My English teacher showed this speech to the whole class as an example for the speech we would do the next week. She told us that this speech was what kept her going as a teacher and made her remember her purpose. And I can tell you she was not the one to be easily amazed. Wonderful speech.
I think you have to be really suggestible and have a really low IQ to find this "wonderful". It doesn't even have context. He says whenever whoever made some quote he (blacks) couldn't read etc. and would be punished "by death" if they tried. Where? In Africa? 150 years ago white slaves were all over north Africa. Should we complain about that? This speech is retarded and totally ignores historical complexity and context in favour of some political bogus that only a seriously naive person would buy. Your teacher was a fucking idiot.
Pixel Craft Builds thank you for that. I’m also currently studying to be a teacher, and at times the degree gets blurry but don’t give up 💪🏻God put you in that specific field for reason. You have a purpose.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten so that who ever may believe in him may have eternal life. John 3:16 Jesus died for you so why don’t you live for him. Humble yourself and come before Him and call upon His name. Ask for forgiveness so that your sins may be washed away. This life is nuthin compared to life in heaven. Remember even demons believe in God. God bless :).
Spoken word poetry is a beautiful flow of ones inner feelings. My bucket list is to perform my poetry in a crowd that one can relate too. This video gives me hope and courage to do that one day. Great job man! This is my favorite piece
I’m a software engineer and I didn’t understand shit of what he said tbh. In my opinion he tried too hard to demonstrate his intellect. Sometimes it is best to be simple and straightforward.
Most people know that speaking in public is not easy. You do it with such eloquence and creativity. I wish you the best through out your life you are a doctor in the making.
I've always loved public speaking, political science (including all the sciences), writing and poetry. Donovan Livingston's speech is concise and precise, a Jamaican teacher told me this is the starter qualities of an impacting speech. In this speech, their was no redundancy, each opening sentence was a new blossoming flower of poise, character and an epic amalgamation of thoughts; history, philosophy, engineering science (he referenced a black hole, constellations and meteors), powerfully articulated. If I had daughters...this is the type of guy they should marry! Men of passion, who think outside the box, make good husbands because they are multifaceted and engaged with the world around them, can spin on a dime and adapt to new circumstances (as the world changes scientifically, politically and economically). These attributes can only attract more positives; influence thoughts for tangible structural societal changes paired with the facilitator, philanthropy. Donovan Livingston, masterful thinker and articulator, is the Stephen Hawkings of poetry! Stephen Hawkings was born in Oxford England, exactly 300 years after the death of Galileo.
Good speech if you are a black person or white guilt LEFTIST Democrat Trump hater. LOL This guy probably a future race hustler. How you going to tell the children to all "Lift Off" when the whole speech seems geared towards black identity. LOL as seen with his black power fist salute at the end. Nothing wrong with liking your race, but too much anti whiteness going on in USA.
@@saltytsp I guarantee you that all the people jumping on his dick are low IQ. You have to be unbelievably suggestible to buy such obviously inconsistent logic. There are a lot of low IQ people in the world.
This was so powerful. I felt really inspired and amped up, until I just had to read the comments. It's ridiculous how many ignorant, cowards there are.
It's called white guilt and virtue signaling...If a white guy made that speech they would have cut the mic and accused him of racism,white privilege,and systematic and institutional racism
This man… 7 years ago delivered a speech that I interpret as a white, “redneck” 21 y/o man in 2023 as an empowering, righteous, and responsible example that ANYONE can succeed regardless of any predisposition they might have. Beautiful and eloquent. Progressive yet very much rooted in reality❤ All Love.
he's degraded himself from educated Harvard Man, down to a simple rapper and Entertainer. All the education he got from this great school he would rather be labeled as a fucking rapper. Congratulations! What a fucking waste .
This young man is on the path to being an excellent educator who will be able to relate students of all SES ( Socioeconomic status). Having a Harvard degree ( Ivy League) and being able to relate to students who appreciate that type of poetry, puts him at a distinct advantage. And for those nay sayers who do not realize that Ivy League graduates are paid top salary, what can I say to you... Anyway this is just a reminder to this young man how the 'Green Eyed Monster' will present himself thought his life.Therefore, I say to him: Beware!
4:15 - Who is changing the Locks to Education, What is the Injustice? If anything with the Internet, Khan Academy, Google Schools, Wikipedia, etc... there are no locks to Education. Always remember, certification does not mean knowledge or education.
