‘We are adults now, speak up and create a brighter America’

By UZMA MALIK
A leafcutter ant can carry an object 50 times its own body weight in its jaws. Ice shifts boulders; tree roots crack ledges.

 

The way we humans have power, the way we move the impossible is by our voices–our words cast away doubt, dissipate the dark, wage war against the intractable. When we speak, we lean forward toward taking our first step, and when we step, we are in a

different place than we were before.

 

Fellow graduates, we need to understand that people have spoken for us for the majority of our lives. Our political decisions, our ethics, our morals, and our treasured values have all been influenced by our parents, friends, and the community that surrounds us.

 

As we get ready to step out of the confinements of a high school, we find ourselves facing a labyrinth of choices. No longer can we expect to achieve what we desire without using the power of our voices. No longer can we expect to create a better tomorrow without using the power of our voices.

 

From walking over the bridge at Selma to the recent expansion of the “me too” movement, change may not happen overnight but joining together in our voices can make a difference.

 

On March 7, 1965, 600 African Americans set off from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in a march for voting rights. The brutality they ended up facing opened our country’s eyes to justice for all. 20 million marchers on the first Earth Day in 1970 led

to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and

the passage of the Clean Air