Saturday, June 27, 2015

Dedication Speech, May 11th 2015

Good morning.
It is my great pleasure to be speaking at this dedication ceremony. Welcome family, friends, and supporters of the lives lost to police brutality. To you we offer; this peace garden. Each flower represents an African American who lost the fight against injustice.  Carnations; for remembrance. Lilies: for youthful innocence.  Tulips: for grace.  Honeysuckles: for devoted affection.  Gladiolus for strength and a wide variety of other flowers each as symbol of the love we share for these people. We ask that you please hold all pictures until the end of the ceremony.

This ceremony is a time to remember and honor the young African Americans who lost their lives before they’d even begin. It is also a time of positivity, we ask that you please have respect for our police officers, simply because all of them are not bad guys. It is their duty to do their job, even if there are those who take advantage of it. They still risk their lives every day for US. However I cannot say this about all of them. Police brutality is thriving in the African American community today. It thrives and spreads on silence, and extorts us through coercion. But today we will not be silent. Today we will speak up and speak out for those voices that could not have been heard. Eric Garner, whose cry for help was ignored. Mike Brown: those last words are not remembered.  Deion Fludd, who was not able to speak at his own graduation.  Yvette Smith: who didn’t get to say goodbye to her son.  These four resting souls along with the other 420 who could not break the chains of injustice will never be forgotten. I don’t know how long it will take but God has promised He’ll make the wrongs, right. He will restore these lives that the police department has stolen from you, and from us.



We hope that this Peace Garden will not only serve as a memorial but also as hope for the future. That we can keep these flowers alive and under our protection just as we would if they were people like Eric Garner or Mike Brown. This garden now belongs to you, and I strongly encourage you to come and visit each chance you get. We also encourage you to spread the word of the sacred garden, and invite all your friends and family to come visit too. We have several benches for you to sit and admire the flowers, and multiple pathways for you to walk along and embrace the peace and sacredness of the garden. I would like to thank everyone who could be here today, and I hope to see you all again visiting the garden.

Native American Speech

Native American is one of the least talked about nationalities. Part of the reason this statement is true, is because we only make up 2% of the United States population. I think it’s essential to talk about Native American history because the vision you see of us differs from the reality of who we really are. I am here today to tell you about my heritage so you can get a better vision of what Native American culture is actually like.   Now before I get in to this I would like to point something out. The first and most important point I’d like to make is that we are NOT Indians.  This is a common cultural misconception made by many Americans today.   6 centuries ago when Columbus got lost on his voyage, he ended up in North America. He assumed that this land was India, and that all the residents found there were Indians, which in fact was incorrect. The land he discovered was the Caribbean and the residents he discovered were people of the Taino tribe.  As word spread about his discovery, all indigenous people of the North American continent were classified as Indians. His mistake was recognized years later but the name had already stuck. Now that I have addressed this, I can tell you a little more about Native Americans from a more personal level.

My grandparents come from two different tribes, Cherokee and Waccamaw Siouan. I am sure you are all familiar with the Cherokee tribe because it’s federally and state recognized.  Waccamaw Siouan however is never even mentioned in school, let alone recognized by the government. *So I’d like to share with you the story of how we came to be* Thousands of years ago a meteor appeared in the night sky of the southwest, it hurdled towards earth flaming a brilliance to innumerable suns, when it finally struck it buried itself deep within the Earth. The surrounding swamps and rivers flowed into the crater and cooled it; creating Lake Waccamaw. And the indigenous people who lived there were people of the Waccamaw tribe. Today we are known as; people of the falling star.

As people of the falling star we practice many traditions and customs that are common in Native American culture. For instance we all have Native American names given to us the day we are born. In my family the person who chooses our Native American name is my grandmother. (Mine is Little Red Mountain).  Along with Native American names we have pow wows, chants, art, drumming, etc. The beauty of Native American culture is that each tribe practices in their own way.


Over the years people have viewed us as pagans, squaws, aggressive drunks, “Indian princesses”, impoverished, and noble savages. Although this is the image that comes to mind, these illustrations could not be any farther from the truth. When it comes down to it we are no different than any other American. Just one of the many flavors making up the big melting pot known as America. 