A 2005 study by Princeton sociologists Thomas J. Espenshade and Chang Y. Chung compared the effects of affirmative action on racial and special groups at three highly selective private research universities. The data from the study represent admissions disadvantage and advantage in terms of SAT points (on the old 1600-point scale): Whites (non-recruited athlete/non-legacy status): 0 (control group) Blacks: +230 Hispanics: +185 Asians: -50 Recruited athletes: +200 Legacies (children of alumni): +160[74] In 2009, Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade and researcher Alexandria Walton Radford, in their book No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal, examined data on students applying to college in 1997 and calculated that Asian-Americans needed nearly perfect SAT scores of 1550 to have the same chance of being accepted at a top private university as whites who scored 1410 and African Americans who got 1100.[75] After controlling for grades, test scores, family background (legacy status), and athletic status (whether or not the student was a recruited athlete), Espenshade and Radford found that whites were three times, Hispanics six times, and blacks more than 15 times as likely to be accepted at a US university as Asian Americans.
Your comment is invalid as this man studied for his master's at Harvard and admission for that is not based in SAT scores. Take your negativity elsewhere. Just because you couldn't get into Harvard
You do know that ONE study is called anecdotal right? ONE study although has datum is still one data point in the continuous study of genre. The more appropriate genre of study would be to take into account the beginning of white education as a species vs. the beginning of black education as a species. Looking at the Ivy League which historically has the best education and attended by white children. Then look at the quality of education of those same white children starting with elementary school and follow them to college looking at how the progression of education prepares them for a school such as Harvard. Then look at the quality of education of black children following them up to college level and see if their educations prepare them for Harvard. I would propose that the disparity that your study is showing has nothing to do with intelligence nor affirmative action but systemic manifestation. This to me is metaphorically like feeding a child nothing but healthy food and another child nothing but unhealthy foods and then testing them both on a physical fitness test and then doing a study that shows the unhealthy child did worse and yet no etiology was explored. This also does not take into account in the metaphor that the parents of the healthy food eating kid also ate healthy foods and taught their kid at a young age of eating healthy. The study I would continue to suggest doing would show the beginning points (timeline) of black education and white education do a correlation of standardized testing scores project where the intersection of when and where will the scores will meet at the current pace.
Billy Smith Yes, he did mention those things, but they were clearly used as a metaphor as well. He is a master's graduate, clearly not like most people in the world. A truly inspirational speech has personal emotion and convictions, in reflection of the choices of humanity as a whole. He knows fully well of the reality of humans as a whole, a species bent on killing itself, and for what? Language has context, it isn't dry as you suppose. He is human, he has emotions, he doesn't use just logic. What do you take him for? He has the same depths and heights of emotion as you, as me, as everyone else. Although it is his logic that separates himself from most.
All I heard was a future race hustler that wanted to bitch about history some more. Bet you wont hear a cool poem bitching about the real problems in the black community. ??????? But who knows, maybe. I wanna hear a poem about how to stop PRESENT TIME WRONGS. Like blaming white people and cops on everything. Maybe a swaggy poem about how its possible that 7% of the population is responsible for 50% of ALL MURDERS. THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS EACH YEAR. LOL but want to use fake ass Tamir Rice type stories. Gentle giant Michael Brown strong arm robbing on video and becomes a hero for black power???? Hope this guy is productive for ALL RACES. Doesnt look like it after he gives the black power fist salute at the end.
Then maybe he should also mention the part that black men are 7 times more likely to be accused of and imprisoned for a crime while innocent than any other race.
IloveMonie LOLOLOLOL whatever...... thats crazy talk. 7% of the total USA population accounts for 50% of ALL MURDERS. wtf????? This FACT needs to be addressed.
saltytsp Do you even heat yourself you only believe the facts that help your argument. Want proof? In the 1850s-1860s, the same time that civil tensions were the greatest in American history, the murder and homicide rate mysteriously dropped to the lowest of the century, especially for white people. Speculation has been made that this was a result of many white crimes going unreported such as attacks made by the kkk and other hate groups agains black people. America has a history of changing the numbers to suit society’s opinions. Thankfully we live in the 21st century where we don’t need to rely solely on police officers and courts for the facts but technology has given us a chance to find the truth ourselves. I just told you the truth, and because you didn’t like it you denied it.
