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^M00:00:06 >> And now it's my pleasure to introduce our
2013 commencement speaker. Today we welcome one of the, one of our nation's heroes, a
person who has overcome injustice, persecution and great personal love to serve as a moral
leader and advocate for the rights of all Americans. Commencement is a time when we
gather to celebrate our graduates' persistence and accomplishments before we send them out
into the world. We bring in leaders who can add insight, to all the knowledge a new graduate
have gained, inspire them and challenge them to go forth and make a difference. It's hard
to imagine a better example than this year's speaker, a woman who's demonstrated such incredible
persistence and courage that it's impossible not to be inspired by her story. Dr. Myrlie
Evers-Williams is a native of Vicksburg where she was raised by her grandmother, Ms. Annie
McCain Beasley and then aunt Mrs. Myrlie Beasley Polk both school teachers. They instilled
a lot for learning in young Myrlie Beasley and inspired her to pursue a teaching career.
In 1950, she enrolled at Alcorn INM College as an education major but when she met an
upper classman, Medgar Evers on her first day of classes her life changed forever. They
married a year later. After Mr. Evers graduated and became active in the struggle for civil
rights and eventually became the NAACP field secretary in Jackson. Mrs. Evers worked on
his staff. Together, they endeared many hardships and discrimination as they worked for equality
and raised a family. But on the night of June 12th, 1963, Mr. Medgar Evers was shot by a
sniper in their driveway and he died less than an hour later. The man accused of his
*** was freed after two trials both ended in deadlocks, but Mrs. Evers was determined
to keep her husband's memory and dreams alive. She lobbied tirelessly to bring his killer
to justice and her diligence eventually paid off when the assassin was brought to trial
for a third time and finally in 1994, was found guilty of the *** more than 30 years
after the crime. After moving from Mississippi to California, Dr. Evers-Williams earned a
bachelor's degree in sociology from Pomona College. For many years, she was active in
corporate and non-profit life holding a number of prestigious positions. In her professional
life, she's best remembered as chairperson of the NAACP form 1995 to 1998 and is widely
credited with saving the organization in financial difficulties, scandal and controversy. As
an author, Dr. Evers-Williams has captured the work and historical significance of the
Civil Rights Movement through several publications chronicling the life of Medgar Evers. In 1999,
she published her personal memoirs, Watch Me Fly, what I learned on the way to becoming
the woman I was meant to be which charts her journey from being the wife of an activist
to becoming a community leader in her own right. Dr. Evers-Williams has been recognized
by too many organizations to count for her work in civil rights and human rights. She
is the recipient of at least 16 honorary doctorates from universities across our nation. Earlier
this year, President Obama honored her by asking her to provide the prayer in his second
inauguration becoming the only woman ever to deliver the inaugural prayer. Last year,
she returned to Mississippi to become a distinguished scholar in residents at Alcorn State University
in Lorman. She chairs the board of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute and will spearhead
the 50th commemoration of her late husband's assassination later this year. With Dr. Evers-Williams
today is her daughter, Reena Evers-Everette. Please welcome Ms. Evers-Everett.
^M00:04:26 [ Applause ]
^M00:04:34 >> All of us can learn from Dr. Evers-Williams
example of perseverance, daring and dedication to the pursuit of human rights. I encourage
you to listen and carefully consider how you too can use your life to make this state,
this country and our world a better place for all people. Please join me in welcoming
Dr. Myrlie Evers-Williams. ^M00:05:00
[ Applause ] ^M00:05:10
>> Dr. Myrlie Evers-Williams: Chancellor Jones, all of the distinguished faculty and guest,
and certainly the graduates of this year. I sat in my seat and I took in the wonderful
view of all of you in cap and gown, of all of those who are here representing families
and friends of these graduates, and I thought to myself really what can I say? The speakers
before me have covered much of what I think was needed to be said. However, as we all
sat here, the sun began to come out and there was a debate as to whether it would rain on
your show or not. And it reminded me of one word, believe, believe, work toward that belief
and it will become a reality and that is actually what all of you have done here. But as I sat
in and took in the essence of this day, the full meaning of it, I realize if there's one
other word that speaks to who you are and what you are and what you can become, that
word is power. You have the power within you. Not only that that has been instilled in you
and your families, but what has been instilled in you at this university. The power that
you have gathered from the things around you and I ask you the question, "Do you realize
just how powerful you are as an individual and as a group?" because you can make and
bear change that can be ever so beneficial to everyone not only in this state, not only
in this nation, but in this world. Power to do what is right, power to do what is just.