Gay Rights Speech, March 6th 2015

Thomas Jefferson once declared that all men are created equal, not all straight men. Gay rights have been a controversial debate since the early 1920s.  There has been a long strive for equality, but as of 2015 the LGBT community still suffers harsh discrimination. It’s sad to say that after 95 years, we Americans still cannot accept equality. My purpose today is to convince YOU, the future of the United States of America, that we are all created equal; gay or straight.

          I’ll be honest with you guys; it’s hard for me to stand up here and try to preach gay rights to people of my age group for the simple fact being that the majority of you in here were raised on the bible, the other fact being that some of you could care less how this mind-set can affect people. Little did you know suicide is the leading cause of death among the gay community. 30% of these deaths are attempted at age 15. They are around the same age as most of the people in this room, ready to end their lives before they've even begun.  It is because of OUR rejection and close mindedness that our surrounding youth is decreasing.  Words like “faggot”, “queer”, “dyke”, and “fairy” can do a lot of damage to someone already on the verge of breaking. You may not agree with same sex relationships however you have to take into consideration the fact that they are still human and deserve the same amount of respect as anyone of us.

Now from a political stand point. I would like to inform you that in 29 states out of 50 it is legal to deny service to a person based on his or her sexual orientation.  This includes a woman being denied a table at a restaurant because she’s a lesbian.  This includes a man being denied a room at a hotel because he’s gay. This also includes a person being denied a seat at a concert because they are transgender.  The problem we are facing is not denying a customer a table or seat. The problem we are facing is denying a PERSON their civil rights.  And according to the Civil Rights act of 1964 this is the type of discrimination our government should be protecting us from. And if they won’t protect us, who will?  As a result of this negligence and discrimination, it is now legal in some states to discriminate against the LGBT community in public accommodations, work places, and even housing. 


The biggest argument I now face is religion. 83% of Americans identify themselves as Christian. Over half of this 83% use Christianity as an excuse to discriminate against the Gay community because of their interpretations of about 20 verses in the bible, overlooking the fact that there are around 31,000 other verses. .The problem occurring is that we often times find ourselves preaching the bible, but not the whole bible. We read a verse or two about God saying homosexuality is sinful, but brush past the verses about not judging others. We use the bible to preach our hate for sin, but overlook the fact that God commanded us to love the sinners. We need to stop using religion as an excuse to discriminate against the LGBT, and open our eyes to realize God created us all.  Christ himself died for ALL of us and ALL of our sins.  At the end of the day whether you are gay or straight, you’re worshipping the same God as any other Christian. I’m not asking you to hold hands with next gay person you see, I am asking you to remove the beam of biasedness and intolerance from your eye so you can see and understand people the way you should before judging them.  In closing  if you guys don’t mind I am going to read a verse from the King James bible. Matthews 7;1-3.  Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?







SPEECH DAY !!

Today is Speech Day on my blog! I will be uploading all of my best speeches from the year 2015. Some persuasive, informative, and others just for fun, I hope you enjoy reading them all!

The Face of America

I am the face of America.
You see me, but you do not look.
Because in your eyes we are all the same.
I am the face of America.
             The colored girl with the curly brown hair.
The black boy who sags his pants below his waist.
I am the little girl who just took her first pregnancy test.
The troubled little black boy who just shot up his school.
I am the face of America today, and tomorrow.
Yesterday I was Trayvon Martin.
And tomorrow I will be Michael Jace.
I have this caramel coated barrier that makes it impossible to see inside.
People take one look at me, and see the face of a thousand others.
But who am I really?
Would it be better if I labeled myself as 7083?
Just another statistic.
Or would you like it better if I labeled myself as negro.
Since that’s all I am to you.
We live in a world of black, and white, and a little grey.
In your eyes, I am one of these three colors but nothing more.
When I look in the mirror and see America staring back at me.
I see more than a colored girl with curly brown hair.
I see me and who I really am.
     Not who America thinks I am or expects me to be.