San Francisco State University Commencement Speech
President Corrigan, distinguished faculty, families and friends. Members of the class of 2007: I’m so pleased to say, you did it!
It was a team effort, including your family and your friends . . . and of course, Facebook . . . Red Bull . . . and . . . PS-3’s.
I know today is the kind of day where I should talk about where you’re going. Instead, I’d like to spend a few moments talking about where you’ve been.
This Spring, one and a half million students will sit in ceremonies much like this at thousands of universities and colleges across the country. But I can assure you, from where I stand, very few of those ceremonies will look like yours.
After all, this is San Francisco. A city where one hundred different languages are spoken. Where one-third of us were born in another country, or where many, many more of our parents, like mine, were born in another country. And San Francisco State graduates are just as diverse and energetic as the City itself. This is the school that has produced countless leaders and activists.
These are people who broke barriers. People whose names we know because they broke barriers. And, in many different ways, by per-severing, working hard, and achieving your goal of graduation, you have broken barriers.
And there are many more barriers you will face and break – and must face and break -- to achieve your dreams.
I want to talk to you today about that – about breaking barriers to achieve your dreams and our dreams for your future. It’s more than a notion. To do it, you may have to break some rules. And I’m not talking about the kind of rules I prosecute.
What I’m talking about are the old rules and ways of thinking about who can lead, what they look like, who their family is, and what neighborhoods they’re from. I’m also talking about barriers of belief that suggest that things cannot be changed and that problems cannot be solved.
When you break all of these barriers, you will open up new possibilities and create new solutions to our challenges. You will become the new leaders with new perspectives and a new way of thinking about how to create solutions that no one thought possible.
But let me tell you: by definition, breaking barriers will take you on paths you never thought imaginable.
Frankly, that’s what happened to me. I faced a barrier of traditional thinking about how to be a fighter for civil rights.
When I was growing up, my parents were deeply involved in the civil rights movement in Berkeley in the 70’s. I grew up surrounded by people who were marching and shouting at the top of their lungs for equality and for justice. I was right there marching --- yes, in my stroller --- for the justice they demanded.
By the time I got to Howard University, I wanted to continue that fight. And the traditional thinking was that you could only do civil rights work in organizations like the ACLU and the NAACP. The thinking was that you had to work from the outside-in, but I believed it was important to be at the table when important decisions were being made. That’s why I decided to become a prosecutor. And, yes, it was about the farthest thing from my parents’ minds, so, you can imagine when I told them I was going to be a member of law enforcement, I had to defend that decision like a thesis.
But they understood. You see, their march for civil rights led me on a path to a courtroom, where I stood before a jury of twelve people arguing for justice for an abused child, a battered spouse, or a victim of hate crime. And following that passion for civil rights has been the greatest reward of my career.
As you grow in your career, you’ll experience similar barriers of traditional thinking and also other barriers. For example, the limits that others set for you. Barriers that place a ceiling on what you can accomplish and who you can be.
I’ve been there, too. When I decided to run for District Attorney, it was considered a man’s job, even here in San Francisco. No woman had ever been elected District Attorney in San Francisco, and no person of color had ever been elected District Attorney in San Francisco.
I remember the day I got my first poll results. I was sitting in a small conference room, a little nervous, but also very hopeful. Then, I read them. I was at 6 percent. And you can imagine that didn’t feel good. In fact, I felt pretty small.
And, then, I was told what you have probably all heard in your life, and will certainly hear in your future. I was told that I should wait my turn. I was told, “don’t put yourself through all of that.” I was told that I should give up. I was told that I had no chance.
But, I didn’t listen.
And I’m telling you, don’t you listen either.
Don’t you dare listen when they tell you you can’t do it or that it can’t be done.
I know that every one of you quietly and privately believes that you can do something great. Nurture and cherish that belief. Own that vision. And surround yourself with people who will support you and will encourage your ambition.
And don’t listen when people say that it hasn’t been done before.
Armed with the belief in yourself and surrounded by those who believe in you, I know you will have the creativity and the independence to say yes where others have said no, where others have seen risk --- to see opportunity, and where others have felt fear --- to find courage.
It’s an extraordinary time to graduate and consider how to break down barriers and create new possibilities. At the same time, our city and our country are facing enormous social, political and economic challenges.
For example, our civil liberties are under fire, and our federal government is not just failing to enforce them, but is frankly contributing to their deterioration. We can stand against that with passion and conviction.
In politics, for the first time, barriers are being broken by men and women from every walk of life. Just think: for the first-time-ever, three of the strongest candidates for President of the United States are a woman, a Latino and an African American. We can elect a new kind of President.
Across the world, new frontiers in civil rights are emerging as the forces of globalization connect our lives in real-time with citizens of every country, rich and poor. We can fight for human rights and stop the genocide in Darfur.
And we have a growing environmental crisis around the world. Our air, our water, our oceans – we can protect them. We can find new solutions.
Closer to home, here in San Francisco, there are over 2,400 children who are chronically truant from school. Over 700 of them are elementary-school students. We can mentor them. We can make sure they get to school. We can make sure that in 10 years they’re sitting where you are sitting today!
In times like these, it’s dangerous to stay quiet and stay on the sidelines. Times like these call for people like you to stand up, be inspired and act inspired. To break barriers, to drive change, and to roll up your sleeves instead of throwing up your hands.
So, I ask you:
Who’s going to stand up and defend a woman’s right to reproductive freedom?
Who’s going to ensure environmental justice, so that we stop the dumping and polluting in our poorest neighborhoods and communities of color?
Who’s going to speak out against torture at Guantanamo Bay?
Who’s going to register people to vote, work on a campaign, and help us elect a President who will end the war in Iraq?
The answer is that you will be at the heart of these great struggles. So, follow your passion, eat your Wheaties and get out there!
Today, you graduate. Tomorrow, there is no barrier on what you can do.
Thank you and congratulations!