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In 1994,
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Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein
coauthored "The Bell Curve,"
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an extremely controversial book
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which claims that on average,
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some races are smarter
and more likely to succeed than others.
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Murray and Herrnstein also suggest
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that a lack of critical intelligence
explains the prominence of violent crime
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in poor African-American communities.
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But Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein
are not the only people who think this.
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In 2012,
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a writer, journalist and political
commentator named John Derbyshire
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wrote an article that was supposed to be
a non-black version of the talk
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that many black parents feel
they have to give their kids today:
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advice on how to stay safe.
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In it, he offered suggestions such as:
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"Do not attend events
likely to draw a lot of blacks,"
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"Stay out of heavily black neighborhoods"
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and "Do not act the Good Samaritan
to blacks in distress."
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And yet, in 2016,
I invited John Derbyshire
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as well as Charles Murray
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to speak at my school,
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knowing full well that I would
be giving them a platform and attention
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for ideas that I despised and rejected.
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But this is just a further evolution
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of a journey of uncomfortable learning
throughout my life.
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When I was 10 years old, my mother
was diagnosed with schizophrenia,
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a mental illness characterized
by mood swings and paranoid delusions.
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Throughout my life, my mother's rage
would turn our small house
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into a minefield.
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Yet, though I feared
her rage on a daily basis,
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I also learned so much from her.
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Our relationship was complicated
and challenging,
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and at the age of 14, it was decided
that I needed to live apart from her.
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But over the years,
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I've come to appreciate
some of the important lessons
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my mother taught me about life.
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She was the first person who spoke to me
about learning from the other side.
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And she, like me, was born and raised
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in a family of committed
liberal democrats.
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Yet, she encouraged me to see the world
and the issues our world faces
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as complex, controversial
and ever-changing.
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One day, I came across
the phrase "affirmative action"
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in a book I was reading.
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And when I asked her what the term meant,
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she spent what felt like an hour
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giving me a thorough
and thoughtful explanation
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that would make sense to a small child.
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She even made the topic sound
at least as interesting
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as any of my professors have.
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She explained the many reasons
why people of various political views
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challenge and support affirmative action,
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stressing that, while she strongly
supported it herself,
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it was important for me to view the issue
as a controversial one
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with a long history,
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a questionable future
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and a host of complicating factors.
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While affirmative action can increase
the presence of minorities
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at elite educational institutions,
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she felt that it could also disadvantage
hardworking people of different races
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from more affluent backgrounds.
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My mom wanted me to understand
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that I should never
just write off opinions
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that I disagreed with or disliked,
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because there was always something
to learn from the perspectives of others,
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even when doing so might be difficult.
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But life at home with my mom
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was not the only aspect of my journey
that has been formative and uncomfortable.
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In fourth grade, she decided
that I should attend a private school
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in order to receive
the best education possible.
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As a black student attending
predominantly white private schools,
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I've encountered attitudes and behaviors
that reflected racial stereotypes.
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Several of my friends' parents
assumed within minutes of meeting me
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that my best skill was playing basketball.
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And it really upset me to think
that my race made it harder for them
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to see me as a student who loved
reading, writing and speaking.
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Experiences like this motivated me
to work tirelessly
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to disprove what I knew
people had assumed.
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My mother even said that,
in order to put my best foot forward,
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I had to be patient, alert
and excruciatingly well-mannered.
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To prove that I belonged,
I had to show poise and confidence,
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the ability to speak well
and listen closely.
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Only then would my peers see
that I deserved to be there
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as much as they did.
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Despite this racial stereotyping
and the discomfort I often felt,
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the learning I gained from other aspects
of being at an elite private school
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were incredibly valuable.
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I was encouraged by my teachers
to explore my curiosity,
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to challenge myself in new ways
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and to deepen my understanding
of subjects that fascinated me the most.
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And going to college was the next step.
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I was excited to take my intellectual
drive and interest in the world of ideas
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to the next level.
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I was eager to engage in lively debate
with peers and professors
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and with outside speakers;
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to listen, to learn and gain
a deeper understanding of myself
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and of others.