Edward Hester No, MY people deserve, usually not receiving by the way, a pat on the back when we overcome a society that was engendered to put us at the bottom of the bottom. You may see equality, but I believe that you fail to see equity. That, in my opinion, was a key part of this speech. The fact that we can (in overview) rise, fly and soar in the ghetto, that we can rise despite discrimination, that we can rise when all signs are pointing to go left when we should go right for numerous reasons is commendable in and of itself. This fellow young Black man was asked to give a graduation speech at Harvard University! Why do you think the faculty and/or administrators would ask him to do that? Because the speech is a synthesis of thoughts that seem counterintuitive to people like you: a man of color displaying both pride and humility in the highest, prestigious academic institution while discussing the lowest and most troubling parts of Black society. I am a 20 years old Black and LGBT man and plan to graduate with top honors in the near future. Father in jail, mother on drugs and currently in jail. Several years of verbal abuse and labor from adopted family. No handouts, no expensive gifts, no sex (even as an attractive man), no therapy for many years, no drugs or alcohol and a lot of self-hatred. Just hard work. Just study in music and acting. I gave a similar graduation speech as Senior Class President along with many other honors about three years to the day. Why I reminisce about all of this is not to toot my own horn. I've made many mistake and have both figuratively shot myself in the head and jumped the gun. My, my, my. This is to say that there are MANY of us out here who do not have a platform like that. Then, there are people like you who have little to no comprehension of what he's speaking of and, more importantly, why he's speaking about it only to defame, defund and destroy the hope and gift of the slave. LIFE.
Fu**k this puerile bullshit.....it can be heard every Sunday in a hundred thousand black churches where the "slavery meme" is routinely invoked, where old wounds are re-opened, and lame couplets are spewed around in defiance of Standard American English. The furor over this kid's peroration simply illustrates the awful stagnation in this nation's black society.....and white folks' naive eagerness to (against all evidence) embrace the fiction that all will be OK so long as the stagnation is given a wink and a nod. Young Mr. Livingston has, quite simply, marched "The Cause" right on back to 1968.
Pops150 sweetheart you didn't need to get your thesaurus out to make simple comment. He knows what it's like to be told he won't amount to much, he has seen and heard the things people say about him. READ SOME OF THE COMMENTS BELOW (written by white people) and he is expressing his joy about graduating as an African american boy with TOP grades despite what people have said and what the history and present day America tells young boys like himself. He did a wonderful job, even if it upsets you that he touched upon american his troy that portrays white Americans in an evil light (because newsflash a lot of them were read a few of the comments on this video), he still did a fantastic job. Show some respect.
gorillas213 hahahahaha your comment holds no relevance to the speech or previous comment. Black people ridiculing other blacks about their accents, style of music and political affiliations HAS NOTHING to do with the fact that black students with the same or higher grades as their white counterparts are less likely to be accepted in to ivy league schools like harvard (something that this boy has achieved and managed to gain the best score in his graduating class), most black people AREN'T gang bangers, drug dealers etc, so the idea that those things hinder them when applying to these colleges is laughable IF THEY DON'T PARTICIPATE in illegal acts and just want a place at a great university. However I do agree that black children being hostile towards each other over irrelevant things is wrong and needs to stop. Secondly your statement has nothing to do with the fact that this guy has written an ORIGINAL poem that linked american history with his present day achievement; IMO it was so well written and articulated but I guess a lot of people wouldn't expect anything less :) And lastly if you think that America holds black boys up on a pedestal and kisses their asses then you have been living under a rock. I have seen more mediocre white men and women gain more money, ass kissing and opportunities just because of their outer appearance whilst not having nearly enough talent as their ethnic peers. If you think black people in the US have a greater advantage of whites then you must be drunk sir because that isn't the case, but AGAIN I agree that black ppl should stop insulting each other for no good reason and two parent homes are essential but not the main cause of inequality. FYI: most black ppl are congratulating him
Donovan Livingston, a master's candidate at Harvard University, was selected to speak at the school's convocation Wednesday. After he performed his poem titled "Lift Off," Donovan Livingston's speech went viral, with over 5 million tuning in.
Harvard university is always my dream university and graduating as the best student in Harvard university is also part of my goals to achieve and I believe in God and trust God that, that dream of mine will comes into reality In Sha Allah Kareem 🤲🤲🤲🤲🤲
I wish he delivered it in non poetic way to show his strength if public speaking without the guidance of rap or musical rehearsal. I am sure this guy will be a one of kind once he does it with out repertoire. Genius.
is it human nature to put someone down when they are trying to pick you up? All the bad comments make me think that we have no hope in humanity since a lot of ignorance is still a big part of society, but then again I think to myself no wonder he is talking about educating all the dumbass ignorant people trying to degrade the speech.
