Lavender Graduation Speech- Columbia School of Social Work

“ I have a duty to speak the truth as I see it and share, not just my triumphs, not just the things that felt good, but the pain, the intense often unmitigated pain.

It is important to share how I know survival because survival is not just walking through the rain. “

Audre Lorde

I’ve been struggling with what to say to you because I want you to leave this room, this institution feeling inspired, encouraged… that these last two years and thousands of dollars were all worth it.

I want you to feel that you are the most prepared social workers in the country. And I know thats true because a lot of you were taught by me.

However, my own reality and deep pragmatism calls for a more complex graduation speech.

10 years ago I couldn’t fathom giving a speech at a Lavender graduation.

Being Black in America, I have always been acutely aware of my race and as such it has always been my primary identity. Growing up in south, being Black consumed my everyday… who I hung out with, the spaces and places I had access to, my educational experiences and health care.

Even when the kids on the black- top said I talked like a girl or told me to stop acting like a fag there common use of the N-word seemed to always take precedence. I just didn’t have the luxury of being gay, too.