:00 AM. Brushed our teeth. Shaved our faces as instructed, unlike myself today.?

We put on our jackets, ties and set out on another day at Kent School.

We studied, we practiced, and we gathered: In the dining halls and in our common areas.

Only the select among us, typically those that shared similar skin tones, acknowledged the uniqueness of the day.?

We did so quietly, but we did so?together.

It wasn’t until some of the select among us: decided that today: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day deserved to be held too?here at?Kent School.??

It is amazing to see how the next generation of Kent Scholars & Faculty have boldly taken the mantle forward, making this a staple celebration of a life that has transformed all of ours: forever.?

I graduated from Kent?in 2016.?

This past summer was my first reunion, you know, the BIG Five-Year One.

Seniors, you may have already heard the folklore of the legendary “Five-Year Reunion.”

Everyone is older, but not too old to still know how to have a good time.?

It really is something to look forward to.

Not only because of all the now unrestricted fun you can have on campus.?

But because of the?CHANGE.?

These changes are both big and small.?

From how someone wears their hair.?

To how they dress.?

To sometimes who they are all together.

We are not the same kids that walked this campus five years ago.?

We have learned. adapted. struggled. and changed.

Some of us have found love.?

Some of us have embarked on amazing world travels.?

Some of us have embarked on our dream careers.?

Some of us are still trying to find our way.

But all of us are connected by this place and the memories we share from being a part of this community.

I’ve changed. I’ve changed quite a bit.

I’ve grown to be more patient: not getting so frustrated when things don’t go my way at first.

I’ve become more open-minded: more tolerant of arguments I may disagree with.

I’ve become kinder with my words: not so quick to use them in ways that hurt instead of help.

I’ve learned to talk less and listen more.

I’ve learned to give more than I ask for in return.

I’ve learned to read more than I scroll.

I’ve learned to quiet the inner voice in me that says: You can’t, you won’t

And replace it with: I can and I will

I’ve changed to adapt to my present circumstances.?

I’ve changed to have the opportunity to keep going.

I have changed.

ecoText:?The social reading platform I Co-Founded while a sophomore at the University of New Hampshire. Has changed.

The faces that we started with are no longer here.?

We have a new team—folks from all over the US.?

We have a new direction: a clarified vision.?

We have new ideas.?

New concepts.?

New challenges and new hurdles to overcome.?

We have changed as a means to survive.?

And we will continue to change, as necessary, for as long as we can.

You will change too…

Your ideologies may change.

Your interests may change.

Your friends may change.

Your circumstances may change.

Your environment may change.?

How you see yourself: may change.

What you think is your purpose: may change.

Your reasons for living: may change.?

The world as you see and understand it: may change.

You will not be the same person you are today: tomorrow, next week, or next year.?

We, by nature, are subject to constant states of change. Both big and small.

Dr. King changed

Toward the end of his life, he fought to build bridges between the Civil Rights Movement and the Labor Movement.

He changed to make his work more inclusive so that it may have a more significant impact.

In 1961, Dr. King was invited to speak at the AFL-CIO’s annual convention in Philadelphia.??

At this conference, Elected delegates representing working people from across the country and from every job category came together to choose their leader and express their policy preferences.

In that address, Dr. King said,

“Our needs are identical with labor’s needs: decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old-age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children, and respect in the community.?That is why Negroes support labor’s demands and fight laws which curb labor.?That is why the labor-hater and labor-baiter is virtually always a twin-headed creature spewing anti-Negro epithets from one mouth and anti-labor propaganda from the other mouth.

In 1967,?at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,?Dr. King was quoted saying,

“And one day we must ask the question, ‘Why are there forty million poor people in America?’ And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising questions about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth.”

Dr. King traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968 for his?“Poor People's Campaign.”

The goal of the Poor People’s Campaign was to make a call to action across the nation to implement policies and practices that created “economic justice.”

In this campaign, Dr. King asked the federal government to prioritize helping the poor with a $30 billion dollar anti-poverty package that included a commitment to full employment, a guaranteed annual income, more low-income housing, stronger workplace safety, schools for the underprivileged, and more.

In his visit to Memphis in 1968, he championed 1,300 African-American sanitation workers.?

They marched together, dawning what is now the iconic?“I AM A MAN”?signs across their chest.

Unfortunately, the economic disparities that Dr.King noticed in the?1960s?are still plaguing our society in?2023.

Today, white homeownership is?74.6%?compared to just?45.3%?of Black households - a gap of more than 29 points.

In?1960, White homeownership was at?65%,?compared to just?38%?of Black households?-?a 27-point gap.

In?2018, Fortune 500 CEOs, who earned approximately $14.5 million on average, include just?four?African Americans and 10 Latinx.

That is less than 3 percent of the total, although we comprise close to?32%?of the U.S. population.

In Venture Capital,?1% of Black Founders?received funding for their businesses in 2022. This is a slight drop from?1.3% in 2021.

Dr.King realized that to make the strides that we need in our nation, there needs to be not only an ideological shift but?an economic one.

He changed. He grew for the betterment of not only himself but all of us—no matter your creed, color, or religion.?

Dr. King demonstrated that evolution is critical in our pursuit of a better life.

If you want my advice here, it is:?Make a full and absolute commitment to your evolution.

Embrace the changes in your identity. The new interests you uncover.

Embrace the changes in your relationships: Both with others and yourself.?

Embrace the mistakes you make and what you learn from those mistakes.?

Embrace your failures that make you grateful for the victories that come after.?

Embrace the changes in your ideologies and beliefs.

Embrace the change in your purpose.

Embrace the difficult times that make you stronger.

Embrace your journey, your process, to being the best version of yourself.

Embrace YOUR pursuit of a better life.

And when you do…

Define it only by your view on the world.?

Define it only by what matters to you and what you care about.?

Define it only by the values and principles you hold.

Define it only by what fills your life with?happiness and joy.

We never quite know what direction life is going to take us. How it may test us.

But, if you can find a way, through it all, to build a life that fills your days with purpose.

A few deep and meaningful relationships.

A warm place to sleep, eat and laugh.

You, my friend, are one of the lucky ones.?

-?Thank you.