(gentle music)
-: Thank you Chancellor Green and the MLK Committee
for this great honor.
I was genuinely in shock when I was notified.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think
I would receive this award
and especially during an event hosting Dr. Bernice King
as the keynote speaker.
I am humbled and grateful by the nomination
and the selection mainly because
I know the incredible individuals
who've won this award in the past.
Dear educators, leaders, whom I like to call my friends,
Dr. Gwen Combs, Dr. Karen Kassebaum,
Ms. Charlie Foster,
and my dear friend, Ms. Charlene Maxey-Harris.
They have each inspired me in their own way.
When I entered this country, a 15-year-old student,
to an international boarding school in Central Florida,
I was a frightened young girl
without any adult family members in this country.
Little did I know that my fears would exponentially increase
just two months later when 65 American citizens
were taken hostage after the attack
on the United States Embassy in Iran.
Living through the hate thrust upon us Iranian students
made me work hard to lose my foreign accent
and do everything in my power to blend in
and hide my identity as an Iranian.
Every cell of my body felt the hate and anger of people
who were judging me based on my national origin
instead of the content of my character.
It wasn't until decades later
that I would realize the impact of those early years.
It took a great deal of work on my part
and the love and encouragement of so many people
for me to be here and to be the person that I am today,
realizing the dreams of my parents to attain a PhD
when they sent me to go to this country for an education.
I am indebted to my husband and my sons
for their deep encouragement and support.
In the nearly 30 years of doing diversity, equity,
and inclusion work, I've come to firmly believe
that we cannot expect our organizations,
our schools, our communities, and even our places of worship
to realize the dreams of Dr. King,
until we take a look within ourselves
and figure out our own biases
and the ways those impact our words,
our actions, and our decisions.
My approach has been to challenge students and leaders
with one question, "Who would you not want your child
to bring home as their future spouse?"
To my students I ask, "Who would you be most afraid
to bring home as your future spouse?"
I ask this because I believe most of us sincerely
believe and agree with the words of Dr. King,
while not recognizing our own biases
until our biases show up at the door
as the future spouse of our children or grandchildren.
My challenge doesn't stop with the question.
I want people to not only uncover the answer
to that question, but to really understand the impact
of that answer on their personal and professional life.
Most students do the work because they know
it's linked to their grade.
Often leaders, who are humble and willing to grow,
make time to do the work.
Since I began asking the question nearly 20 years ago
I've observed the transformative power
of the work on individuals.
I've had the privilege to come alongside students
and leaders as they dedicate time and energy
to become the kind of person
who authentically strives to live out the tenants
of Dr. King's dreams.
Those who are willing to dig deep often uncover
that the narrative
that they've believed about a population
comes from the fear caused by their own ego,
or pain inflicted by a single person
which they blanketed over a whole population,
or misinformation shared by someone they love or admire.
The truth is, the bricks of injustice
lie in the heart and mind of each one of us.
We will not realize the dreams of Dr. King
until we do this internal work.
We begin to take down the bricks of systemic racism,
when we remove our ego, our fears, and biases
as the barriers to someone else's success.
Until we grapple with those bricks
we will struggle to create a workplace, school,
or community free of injustice.
My life's purpose and my heart's passion
has been, and will continue to be,
to come alongside others on this journey
while boldly challenging my own ego,
my own fears, and my own biases.
I implore you to look deep within,
answer the question earnestly,
then embark on the journey.
A journey where the answers unfold within each one of us
creating a collective move toward the fruition
of Dr. King's dreams.
Thank you very much.
-: My name is Leo Yankton.
I am Oglala Lakota from the Pine Ridge Native Reservation
in South Dakota.
My tribe is commonly known as Sioux Indians.
We're actually are the poorest reservation
with the lowest life expectancy in America.
And I have directed a lot of my efforts
towards empowering my people back home,
but also working to support local communities,
as well as raising awareness
about issues in our country
and the world.
And it has actually spread to me
being an international speaker as well.
So a lot of my efforts that I have done up to this point
have basically given me personally,
the feeling that I should be taken seriously now,
but as far as deserving an award,
I don't actually feel personally
that I deserve any awards.
And
in all good conscience
to accept an award
of this magnitude,
I have to think about people like Martin Luther King, Jr.
and even more local heroes like
Frank LaMere,
Russell Means,
Susan La Flesche Picotte,
even Chief Standing Bear.
And one thing I could think of is the fact
that they were probably very humble
and they probably didn't think
that they needed to be given any accolades either.
But in all good conscious, to accept an award like this,
I would have to accept it, not thinking that I deserve it,
but thinking that I will earn this.
I will keep continuing to make efforts to earn this
for the rest of my life,
because when I think of Martin Luther King,
I think of him as someone who would probably be humble
and also think that he didn't need a bunch of accolades,
but that he was doing the work he was doing
because it needed to be done,
and because it was the right thing to do.
And so I will continue to do the right thing
and I appreciate accepting this award.
Thank you.