In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, John Legend understands the “harm” of graduates.
Legend gave a commencement speech to Duke University undergraduates at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, on Sunday, May 2, 2021, and acknowledged that it had been a difficult year for everyone.
He said: “You know, I’m feeling good today because this is the first time I’ve been in front of a live audience, hearing live applause, since last February, 14 months ago … Your class lost a lot: Some lost job offers, some lost loved ones, and all of you lost a whole year those little moments that make college so special. I feel your pain: You’ve lost something that you won’t get back. I won’t sugarcoat that — it sucks. The fact that you’re here today, graduates of one of the world’s greatest universities means that you’ve had to approach life with a certain competitiveness … Anyone getting sick was a risk to everyone. We all had to slow down, social distance, cover our faces, stop filling our days with maximum productivity and simply keep each other safe, keep each other alive, care for one another.”
Legend, who received an honorary degree, praised the students’ “perspective” gained during the difficult period.
He went on to say in his speech: “This perspective you gained will serve us all, because while that competitive drive that got you here can be an incredible gift, it can get in the way, too. America’s story has always been marred by efforts to exclude, to dominate, to subjugate, to keep certain groups of people with no voice, no power and no opportunity: Workers, women, indigenous people, Black people, immigrants, the LGBTQ community.
“All because of a fear that if those people did better, somebody else would have to lose. But the miracle of our story is that as we expanded opportunity, in our best moments, we proved that those fears were unfounded. When more people made more money, rich business owners didn’t suffer, they got more customers. Prosperity increased for everybody. Once we recognize our interdependence, our mutuality, it’s clear that love is precisely what our society needs.”