Cool story!! Get a job, work your way up the ladder. Sucks at first but learning and getting better creates more lucrative results. Do your time and work hard. There is no shortcut to success
for those of you that have their thumbs down you probably didn't really understand what he was saying or you just don't want to give him props that is what's wrong with us we should give commands 2 people that works so hard to get where they are and to go where they're going just because you are not doing it that doesn't mean it's bad or it's no good or trashy or trash or he just woke you up to look within yourself and now you don't want to agree with him sad sad so sad
Notice how he didn't say "Thank you" at the end. It implies that the audience had a profound desire to be somewhere else, and thanking them suggests that you are thanking them for overruling that desire. Take not of this technique - The absence of "Thank you" at the end of a speech
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
This guy proves there is still hope for America, God bless him.
My English teacher showed this speech to the whole class as an example for the speech we would do the next week. She told us that this speech was what kept her going as a teacher and made her remember her purpose. And I can tell you she was not the one to be easily amazed. Wonderful speech.
Pixel Craft Builds My teacher did this too!
I think you have to be really suggestible and have a really low IQ to find this "wonderful". It doesn't even have context. He says whenever whoever made some quote he (blacks) couldn't read etc. and would be punished "by death" if they tried. Where? In Africa? 150 years ago white slaves were all over north Africa. Should we complain about that? This speech is retarded and totally ignores historical complexity and context in favour of some political bogus that only a seriously naive person would buy. Your teacher was a fucking idiot.
@@joeshmo95 Sad. You are sad. I empathize.
@@joeshmo95 shutcho white ass up and stick to calling people the N word on Runescape.
Pixel Craft Builds thank you for that. I’m also currently studying to be a teacher, and at times the degree gets blurry but don’t give up 💪🏻God put you in that specific field for reason. You have a purpose.
"The sky is NOT the limit. It's only the beginning."
Loved it!!!
@To Nii
Here listening
January 20 2021
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten so that who ever may believe in him may have eternal life. John 3:16 Jesus died for you so why don’t you live for him. Humble yourself and come before Him and call upon His name. Ask for forgiveness so that your sins may be washed away. This life is nuthin compared to life in heaven. Remember even demons believe in God. God bless :).
"None of us were meant to be common, we were born to be comets"
Powerful words
He's been preparing for that speech his whole life! Glorrrrryyyyy!!!!
"Education is the key.. while you keep changing the locks. Education is no equalizer! "
I felt that in my soul!
That went over so many people head
The way when i heard that i ran out the room wow wow wow
Such a well spoken and confident speech. Very intelligent man.
From one educator to another,
Righteous words of encouragement. Donavan Livingston the best is yet to come.🎓
anyone else doing this for quarantine schooling?
yep
yes lol
yeah me too
Yap
@Anannya same
Spoken word poetry is a beautiful flow of ones inner feelings. My bucket list is to perform my poetry in a crowd that one can relate too. This video gives me hope and courage to do that one day. Great job man! This is my favorite piece
Such a beautiful speech, shining light on the subjects people are afraid to talk about and he just hit the nail on the head. Bless up
Yes!
Jesus loves you.
Liberals actually can't stop talking about it. Any and every conversation or words spewed is about race.
I love this speech. My daughter did a report on this in middle school and I always remembered how impactful this young man's words were. ❤
He's going to be such an amazing educator, wish I would have had him as a teacher
"I've been the black whole in a classroom for far too long, absorbing everything without allowing my light to escape... " SO MOVING!!!
black hole..
Heard this years ago… in 2 months I finish my masters program. Thank you, and to everyone, Lift off.
Speeches of this caliber are hard to come by. I’m glad I got to witness this immense talent.
WOW, did this move anyone else to tears? literally, so inspiring!
Whenever he closes his eyes, I feel like he has his singing his words. You can hear his heart in each word.
His name is Donovan Livingston
To all the negatives, you have to be educated to understand his voice
Lmao they probably got lost after the 15 second mark.
I’m a software engineer and I didn’t understand shit of what he said tbh. In my opinion he tried too hard to demonstrate his intellect. Sometimes it is best to be simple and straightforward.
I spent 7 years specializing in English literature at Oxford and this is crap.