I ask you the question, "What rests in your heart? What rests in your mind?" Today is
much more than celebrating hard work and perhaps not so much hard work, a lot of play that
went along with it as well and I hope you did enjoy yourselves here, I'm sure you did
and from the smiles on faces I can tell some of you had a really good time. But bringing
together all of those experiences and being able to look at the world beyond this campus
and find your role in it and roles may shift and the roles may change as you go along and
you age, but you have been given the privilege of one of the best educational systems that
you can encounter and what you do with that will not only impact you, your community,
not the state, not the nation, but the world as a whole and I hope that as you daily go
about celebrating all of your successes here, you will realize and take seriously the role
that you can and the role that you will play for your community, for your state and for
your nation. I was asked by someone why were you chosen to be the guest speaker. Took,
well I don't know. It's really not important. The important thing is that I was asked to
be the commencement speaker and I accepted because I have a long relationship with this
university. This university changed my life from a very, very young woman, a young bride
who was not aware of the ills of the society in which I lived, I knew about it but not
really. It was a time when the man that I met and married had said I want a degree in
law from the University of Mississippi. My first approach to that was, "You have to be
out of your mind. It will never happen." And he said, "It will happen, it can happen, if
not with me perhaps someone else and I will take on the burden of standing in the door
and say, I am here, I served my country, enormity. I worked for the good of all people, I pay
my taxes, I do everything that an upstanding citizen should do and I think and I believe
and I will work to toward equal justice." The University of Mississippi has been a part
of my life since 1954, perhaps not the way that most of you think it should have been,
but we have been linked together through all that has happened in this State of Mississippi,
through all of the negatives, through all of the positives, through all of us coming
together to work to see that this will be a better society. Those who worked and who
still work to see that Mississippi rises from the very bottom of what people think to the
very top of what America can be and that is what you represent. You may not go into it
willingly, but you are a part of it. I choose to think not a part of the problem but a part
of the solution because educational wise you are at the top, emotionally that still being
worked on and let's be honest we know that. But I believe, I believe in you, I believe
in the State of Mississippi that it can become a better place that it can set the example
for the rest of the country to become and yes I believe in America. You have the talent,
you have the energy, you have the resources to shape and to make this be what we know
it can be. Of course there are diverse thoughts, there always will be, but may we find dialogue,
peaceful dialogue to deal with the issues, to not walk away from each other, to find
peace, to find some road where we can come together and know full well that Mississippi
can shine and that no one will ever again have to say with shame, "I live in Mississippi."
