|
|
"Flight of the Bumblebee"
One of the most interesting insects in our animal kingdom is the
bumblebee. As one looks at his body, one notes that he has a wide
body, but short wings, and by all of the laws of physics and thermodynamics,
the bumblebee cannot fly. But you see, the bumblebee has never had
physics, so he does not know that, and he flies all over the place.
And so my young friends, as I congratulate you on your academic
and other achievements, I wish to take you on a trip, and share
with you some thoughts on "The Flight of the Bumblebee"
-- reaching goals that others think impossible. For many of you
will be told, "you can't do that, you're black or poor or have
other limitations, and black people don't do this." But because
you're bumblebees, you don't accept these limitations, and you carry
your life to great heights.
"Somebody said that it couldn't be done, but he with
a chuckle replied, That maybe it couldn't, but he'd be one, who
wouldn't say so until he tried, So he took off his coat with a bit
of a grin, and he started to sing, As he tackled the thing that
couldn't be done, and he did it."
 This
month's issues of Ebony carried two stories of great interest. The
first of these is the story of a young man from Lake City, South
Carolina. Now there's nothing much in Lake City. This young man
wanted to go further, so he left South Carolina, and went to North
Carolina and A.&T. University. He said, "I'd like to major
in physics." Did you have physics in high school, he was asked.
No, they didn't teach physics at the black school in Lake City,
he replied. Well, Ron, we don't know whether you can do it or not.
But Ron McNair was a bumblebee, who did not know that black boys
from Lake City, South Carolina should not study physics. And so,
he graduated from A.&T. University with honors, with a major
in physics.
What then should he do with his life? Someone said, why not go
to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology? Ron McNair thought,
I can't even spell it, how can I succeed there? But he went there,
and he did so well that he became one of the few black scholars
to receive a Ph.D. in physics from M.I.T.
Next he went to California, and he heard about a wonderful program,
called the astronaut program, where men and women would fly into
space, out of the earth, and even to the moon. So Ron said, I'd
like to be an astronaut. However, he was reminded that there are
no black astronauts, "you're a bumblebee, and everyone knows
that bumblebees don't fly." But Ron McNair paid no attention,
he went on, and he became an astronaut, the second black into space.
He made one flight, and as we all know tragically, we lost him on
the second trip. We lost his body, but we shall never lose his spirit.
No matter where you're from, the town can't be much smaller than
Lake City, SC. You can be a bumblebee, you can fly -- remember Ron
McNair, who did not know that black boys from South Carolina were
not supposed to fly.
The second story describes a young black girl from California who
is a premedical
student at Stanford University -- quite an achievement in itself.
But she also wanted to be a figure skater. Now everyone knows Sonja
Heine, Peggy Fleming, or Dorothy Hamill, all great figure skaters,
but there was only Tia Bablonia in figure skating, and she was not
in school. So when Debi Thomas wanted to figure skate she was told,
"you're a black woman, and black women don't skate. Be satisfied
with your medicine" but Debi Thomas didn't know that, and you
know what? In March 1986, she won the U.S. figure skating championship,
and in April, she became the figure skating champion of the world
-- a black woman who did not know that she could not be a premed
student and a world champion figure skater.
I read a book the other day, Adventures in Faith. It told the story
of a black preacher born into slavery who came to a city in Southern
Virginia named Lawrenceville, and he thought, "there should
be a college here where black children could be taught." Everyone
said, "James Solomon Russell, you can't teach blacks to go
to college. They're just out of slavery. Teach them to plow, to
cook and to sew -- something productive. After all, they're black,
they do not need college." But James Solomon Russell was a
bumblebee, who did not know that you should not establish a college
in Lawrenceville. And so he founded St. Paul's College, and you
today are heirs to his wisdom and courage.
But this is not surprising to those of us who are biblical students,
for we have read the story of a young carpenter from Nazareth who
wanted to preach. But as told in St. John 1:46, Nathaniel echoed
the feelings of many when he asked: "can there be any good
thing come out of Nazareth?" But Jesus did not know that because
he was from Nazareth he was incapable of teaching. He became the
Savior of our world -- he changed the course of history -- a bumblebee
who did not know that he could not fly.
 And
now I go to Alabama in late 1910. They were holding a congressional
hearing on tariffs and peanuts. Someone said, "there's a black
professor at Tuskegee who has been studying peanuts. Let's ask him
some questions." Others scoffed -- a black man from Alabama,
what can he know about peanuts that would be important? If we must
listen to him, put him at the end of the day, so we can walk out.
Give him five minutes. So they invited George Washington Carver
-- and he talked about what the Lord had revealed to him about the
peanut, and five minutes became ten, and twenty, and then an hour.
They sat stunned and fascinated. And George Washington Carver --
a black professor traded for a mule as a child -- who did not know
that he was not supposed to know anything about peanuts and sweet
potatoes -- changed the economy of a nation -- a bumblebee who was
not supposed to fly.
Now we go to California again. A young black student, Paul R. Williams
wanted to be an architect, but black men were not supposed to be
architects. So Paul learned to draw upside down. Clients were fascinated
by this skills, but guess what? When he had finished, his drawings
were the best plans available. And thus, Paul R. Williams, a black
man who was not supposed to be an architect, became one of the greatest
-- he overcame his handicaps -- by learning to draw upside down,
a bumblebee who was not supposed to fly.
Let us return to Alabama -- this time to a small farm near the
Alabama-Georgia line -- a girl was born to parents who did not complete
the sixth grade. She wanted to be a chemical engineer. Everyone
said, "Jennie Patrick went first to Tuskegee, then received
an undergraduate degree from Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering
from M.I.T." -- at the old age of her late twenties. And when
you drive down Interstate 95 past Richmond, you pass the Philip
Morris Laboratories where Jennie Patrick is an engineering leader
-- a black woman who did not know that she was not supposed to be
a chemical engineer.