I guess your shit doesn't stink
joe shmo lol thats how poetry works
I'm inspired, moved, and reminded that we should move outside of our traditional way of teaching. Thanks Donovan
Most people know that speaking in public is not easy. You do it with such eloquence and creativity. I wish you the best through out your life you are a doctor in the making.
Use me as an "I'm here for english class" button
Yee that is me
I've always loved public speaking, political science (including all the sciences), writing and poetry. Donovan Livingston's speech is concise and precise, a Jamaican teacher told me this is the starter qualities of an impacting speech. In this speech, their was no redundancy, each opening sentence was a new blossoming flower of poise, character and an epic amalgamation of thoughts; history, philosophy, engineering science (he referenced a black hole, constellations and meteors), powerfully articulated. If I had daughters...this is the type of guy they should marry! Men of passion, who think outside the box, make good husbands because they are multifaceted and engaged with the world around them, can spin on a dime and adapt to new circumstances (as the world changes scientifically, politically and economically). These attributes can only attract more positives; influence thoughts for tangible structural societal changes paired with the facilitator, philanthropy. Donovan Livingston, masterful thinker and articulator, is the Stephen Hawkings of poetry!
Stephen Hawkings was born in Oxford England, exactly 300 years after the death of Galileo.
Amazing! We need more passionate people like this guy
SHOOK THE ENTIRE BLOCK WITH THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT ....
So inspiring Donovan! You are a bright shining star, and oh my, the places you will go!
Goosebumps! Great speech
Ditto.
Ayyyy
Jesus loves you.
Good speech if you are a black person or white guilt LEFTIST Democrat Trump hater. LOL This guy probably a future race hustler. How you going to tell the children to all "Lift Off" when the whole speech seems geared towards black identity. LOL as seen with his black power fist salute at the end. Nothing wrong with liking your race, but too much anti whiteness going on in USA.
@@saltytsp I guarantee you that all the people jumping on his dick are low IQ. You have to be unbelievably suggestible to buy such obviously inconsistent logic. There are a lot of low IQ people in the world.
Soar you will Donovan. Thank you for this speech, your words have patched a hole in my sky. This speach's words mean so much to me, tears of joy.
This was so powerful. I felt really inspired and amped up, until I just had to read the comments. It's ridiculous how many ignorant, cowards there are.
lol prep the bull
"Purpose purpose forget about nervous let it overflow surplus"
P.S: This is my one line of motivation to all those that are afraid to speak in public.
I am a first year teacher. I have two job interviews today! I've wanted to be a teacher since I was 7!
congrats
Marissa Congratulations!
Lol, a little bit late on wishing u good luck. But good luck. And hope u secured that position.
@Marissa
2019- Teachers are the backbone of all great civilizations. You are loved and sorely needed. God Bless
I Still want to father of five age early forties with college kids
This brother right here gives me such hope for our future!
I just watched this for homework and I am so blown away! I think I'm bout to simp.
Powerful and real. Don't ever stop the momentum or silence your voice.
Touch The Stars⭐️ great speech awesome 👏🏽 energy. Go forth young black Man. You have overcome 🙏🏽😇🇺🇸
I wish someone would look at me like the white guy looking at the graduate in 5:41
"That's my student"
Taddo Tayeng hahaha i replayed tht part m dead
It's called white guilt and virtue signaling...If a white guy made that speech they would have cut the mic and accused him of racism,white privilege,and systematic and institutional racism
Taddo Tayeng I
sam sloan a white man can’t do that. Best thing a white man can do is become a cop but to shut up people.
Thank you Donovan, you made my day!
This man… 7 years ago delivered a speech that I interpret as a white, “redneck” 21 y/o man in 2023 as an empowering, righteous, and responsible example that ANYONE can succeed regardless of any predisposition they might have. Beautiful and eloquent. Progressive yet very much rooted in reality❤ All Love.
and this is a YOUNG BLACK EDUCATED KING...... Incase some people didn't know 👏👏👏👏
Aah yes. He beez a KANG n shit.
CORNY SYNTHETIC PLASTIC , I hope this black Harvard Graduate has more to contribute to his community than a FUCKing RAP Verse !
He's more than anything you will ever be!
he's degraded himself from educated Harvard Man, down to a simple rapper and Entertainer. All the education he got from this great school he would rather be labeled as a fucking rapper. Congratulations! What a fucking waste .
ResearcherOne, I was talking to Mecca Warren. Im on your side lol
I’m getting chills. I could listen to this forever.
This young man is beautiful and brilliant!