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While I was fortunate to meet
peers and professors
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who were interested
in doing the same thing,
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my desire to engage with difficult ideas
was also met with resistance.
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To prepare myself to engage
with controversy in the real world,
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I joined a group that brought
controversial speakers to campus.
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But many people fiercely
opposed this group,
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and I received significant pushback
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from students, faculty
and my administration.
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For many, it was difficult to see
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how bringing controversial
speakers to campus could be valuable,
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when they caused harm.
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And it was disappointing to me
facing personal attacks,
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having my administration cancel speakers
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and hearing my intentions
distorted by those around me.
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My work also hurt the feelings of many,
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and I understood that.
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Of course, no one likes being offended,
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and I certainly don't like hearing
controversial speakers
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argue that feminism has become
a war against men
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or that blacks have lower IQs than whites.
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I also understand
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that some people have experienced
traumatic experiences in their lives.
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And for some, listening to offensive views
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can be like reliving the very traumas
that they've worked so hard to overcome.
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Many argue that by giving
these people a platform,
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you're doing more harm than good,
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and I'm reminded of this every time
I listen to these points of view
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and feel my stomach turn.
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Yet, tuning out opposing viewpoints
doesn't make them go away,
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because millions of people
agree with them.
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In order to understand
the potential of society
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to progress forward,
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we need to understand the counterforces.
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By engaging with controversial
and offensive ideas,
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I believe that we can find common ground,
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if not with the speakers themselves,
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then with the audiences
they may attract or indoctrinate.
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Through engaging, I believe
that we may reach a better understanding,
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a deeper understanding,
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of our own beliefs
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and preserve the ability
to solve problems,
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which we can't do
if we don't talk to each other
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and make an effort to be good listeners.
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But soon after I announced
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that John Derbyshire
would be speaking on campus,
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student backlash erupted on social media.
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The tide of resistance,
in fact, was so intense,
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that my college president
rescinded the invitation.
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I was deeply disappointed by this
because, as I saw it,
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there would be nothing
that any of my peers or I could do
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to silence someone who agreed with him
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in the office environment
of our future employers.
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I look out at what's happening
on college campuses,
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and I see the anger.
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And I get it.
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But what I wish I could tell people
is that it's worth the discomfort,
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it's worth listening,
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and that we're stronger,
not weaker, because of it.
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When I think about my experiences
with uncomfortable learning,
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and I reflect upon them,
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I've found that it's been very difficult
to change the values
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of the intellectual community
that I've been a part of.
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But I do feel a sense of hope
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when I think about the individual
interactions that I've been able to have
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with students who both support
the work that I'm doing
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and who feel challenged by it
and who do not support it.
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What I've found is that,
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while it can be difficult to change
the values of a community,
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we can gain a lot
from individual interactions.
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While I didn't get to engage
with John Derbyshire
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due to my president's disinvitation,
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I was able to have dinner
with Charles Murray before his talk.
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I knew the conversation
would be difficult.
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And I didn't expect it to be pleasant.
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But it was cordial, and I did gain
a deeper understanding of his arguments.
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I found that he, like me,
believed in creating a more just society.
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The thing is, his understanding
of what justice entailed
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was very different from my own.
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The way in which he wanted
to understand the issue,
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the way in which he wanted
to approach the issue of inequality
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also differed from my own.
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And I found that his understanding
of issues like welfare
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and affirmative action
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was tied and deeply rooted
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in his understanding of various
libertarian and conservative beliefs,
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what diminishes and increases
their presence in our society.
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While he expressed
his viewpoints eloquently,
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I remained thoroughly unconvinced.
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But I did walk away
with a deeper understanding.
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It's my belief
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that to achieve progress
in the face of adversity,
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we need a genuine commitment
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to gaining a deeper
understanding of humanity.
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I'd like to see a world with more leaders
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who are familiar with
the depths of the views
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of those they deeply disagree with,
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so that they can understand the nuances
of everyone they're representing.
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I see this as an ongoing process
involving constant learning,
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and I'm confident that I'll be able
to add value down the line
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if I continue building empathy
and understanding
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through engaging
with unfamiliar perspectives.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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