Genese Clark Fulfilling the Dream Award Acceptance Speech
Office of Diversity and Inclusion
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01/19/2024
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Genese Clark Fulfilling the Dream Award Acceptance Speech
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- [00:00:01.500]Hi everyone, I'm sorry I can't be there
- [00:00:04.920]to celebrate the amazing work
- [00:00:06.750]that's happening in and around Nebraska.
- [00:00:10.440]I'm thankful, though,
- [00:00:11.700]that some very special people in my life
- [00:00:14.730]can receive this award in my absence.
- [00:00:17.760]When I received the email congratulating me
- [00:00:20.670]on being named as a recipient
- [00:00:22.680]of this year's Chancellor's Fulfilling the Dream Award,
- [00:00:25.440]I had a mix of emotions.
- [00:00:28.290]The most prominent emotion was one of regret.
- [00:00:32.070]I thought about all the people
- [00:00:33.900]who have carried forth Dr. King's legacy,
- [00:00:37.380]but whose names many of us will never know.
- [00:00:41.070]I wanted to share this with them.
- [00:00:43.380]In particular, I thought about my grandmother,
- [00:00:46.080]Richelene Mitchell, who in the 60s
- [00:00:48.660]and 70s wrote countless letters
- [00:00:50.910]to newspaper and magazine editors
- [00:00:53.400]advocating for the human rights of poor Black people.
- [00:00:57.030]She did this up
- [00:00:57.960]until she could no longer overcome her disability,
- [00:01:00.660]dying at the very early age of 41 years old.
- [00:01:04.740]She left seven children in their offspring,
- [00:01:07.620]me included, to fulfill her dream.
- [00:01:10.470]And like Dr. King's dream,
- [00:01:12.270]it emphasized recognizing the humanity in people
- [00:01:17.010]and their innate value despite assumptions
- [00:01:19.710]associated with how they've been racialized.
- [00:01:22.980]My grandmother's and Dr. King's message
- [00:01:25.680]was about speaking the truth,
- [00:01:27.240]no matter the risk of being ostracized,
- [00:01:29.790]if it meant moving the dial further toward justice.
- [00:01:34.020]I believe her words written in 1973,
- [00:01:37.050]51 years ago, are still true today.
- [00:01:40.560]And she wrote, "To me, the time seems past
- [00:01:43.950]for glossing over issues with evasions,
- [00:01:46.800]half-truths and subtleties, and nice-sounding platitudes.
- [00:01:50.880]If we could strip away our shields and pretensions
- [00:01:53.520]and reveal ourselves in our common humanity,
- [00:01:56.340]we might begin to like each other as humans,
- [00:01:59.010]human beings, and eventually to love."
- [00:02:02.580]I believe it is this love that is the foundation
- [00:02:05.880]of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's dream
- [00:02:08.190]and Dr. Coretta Scott King's call
- [00:02:10.380]to strengthen our connection to one another
- [00:02:12.480]through compassionate actions.
- [00:02:14.580]While in Lincoln, this is what I have tried to do.
- [00:02:18.090]I have tried to live a life of service
- [00:02:20.610]that recognizes the power
- [00:02:22.380]that can be harnessed through our incredible diversity
- [00:02:25.680]in my role in co-creating spaces that support thriving
- [00:02:29.070]for those who have been historically underrepresented
- [00:02:31.830]at predominantly white institutions.
- [00:02:34.440]I joined many in this room
- [00:02:35.910]as I continue to do this work on and off campus.
- [00:02:39.720]So thank you again for this honor.
- [00:02:41.820]I accept it on behalf of all those
- [00:02:43.830]who have done and continue to do the work
- [00:02:46.080]that Dr. King and his wife have entrusted to us.
- [00:02:49.620]May we all eventually recognize our common humanity,
- [00:02:54.180]learn to like, and finally, to love one another.
- [00:02:57.390]Let our small, everyday compassionate actions lead the way.
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