Hes so well spoken and confident
I had to comment cause there was 666, and I can’t let that happen. God bless
Tutiou the true hero we all need
Big deal 🙄
I can't tell if you're serious
Hail Satan
Eh 666 is the devil’s number but also a holy number that exists in God. It ain’t cursed but I also do prefer to not see the number🤣😈👎
This young man is on the path to being an excellent educator who will be able to relate students of all SES ( Socioeconomic status). Having a Harvard degree ( Ivy League) and being able to relate to students who appreciate that type of poetry, puts him at a distinct advantage. And for those nay sayers who do not realize that Ivy League graduates are paid top salary, what can I say to you... Anyway this is just a reminder to this young man how the 'Green Eyed Monster' will present himself thought his life.Therefore, I say to him: Beware!
Strong speech. Love it!
This man will rewrite the script of the world.
that was an impressive speech; very fluent, very powerful and very compelling
4:15 - Who is changing the Locks to Education, What is the Injustice? If anything with the Internet, Khan Academy, Google Schools, Wikipedia, etc... there are no locks to Education. Always remember, certification does not mean knowledge or education.
A 2005 study by Princeton sociologists Thomas J. Espenshade and Chang Y. Chung compared the effects of affirmative action on racial and special groups at three highly selective private research universities. The data from the study represent admissions disadvantage and advantage in terms of SAT points (on the old 1600-point scale):
Whites (non-recruited athlete/non-legacy status): 0 (control group)
Blacks: +230
Hispanics: +185
Asians: -50
Recruited athletes: +200
Legacies (children of alumni): +160[74]
In 2009, Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade and researcher Alexandria Walton Radford, in their book No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal, examined data on students applying to college in 1997 and calculated that Asian-Americans needed nearly perfect SAT scores of 1550 to have the same chance of being accepted at a top private university as whites who scored 1410 and African Americans who got 1100.[75]
After controlling for grades, test scores, family background (legacy status), and athletic status (whether or not the student was a recruited athlete), Espenshade and Radford found that whites were three times, Hispanics six times, and blacks more than 15 times as likely to be accepted at a US university as Asian Americans.
Your comment is invalid as this man studied for his master's at Harvard and admission for that is not based in SAT scores. Take your negativity elsewhere. Just because you couldn't get into Harvard
You do know that ONE study is called anecdotal right? ONE study although has datum is still one data point in the continuous study of genre. The more appropriate genre of study would be to take into account the beginning of white education as a species vs. the beginning of black education as a species. Looking at the Ivy League which historically has the best education and attended by white children. Then look at the quality of education of those same white children starting with elementary school and follow them to college looking at how the progression of education prepares them for a school such as Harvard. Then look at the quality of education of black children following them up to college level and see if their educations prepare them for Harvard. I would propose that the disparity that your study is showing has nothing to do with intelligence nor affirmative action but systemic manifestation. This to me is metaphorically like feeding a child nothing but healthy food and another child nothing but unhealthy foods and then testing them both on a physical fitness test and then doing a study that shows the unhealthy child did worse and yet no etiology was explored. This also does not take into account in the metaphor that the parents of the healthy food eating kid also ate healthy foods and taught their kid at a young age of eating healthy. The study I would continue to suggest doing would show the beginning points (timeline) of black education and white education do a correlation of standardized testing scores project where the intersection of when and where will the scores will meet at the current pace.
So THAT’S why most prestigious universities are made up of POC! (Sarcasm) straight fool.🙄
Ohhhhh this young man!!!!! What an amazing human being!
He's not only talking about racism, but the race of humanity. That's what some of you guys fail to realize #FACTS
Billy Smith Yes, he did mention those things, but they were clearly used as a metaphor as well. He is a master's graduate, clearly not like most people in the world. A truly inspirational speech has personal emotion and convictions, in reflection of the choices of humanity as a whole. He knows fully well of the reality of humans as a whole, a species bent on killing itself, and for what? Language has context, it isn't dry as you suppose. He is human, he has emotions, he doesn't use just logic. What do you take him for? He has the same depths and heights of emotion as you, as me, as everyone else. Although it is his logic that separates himself from most.
All I heard was a future race hustler that wanted to bitch about history some more. Bet you wont hear a cool poem bitching about the real problems in the black community. ??????? But who knows, maybe. I wanna hear a poem about how to stop PRESENT TIME WRONGS. Like blaming white people and cops on everything. Maybe a swaggy poem about how its possible that 7% of the population is responsible for 50% of ALL MURDERS. THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS EACH YEAR. LOL but want to use fake ass Tamir Rice type stories. Gentle giant Michael Brown strong arm robbing on video and becomes a hero for black power???? Hope this guy is productive for ALL RACES. Doesnt look like it after he gives the black power fist salute at the end.
