* This speech was given on April 16, 2008 at a national event to “Remember the Victims” of the fatal shootings at Virginia Tech one year ago. The event was held at college campuses across the country. Algenon was invited to be the keynote speaker of the event being held at Winston-Salem State University, which is the only historically black college in the United States to celebrate this national event.
We have assembled this morning to bring awareness to an epidemic that plagues our neighborhoods, schools, and community. How ironic to have a clock tower as the back drop for this national event, because of all of us here today represent a fast growing population of citizens screaming it is TIME for change. One year ago from today, 32 innocent students and their families had their lives altered in a dramatic way as a result of choices made by only one student who lacked compassion and purpose. In spite of the tragedy of this event, our country has experienced an additional 32 school shootings since the date of the fatalities at Virginia Tech. The effects of violence is proliferating into the lives of our youth at an alarming rate and is now the primary cause of 48 children and teens being shot per day in a country that is considered the only superpower in the world. Violent acts are no longer isolated to the battlefields. How can we expect to control and reduce violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, while it runs rampant right here in the United States? Young people used to fear becoming a victim of an assault at bars and nightclubs, but now they carry the same fear to their libraries and classrooms.
Every year more than 100,000 people in America are victims of violent crimes and everyday 84 people die from gun violence. It’s TIME for change. One may suggest that we add more police to patrol our streets, build larger prisons to hold more of these deviant members of our society, and of course, we can draft more legislation to control the lives of our citizens in an effort to provide them with security. Every year, our taxpayers foot the bill to operate prisons that release men and women that have not made a fundamental change in their internal behavior. Every year, our City Council adds more to the budget for additional police protection, but last night a woman was still a victim of a violent domestic disturbance. Our legislators spend countless hours drafting bills to control the decisions of their constituents in the name of government protection, but everyday our youth are killing one another. It’s TIME for change.
The path to a community that chooses not to practice violent acts is one that is long, hard, and requires all of us to be willing to sacrifice ourselves to inspire others to make positive changes. Laws traditionally have only kept good and honest people good and honest. Like many others I expressed concern about this young man being able to acquire the necessary firearms to kill and fatally injure 32 of his fellow students, but a deeper question is “what” and “why” did this young man want to commit such a violent act on another human life. His behaviors and actions reveal a lot about his self perception, lack of purpose, and no true understanding of the value of life.
Our country represents prosperity and strength, but we still have many of us in fundamental need of an understanding of their purpose in life. Their inability to have a positive vision of their life leads to choices that further create the negative life they live. This small population of our fellow brothers and sisters represent what is broken in our society. Their lack of purpose and continued selection of bad choices negatively impact the lives of all Americans. Those in charge of protecting us routinely “lock-up” this segment of the community in hope to provide the rest of us with a sense of security. The rest of us commit an injustice through our refusal to truly connect with these offenders and help them to realize this source of life we refer to as purpose, unleash their minds to dream, and fundamentally recognize the value in the fruits of sacrifice.
I was raised in East Winston-Salem, NC and my journey has been one of great pain and struggle. As a young child, I recall my Grandfather waking up early in the winter months to heat my bathwater on the stove. Next door, our neighbor ran a crack house and I recall my ten-year old eyes peeking through the windows on the day when he was busted by the police, hiding under the covers as the police surrounded the house with their guns drawn. About 100 feet from our doorstep there was a corner that was infested with winos and crack during the day and prostitutes by night. I was the witness of countless beatings, shootings, and stabbings right in my front yard as I grew up in our neighborhood.
My mother gave birth to me when she was 17 and still in high school. As I grew up, I was not able to go on any camping trips with my dad, because I never met him. I was able to see him once when they published his photo in the local newspaper because he was accidently released from jail. I grew up with a stepfather who resented me because I was not his own and this resentment resulted in explosions of anger and aggression. My childhood years were filled with countless nights that erupted into acts of domestic violence. As I lay in my bedroom feeling helpless, I came to realize the power of the mind during those sleepless nights.
I empowered myself through my ability to dream and vision a future that was much different than my current reality. I want all of my young leaders to remember an old axiom that says “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning!”
Most of today’s statistics will reveal I should be dead or in prison, but instead I am the owner of a vibrant small business and a community leader. I was not wealthy growing up, but my imagination resulted in spiritual prosperity. My Grandmother did not waste time on external factors, she did not prevent me from going outside, but instead she encouraged me to be a friend to the crack addict and the wino. She did not encourage me to arm myself with guns, but instead she armed me with a purpose and the power of a vision. She did not impose more rules to control me, but instead she showered me with freedom and trusted in the principles that she had taught me. My grandmother taught me the power of a dream combined with the necessary action and positive behavior will lead to choices that will allow me to have whatever I want in life. My grandmother trusted that if she helped me to understand my purpose along with teaching me how to believe it was achievable, then my choices would not lead me to taking the life of another human being or using violence as a legitimate solution. The inheritance I received from my grandmother is not one of monetary value, but instead one that will provide residual value to our community through positive choices and the willingness to sacrifice for others.
My life story is the personification of sacrifice and the outcome of what may happen if you dare to dream or chase your vision. Success will not allow her value to be cheapened by associating with luck, because the only way to reach success is to embrace her passionately through a life led with purpose. Life is this game of choices and we control our destiny through the choices we make daily. We have no control over the choices and decisions of others or the many other externalities that exist in our society. Every one of us has the ability to control our mind and the images we vision, our actions, and our behaviors. Our country can experience unrelenting change if we come together as a community, and then sacrifice our time, talent, and energy to help others vision their purpose in life, gain control over their actions, and realize the heights they can reach with positive behavior.
We live in a country with endless possibilities and we have a responsibility to help our young leaders to understand the significance of purpose. All of us are called to share our passion and energy with others to create and foster the long-term sustainability of our neighborhoods and community. Many of us believe our past experiences and current challenges are in control and we are merely their puppets. It’s TIME for change.
I have come to deliver the message that YOU are in control, YOU are the creator of your universe, and it’s TIME, YOU take responsibility for yourself. Take back control of your life by elevating your thinking, actions, and behaviors above past experiences and current challenges. I did not come from the right family, the right part of town, I am too young, and my father did not love me, but you are looking at a leader that is rising to greatness. I have proactively chosen to ignore my challenges and perceived failures and focus on the enormous responsibility I have to fulfilling my chosen purpose and repaying our Creator for the wonderful gift of life.
Each one of us can stop violence in our communities and there is no reason we must feel handicapped into thinking the only way to solve this problem is through more legislation, bigger prisons, and a larger police force. Today, WE all need to begin to take responsibility for the condition of our neighborhoods, schools, and community. We have a choice, we can continue to abdicate our responsibility of serving our fellow man or we can develop compassion and a desire to fundamentally shift the tide in our communities through the practice of sacrifice, along with a desire to help people to internally make a change. The change I have spoken to you about will not be easily achieved, because we are naturally fearful of the unknown, but if we do not sacrifice today as a community, then tomorrow we will die as individuals. We habitually focus our energy on external factors, because we feel that we have the ability to control them. We ignore those factors that are unseen because we fear them. However, we must focus on those things that are unseen, because those things that are seen are temporary, but those things that are unseen are eternal. It’s TIME for change.