Where we can all be proud and where we can all know that in our own way we have paved
the way for a positive image of this state through what we have done and what we are
doing. I do not regret for one moment, those things had happened except for one in my life
that changed not only my life and the lives of my children, but changed the lives of so
many people, of the lives of so many people in this state. It is important to believe
in something. If you do not believe, you are as an empty vessel. You all have the opportunity
to believe and I hope in justice and equality for all and you will move forth on that. it
has already been stated that parents might be glad that you have completed your degree,
that perhaps they have cleaned out your room, they feel they no longer have to deal with
washing your clothes and other things that you bring home that you are on your own and
there may be some of you who think that's what you think mom and dad, I'm going to be
back and I'm going to bring others with me, but you realize that you are now on your own,
truly on your own and you make your own decisions and you live by those decisions. When Medgar
Evers decided that he wanted to attend law school at Old Miss, it was the decision that
most of his families and friends thought was foolish. As I said Old Miss has been a part
of my life since nineteen and fifty four and as I look at those things that have transpired
through that and as I look at the press who erroneously believes that James Meredith was
the first to apply and I certainly have my hat off to James Meredith and all that he
went through and others who went through at that time that there was a history with this
institution before that fatal day when people were hurt, when hatred raised its head and
the connection with Old Miss has been one that has grown constantly over the years where
we began to talk, where there was dialog, where people of goodwill came together and
said we can become friends, we can work together, we can build this state into being what it
should be. So that historical connection with this university continues on to this day and
I hope it does for ever and the day. The class of 2013 will be looked upon as a generation
who will be the change agents that many historians will write about 50 years from now. This graduation
occasion serves as a timely reminder that change is a natural component of evolution
and how this proud university has evolved in this past 165 years. You stand on the foundation
that was solidly formed by the founders of this university and has been continually reinforced
by those who followed them determine to carry the torch into the future and we know that
a time torches fade, they never go out but they surge again with a new vibrancy and I
believe that this class perhaps more than any other and I'm sure there are those who
disagree with me, but you have everything in front of you for a good and a solid future
and I ask you the question but what will you do individually and collectively to take advantage
of all of it and make everything in quotes, good.
There are discussions about what has happened on this campus within the last year, pro and
con, but I prefer to believe in the good of human kind that was not always the case but
I prefer to be positive and say that there are more people of goodwill than there are
of those who do not feel that way. You will be providing people in all areas of the workforce
to make change for the betterment because today we live in a world where jobs can be
shipped wherever there is an internet connection, where child born in Mississippi is now competing
with a child in New Delhi. So education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity and
success, it is a prerequisite to success and never has a college degree been more important.
And I think you will agree with me never has a college degree been more expensive and at
a time when so many families are being enormously suffering under economic burdens, the cost
of tuition can shatter dreams but it is the right time to continue our efforts to create
a democracy of excellence and it is also the right time to reflect on the rich history
of this university, a giant in teaching, research, community and of service. It is a right time
for celebrating the excellence of an Old Miss education. You are fortunate, you are more
powerful than you think you are, use that power to the betterment of all people. And
I think of you and hope of you of being as eagles in the sky. It is said that the eagle
is the only bird that loves a storm, when clouds gather, the eagle gets excited while
the other birds find shelter among the leaves and the branches of the trees, the eagle uses
the winds and pressures of the raging storm to soar high above the clouds and it glides.
They're also able to do this because the eagle is the only bird that god created with the
ability to lock its wings in a fixed position which enables them to be at rest so that the
wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. When the storm rages below, the eagle
is soaring above it. The eagle does not escape the storm, it simply uses the storm to lift
it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm and I say to you that we can use
the storms of our lives to raise or to rise to greater heights. Achievers relish such
challenges and use them profitably. My question to you is will you be an eagle or will you
simply be just a bird hiding from the storm and waiting until it is over. The sun did
not come out just to come out, I believe it came out to say to you, "Go forth, go forward
with all of the energy, all of the wealth of information, all of the sensitivity that
you have gained while being here while bathing the pros and cons of integration and all of
those racial things." You have reached to conclusions and I truly hope that you have
used your strength and will use your strength as eagles, to pass on the good word, to pass
on the good deeds that this society needs. Since 1954, I have been impacted by this institution,
some of it not good, some of it difficult to bear, but all in all as you look at the
entire picture it has been good, it has been something that I and others have grown to
be, positive, investing in our communities investing and our state investing in our children,
generations yet to come. We are achievers and the challenges that you have met here
and will meet in the future will simply make you stronger. Class of 2013 let me encourage
you to dream the impossible dreams. Don't be intimidated by anything, be proud of where
you are and where you come from, don't let anything paralyze your mind, tie your hand
or break your spirit. Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits. For
when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover. You
are strong people, with a strong heritage and a bright future. Let the University of
Mississippi provide you with the winds to lift your wings to soar, to even higher levels
of achievement and accomplishment. So to the class of 2013 I say be strong, learn how to
listen, don't have a mindset in negativity where you can never change it. Realize that
we are all human beings, we are all children of god or call that entity whatever you wish,
but we are and we have been given the power to make not only this city, this state, this
nation but the world a better place for each and every one of us. I believe in you, I hope
you believe in me and others like me and realize that even though we have differences, we can
find a way to come together and make it all work for the betterment not only of Mississippi,
but of all human kind. So my last words to you class of 2013 is soar, soar and be free.