Then maybe he should also mention the part that black men are 7 times more likely to be accused of and imprisoned for a crime while innocent than any other race.
IloveMonie LOLOLOLOL whatever...... thats crazy talk. 7% of the total USA population accounts for 50% of ALL MURDERS. wtf????? This FACT needs to be addressed.
saltytsp Do you even heat yourself you only believe the facts that help your argument. Want proof? In the 1850s-1860s, the same time that civil tensions were the greatest in American history, the murder and homicide rate mysteriously dropped to the lowest of the century, especially for white people. Speculation has been made that this was a result of many white crimes going unreported such as attacks made by the kkk and other hate groups agains black people. America has a history of changing the numbers to suit society’s opinions. Thankfully we live in the 21st century where we don’t need to rely solely on police officers and courts for the facts but technology has given us a chance to find the truth ourselves. I just told you the truth, and because you didn’t like it you denied it.
Edward Hester No, MY people deserve, usually not receiving by the way, a pat on the back when we overcome a society that was engendered to put us at the bottom of the bottom.
You may see equality, but I believe that you fail to see equity. That, in my opinion, was a key part of this speech. The fact that we can (in overview) rise, fly and soar in the ghetto, that we can rise despite discrimination, that we can rise when all signs are pointing to go left when we should go right for numerous reasons is commendable in and of itself.
This fellow young Black man was asked to give a graduation speech at Harvard University! Why do you think the faculty and/or administrators would ask him to do that? Because the speech is a synthesis of thoughts that seem counterintuitive to people like you: a man of color displaying both pride and humility in the highest, prestigious academic institution while discussing the lowest and most troubling parts of Black society.
I am a 20 years old Black and LGBT man and plan to graduate with top honors in the near future. Father in jail, mother on drugs and currently in jail. Several years of verbal abuse and labor from adopted family. No handouts, no expensive gifts, no sex (even as an attractive man), no therapy for many years, no drugs or alcohol and a lot of self-hatred. Just hard work. Just study in music and acting. I gave a similar graduation speech as Senior Class President along with many other honors about three years to the day.
Why I reminisce about all of this is not to toot my own horn. I've made many mistake and have both figuratively shot myself in the head and jumped the gun. My, my, my.
This is to say that there are MANY of us out here who do not have a platform like that. Then, there are people like you who have little to no comprehension of what he's speaking of and, more importantly, why he's speaking about it only to defame, defund and destroy the hope and gift of the slave. LIFE.
What a legend. Very well spoken man. He knows what matters!
well done to this young man. I love this poem, well written :D
Fu**k this puerile bullshit.....it can be heard every Sunday in a hundred thousand black churches where the "slavery meme" is routinely invoked, where old wounds are re-opened, and lame couplets are spewed around in defiance of Standard American English. The furor over this kid's peroration simply illustrates the awful stagnation in this nation's black society.....and white folks' naive eagerness to (against all evidence) embrace the fiction that all will be OK so long as the stagnation is given a wink and a nod. Young Mr. Livingston has, quite simply, marched "The Cause" right on back to 1968.
Pops150 sweetheart you didn't need to get your thesaurus out to make simple comment. He knows what it's like to be told he won't amount to much, he has seen and heard the things people say about him. READ SOME OF THE COMMENTS BELOW (written by white people) and he is expressing his joy about graduating as an African american boy with TOP grades despite what people have said and what the history and present day America tells young boys like himself. He did a wonderful job, even if it upsets you that he touched upon american his troy that portrays white Americans in an evil light (because newsflash a lot of them were read a few of the comments on this video), he still did a fantastic job. Show some respect.