Those of us who watch 60 Minutes saw the story of Arthur Mitchell
-- a black man who wanted to be a ballet dancer. Now black men were
not supposed to be ballet dancers. The Lindy Hop, the twist, yes
-- ballet, no. So Arthur Mitchell had to go to Europe to receive
the recognition he deserved. And when he returned, he thought, "there
must be other young black youth who also want to ballet dance."
Again everyone said, "teach black kids ballet dancing, don't
be stupid. They can jitterbug, but ballet -- no." But Arthur
Mitchell ignored his critics, founded the Dance Company of Harlem,
and today, one of the outstanding dance groups in America and the
world is -- The Dance Company of Harlem -- all because bumblebee
Arthur Mitchell did not know that black men and women were not supposed
to be ballet dancers.
I could give many other examples, I only wish to give one more.
Recently I attended the memorial celebration, not a funeral, of
one of my closest friends, the late H. Carl Moultrie, chief judge
of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The interesting
fact about Carl's life is that he didn't finish law school until
he was 41 years old. Everyone said, Carl, you're too old, forget
it, it's too late to start over. If you haven't decided by now,
what chance do you have against the younger lawyers? But Carl wanted
to be a lawyer, so he went to law school at night, and graduated
at age 41. He became a good lawyer, so that in 1972, President Nixon
appointed him to be a Superior Court Judge. And in 1978, when they
needed a Chief Justice, he became the first black Chief Justice.
A position he held until his death -- a bumblebee who did not know
that he was not supposed to fly.
"If you think you're beaten you are, you've got to
think high to rise. You've got to be sure of yourself, before you
can ever win a prize. Life's battles don't always go to the stronger
or swifter man. But sooner or later, the one who wins, is the one
who thinks he can."
It would not be fair to tell you to go out into the world and fly,
without giving you some directions for flying. And so I wish to
suggest ten pointers as you fly.
1. Have Pride in Your Heritage -- Know from whence
you came, and be proud of it. Learn your roots. You came from a
good institution -- you are from St. Paul's.
2. Have Faith in Yourself -- you are somebody.
When I was speaking at Voorhees, another Episcopal college, an old
janitor came to me and said, "Professor, when you next speak,
use this banner, which reads: "I must be somebody, because
God don't make no junk."
3. Get Knowledge in Your Head -- Attain knowledge,
you came here to learn. Be the best that you can. Be an A student.
If you can't be an A student, then be a B student. If you can't
be a B student, then be a C student. Now if you can't be a C student,
change your major. An ancient Greek philosopher reminds us, "Man
has often said that only free men should be educated, but God has
said, only educated men shall be free."
4. Get Money in Your Pocket -- While man does
not live by bread alone, he must have that bread. We live in a world
of economic needs. One of the great tragedies of blacks in the United
States if our lack of concerted economic power. And when you get
some money, send some back to St. Paul's to help others follow in
your footsteps.
5. Have the Ballot in Your Hand and Use It --
Participate fully in the organizations to which you belong. "A
different world will not be built by indifferent people." Vote
and run for public office. Help change the world in which you live.
Remember, a mule cannot kick when he is pulling, and he cannot pull
when he is kicking -- and neither can we. Be a part of the solution,
not the problem.
6. Have a Sense of Responsibility -- Can people depend
upon you? What is your word worth? We who are educated
must bear the responsibility for those who are not. For everyone
who sits here there are 15-20 black boys and black girls who will
never get to college. You must be their ears and eyes. We must be
whatever our community needs.
7. Respect Yourself -- There ought be things you
do, and there ought be things you don't do. Don't fill your minds
with trash, and your bodies with narcotics and alcohol. Respect
others, especially your mates. Half of US is U.
"I have to live with myself, and
so, I want to be fit for myself to know.
I want to be able as the days go by, always to look myself straight
in the eye
I don't want to stand with the setting sun, and hate myself
For the things I've done."
8. Set a Goal to Achieve -- An old Navy saying
reads, "No wind is favorable to a sailor who does not know
to what port he is sailing." Benjamin Mays reminds us "Failure
is not reaching your goal, but in having no goal to reach."
Change your objectives if necessary. I certainly did not plan to
be a teacher, but always seek to go ahead.
9. Have Work in Your Plans -- The only way to
succeed is to work at it. Someone said, "the reason most people
don't recognize opportunity is that it generally looks like work."
Remember the ten most important TWO-letter words in the English
language, "IF IT IS TO BE, IT IS UP TO ME."
Finally,
10. Live So That You Show God in Your Heart --
Treat others as you would like to be treated. Your education at
St. Paul's ought to make a difference in the way you behave.
These, my friends are some thoughts on "The Flight of the
Bumblebee." I'd like to close with one of my favorite poems,
Langston Hughes' "Mother to Son."
"Well, Son, I tell you, life for me aint been no crystal
stair.
Its been hard and bare and rough places on the floor,
But all the while I'se been climbing, and going forth
In the dark, cause there ain't been no light.
So dont you sit down cause its kinds hard,
Dont you quit because its rough
Cause you see, I'se still climbing
And life for me aint been no crystal stair."
And so my bumblebee friends, in the words of Robert Frost, "we
have miles and miles to go before we sleep." So fly bumblebees
fly, and may the grace of God go with you.
|
|
McNair Scholars
SSC 518
San José, CA 95192-0127
408.924.2540 | contact us
|
