John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke professor emeritus of History, gave the 2006 Commencement Speech May 14 in Wallace Wade Stadium. The following is a complete transcript of his address.
No Ivory Tower
This is the day of leave-taking on the part of you who have completed your studies here at Duke University, and I was greatly honored, Mr. President, when you invited me several months ago to say a few words on this occasion. Despite the fact that I have been attending commencement exercises for some 75 years, I find them as exciting as ever and, indeed, as important as ever, not only for the graduating classes themselves, but for all who take this opportunity to appreciate once more, the benefits as well as the challenges of higher education.
Although I could envy you who graduate today for your academic achievement, I will not do so. That would be both selfish and unseemly. Instead, I will add my congratulations and best wishes for what you have done and hope that what you have learned here will bring credit to you and to those whom you will serve, so that your efforts will redound to the benefit of society in general.
You have had a remarkable opportunity to receive an education comparable to any that you could obtain anywhere. That is because this university and its benefactors have assembled here a faculty and facilities of which we can all be proud and of which you have every reason to be grateful. Added to what was already here a mere decade ago are the new laboratories, libraries and dormitories, remodeled or enlarged structures to serve every purpose, and new curricula, faculty and support personnel that have anticipated every possible need for the most imaginative and demanding among you. Those of us who stood three-quarters of a century ago where you stand today could not have imagined the changes that would occur in the next two generations. We can only hope that you who are the beneficiaries of these significant changes have fully appreciated them and have taken advantage of them in every possible way.
But, your appreciation of what Duke has to offer must be a given on the part of you who are taking your leave today. After all, you fully appreciated the fact that competition for admission to this university is keen. Whether one seeks admission to the so-called "hot college" or whether one seeks need-blind admission to the graduate school or one of the professional schools, you run the risk, upon matriculating, of succumbing to a feeling of elitism that, in turn, can lead to false pride or, worse still, a false sense of self-importance. But your high graduation rates are a source of pride to all who have had anything to do with the maintenance of high academic standards throughout your years here as well as during the time of those of us who have been privileged to participate at any stage in the academic process. We feel confident in predicting that success will be yours as you proceed to further study or as you enter upon your chosen career.
I very much hope that as you pursue your own careers you find time -- take the time -- to work for the improvement of our society. Not long ago, a victorious presidential candidate said during his victory speech that for the next four years his agenda would be "putting people first." I am not persuaded that this was his watchword for the ensuing four years, but I sincerely hope that "putting people first" will be your resolution for a much, much longer period of time. It is difficult to imagine, for example, a situation where our schools could be worse than they are at present. It has been a source of great embarrassment for our schools at all levels to rank far below the standards that a great nation can reasonably expect to maintain. And it is equally embarrassing to discover that most of the nation's educational system could well be designed a disaster area. You know the scenario as well as anyone: ungovernable students, rampant gangs, drug and alcohol abuse extending below the middle schools, an over-emphasis on athletics and an under-emphasis on serious study and academic achievement.
Consequently, we wring our hands and wonder how and why the Asians surpass us in some things and the Europeans have the edge in other things. This need not be. What better way for you who graduate today to make a proper beginning than to make a solemn resolve to rescue our schools from their present degraded status, and thus assist in providing our students with the opportunity for a better start in life. One of the most rewarding experiences you can possibly have is to guide some child or adult to learn to read and write. I had that experience when I was 20 years old, during my first year as a graduate student. One evening, during my first month in Cambridge, a man twice my age rapped softly on my door and I invited him in. He said that he needed help in making out the words in the poorly written letter he had received that day and he wondered if I could help him in reading it. When I looked at the letter, I saw that it was well-written, and I wondered who had been helping him read. When I completed the task of reading the letter to my visitor, I suggested that it would be good if he and I could work together and brush up on his reading. He protested that I did not have time. I told him that I would take the time. If he would come to my room at five o'clock each evening, I could work with him for 45 minutes, just before I would leave to wash dishes at a club for my evening meal. For the next eight months we worked six days a week, and by the end of the term, I who knew nothing about teaching English had transformed a person from illiteracy to one who could read and write simple sentences. Two days before I received my Master of Arts degree, my student for the first time in his life wrote a letter to his family in Virginia. During the week that I graduated from Harvard, I can tell you that the most exciting thing that happened to me that week was not receiving my own degree but to read a letter that this older man had written. It was this experience, more than any other, that inspired me to dedicate myself to the educational enterprise.
I doubt that many of you can be rightfully accused of living in an ivory tower during your years at Duke. But if you are so accused, I very much hope that you are not guilty, that you have been sensitive to the needs of this community and your several respective home communities and that you have worked diligently to improve them. I know that many of you have given many days and hours in the effort to improve conditions in Walltown, not only in what is known as the Walltown Ministries but in numerous other activities that have served to brighten the lives of many residents of that community. I know that many of you have been engaged in a variety of tutorial programs that have strengthened the programs of teaching and learning in the schools of Durham. I am especially aware of and grateful to the Duke tutors who have undertaken the special task of working with Durham high school students in a program named in my honor. I know something of the enormous undertaking of Duke students who responded to the tragedy of Katrina not only by making financial contributions to the catastrophe but also by going to the Gulf area and working diligently to serve the people in dire need. For these and similar activities you are to be commended.
The community and the nation need you to use your energies and talents to assist our government and the people as they work for the good of society. But it can hardly do so if we leave participation to a small, highly interested segment of the population. When the primaries were held in Durham County a few days ago, barely 13 percent of the eligible voters bothered to participate. Compare this with the average of more than 80 percent in the Philippines and other so-called Third World countries with multiple party systems and where voting is not compulsory. What better way to have our country live up to its preachments about democracy than by having you, your friends and everyone else take an interest in our public servants, the policies they pursue, and refuse to be beguiled by selfish, scheming politicians whose interest in you is demonstrated only when they are on the campaign trail seeking your votes.
Something has brought about the recrudescence of racism in this country. What triggered this bizarre demonstration of a trait that has too long been a part of American life? Perhaps it was the competition for the limited employment opportunities between recent immigrants and long-time citizens, such as African Americans who have been mistakenly regarded as immigrants. Perhaps it was the view held by some that the civil rights movement had ended, thus no longer holding all of us accountable for this incipient racism. Perhaps it was the mistaken view that the best way to preserve American values is for each American to take the law into her or his own hands. Perhaps there were other forces at work: the sense of insecurity in the workplace on the part of some, the palpable resegregation of the public schools in many of our cities, the resistance to racial equality that has been ever-present at all levels of American life and in every period of American history, and the mistaken belief by some that African-Americans should be made to understand that their rightful place in American society is one of subordination. What better way for you to take on your role as responsible, mature citizens than to insist that the American ideal of equality of race, sex, religion and ethnic groups be adhered to because that ideal was bought and paid for by all Americans, regardless of race.
And so, congratulations to those of you who graduate today. It has been a high honor and a great privilege to participate in this ritual. May your days and years ahead be filled with the light by which truth is revealed. May you become activists in the promotion of the highest ideals of learning and service that are central to what you have experienced at Duke University, and may you take with you those ideals as you assume your respective roles in life as you go down from this place. Congratulations, best wishes and God speed!
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.