gorillas213 hahahahaha your comment holds no relevance to the speech or previous comment. Black people ridiculing other blacks about their accents, style of music and political affiliations HAS NOTHING to do with the fact that black students with the same or higher grades as their white counterparts are less likely to be accepted in to ivy league schools like harvard (something that this boy has achieved and managed to gain the best score in his graduating class), most black people AREN'T gang bangers, drug dealers etc, so the idea that those things hinder them when applying to these colleges is laughable IF THEY DON'T PARTICIPATE in illegal acts and just want a place at a great university. However I do agree that black children being hostile towards each other over irrelevant things is wrong and needs to stop. Secondly your statement has nothing to do with the fact that this guy has written an ORIGINAL poem that linked american history with his present day achievement; IMO it was so well written and articulated but I guess a lot of people wouldn't expect anything less :) And lastly if you think that America holds black boys up on a pedestal and kisses their asses then you have been living under a rock. I have seen more mediocre white men and women gain more money, ass kissing and opportunities just because of their outer appearance whilst not having nearly enough talent as their ethnic peers. If you think black people in the US have a greater advantage of whites then you must be drunk sir because that isn't the case, but AGAIN I agree that black ppl should stop insulting each other for no good reason and two parent homes are essential but not the main cause of inequality. FYI: most black ppl are congratulating him
+Sophie Lowe Just be thankful he wasn't reciting his poem at a T.I concert.
gorillas213 what has a TI concert got to do with the poem ?
Using this video for a class inspiration ❤️❤️🤞🏽✊🏽
His parents must be very proud 💯
Salute young man, salute!
i applaud this young man for his vision.
Reminder:
Believe Again
Begin Again
My vision for my children ❤️❤️
What a smile he’s got
Powerful speech....remember that name that belongs to our future.
That was absolutely beautiful!!!!
Powerful 👊🏻 respect
Loving this speech
Extraordinary speech. Extraordinary.
Great speech. this is motivation
EXTREMELY PROUD ✊🏾 GOALS ❤️😍 , CLASS OF 2018 POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR 🤗🎓
YES! YES!!! Thank you brother Donovan!!!
Kick ass speech
So original and makes you want to listen to him.
Imagine going after this guy
Taking education seriously is a choice. Most people choose to be cool rather than smart. A teacher can only do so much to encourage their students.
Donovan Livingston, a master's candidate at Harvard University, was selected to speak at the school's convocation Wednesday. After he performed his poem titled "Lift Off," Donovan Livingston's speech went viral, with over 5 million tuning in.
He is just an awesome to deliver incredible remarks. It always inspirational! Loved it !!
Harvard university is always my dream university and graduating as the best student in Harvard university is also part of my goals to achieve and I believe in God and trust God that, that dream of mine will comes into reality In Sha Allah Kareem 🤲🤲🤲🤲🤲
I hope you Will achieve your dream 👍 insha Allah
@@Monyetmanusia Ameeen ya Allah 🤲🤲🤲🤲🤲
thats beautiful
Goosebumps and teary eyes!
I love this. His speech gave me chills. Amazing!
wonderful speech!
Amen its powerful , love it🎓🎓✨✨
Amazing speech!
Outstanding job. Very inspiring!!! God bless you.
I wish he delivered it in non poetic way to show his strength if public speaking without the guidance of rap or musical rehearsal. I am sure this guy will be a one of kind once he does it with out repertoire. Genius.
Why? I love this as it is, poetry, beautiful spoken word and powerful that way.
is it human nature to put someone down when they are trying to pick you up?
All the bad comments make me think that we have no hope in humanity since a lot of ignorance is still a big part of society, but then again I think to myself no wonder he is talking about educating all the dumbass ignorant people trying to degrade the speech.
Ignorance is bliss. It will always be apart of today's society, but it's up for you to decide if your better than that.
What agreat speech, I almost cried because of his passion
Great Speech !
Wow!!! I was Lifted!
the quality had me thinking its from 1996, not 2016
wow, I'm inspired back to studying I go thanks for sharing 😊
Is there a transcript of this poem? If not, could someone transcribe it
or you can just record it with your phone
This man is amazing! So inspiring!
Wow that was an amazing speech.
Cool story!! Get a job, work your way up the ladder. Sucks at first but learning and getting better creates more lucrative results. Do your time and work hard. There is no shortcut to success
Jealousy gets you no where dummy
for those of you that have their thumbs down you probably didn't really understand what he was saying or you just don't want to give him props that is what's wrong with us we should give commands 2 people that works so hard to get where they are and to go where they're going just because you are not doing it that doesn't mean it's bad or it's no good or trashy or trash or he just woke you up to look within yourself and now you don't want to agree with him sad sad so sad
Tears streaming down my face....beautiful!
what a smart guy honestly
Notice how he didn't say "Thank you" at the end. It implies that the audience had a profound desire to be somewhere else, and thanking them suggests that you are thanking them for overruling that desire. Take not of this technique - The absence of "Thank you" at the end of a speech
What a beautiful speech!
Job well done young man.