Thank you. ^M00:29:17
[ Applause ] ^M00:29:46
>> Dr. Evers-Williams, thank you for your words of challengement, of challenge and encouragement
today. There is a tradition at many universities to honor outstanding leaders at commencement,
many use honorary degrees to indicate their appreciation, our university now recognizes
outstanding leaders by awarding the University of Mississippi humanitarian award. In 2001,
when the first humanitarian award was presented to Jim and Sally Barksdale then chancellor
Robert Khayat noted, "We recognize individuals who demonstrated extraordinary leadership
qualities including courage, initiative, creativity, grace, generosity, personal integrity and
sacrifices that affect human welfare and create social reform". The second humanitarian award
was presented in 2003 to Governor William Winter and Ms. Alice Winter. Governor Winter
is with us today. Governor Winter would you stand and let us recognize you please.
^M00:30:55 [ Applause ]
^M00:31:02 >> Today, we present the third University
of Mississippi humanitarian award to Dr. Myrlie Evers-Williams and to the memory of her late
husband Mr. Medgar Evers. In 1954, the year the Supreme Court decision Brown versus The
Board of Education changed the course of human rights in our country declaring all public
education entities open to all citizens regardless of race, Mr. Evers applied to be admitted
to University of Mississippi's School of Law. He took this remarkable step not just for
himself and his family, but for all who were denied their right to good education. After
denial of his admission, he committed his life to justice and fairness for all through
work as the field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi. His commitment to justice
eventually led to his death and his death was a tipping point in the struggle for civil
rights in this country. Soon after his death, President Kennedy asked Congress to move forward
with passage of the first major civil rights legislation and a year later President Johnson
signed that historic legislation into law. The lifelong work of Dr. Evers-Williams to
keep her husband's memory alive and to advance his dream has been pivotal and the pathway
from adoption of laws calling for fairness to the adoption of fairness into our societal
expectations and interpersonal relationships. These two great Mississippians, Medgar and
Myrlie Evers used their lives to make life better for others. The spirit of their lives
is captured in these quotes for Mr. Evers "The gifts of god should be enjoyed by all
citizens in Mississippi". In another quote he said, "Hate is a wasteful emotion. Most
of the people you hate don't know you hate them and the rest don't care." Their spirit
is further captured in these words from Dr. Evers-Williams' inaugural prayer and I quote
her at lengthier, "As we sing the words of belief, this is my country, let us act upon
the meaning that everyone is included. May the inherent dignity and inalienable rights
of every woman, man, boy and girl be honored. May all your people, especially the least
of these, flourish in our blessed nation." She continues, "One hundred fifty years after
the Emancipation Proclamation and 50 years after the March on Washington, we celebrate
the spirit of our ancestors, which has allowed us to move from a nation of unborn hopes and
a history of disenfranchised votes to today's expression of a more perfect union. We ask
to almighty that where our paths seem blanketed by throngs of oppression and riddle by pangs
of despair we ask for your guidance toward the light of deliverance." Dr. Evers-Williams,
the lives of you and Mr. Evers have been a part of the fulfillment of your prayer that
we move toward the light of deliverance. You helped deliver many from the oppression of
injustice and others from the oppression of hate. The denial of admission to the University
of Mississippi for your husband was an expression of institutionalized injustice in this university,
this state and this nation. As we recognize the two of you today, we offer our regret
and apology for that injustice to you, your family and to countless others. We are grateful
for your sacrifice and for your remarkable lives. Today we pay tribute to the recipients
of the 2013 University of Mississippi Humanitarian Award, Mr. Medgar Evers and Dr. Myrlie Evers-Williams.
^M00:35:14 [ Applause ]