Baltimore City State's Attorney Marylin Mosby's Inspirational Speech
“I was taught that
life lessons come in many forms - some will be very unexpected.“ Aliyah Johnson
Today, I was privileged
to hear two of Baltimore’s most influential women speak in the same day. 14-year old, Aliyah Johnson, gave a remarkable
closing speech at the Flourishing Blossoms Society for Girls, Inc.’s 3rd
Annual Father-Daughter Ball. Just a few hours earlier, I attended a former
students senior graduation at Coppin University, where the keynote speaker was
none other than that brilliant, bold, and beautiful, State’s Attorney Marilyn
Mosby.
A few months before she became a household name for her
leadership in indicting the officers affiliated with the death of Freddie Gray,
she was one of the very first honorees at the Blossom’s Royal-Tea – a
celebration of powerful women in the community. She was sent a personal
invitation from one of our 14-year-old Blossom Girls who admired her from afar.
She had no idea who any of us were before arriving but by the end of the event,
Mosby told my co-founder and I how proud she was of the work we were doing and
never to hesitate to ask for any support from her office.
When I arrived at the Augusta Fells Savage senior graduation
ceremony and saw Mrs. Mosby sitting on the stage in a classy, knee length,
pearl dress and her signature Dominican-salon styled straight wrap, with the
ends softly bumped to perfection, I was instantly overcome with anticipation. I
knew she was going to deliver and that she did!
“…Success is not an option, it’s the standard. With all of
the negativity that’s happening in our world today surrounding young people, we
must take time out to celebrate the momentous occasions such as this where we
honor those young folks who were self-motivated and self-disciplined enough to
not only recognize the importance of a quality education but to actually put in
the time, the sacrifice, and the commitment to obtain one.
“You see, empowering young people in our lives is so crucial
in the process of our communities. When we look at our history, every great
movement towards progress came from young people, unafraid to challenge the
status quo in the pursuit of justice. Young people, in the words of Harriet
Tubman, reach for the stars and change the world. Young people who acted within
that exact moment. Young people who never let any time, situation, or
circumstance define their destiny. Young people that channeled their pain into
their passion and pursued their God given purpose... Not tomorrow but today,
now, in this exact moment. You see, taking complete advantage of the awesome
power of now, an ideology shaped by and taught by every prolific leader
throughout our history.
“At 35 years of age, I am the youngest chief prosecutor of
any major American city. So, I’d like to think I’m still young and not that far
removed from you. But when I decided to run for Baltimore City states attorney,
I embarked on a journey that was not easily rooted in abundance of external
support. I sat down with any and every politician, business owner, community
and clergy leader to ask for their guidance and support in my endeavor. To my
dismay, an overwhelming majority of those discussions ended with optimism for
my vision but skepticism in my ability to carry out my vision. Most of these
skeptics went as far as to discourage me from running for this office in the
first place. Whether their skepticism was rooted in love or in hatred, I was
told over and over again that now was NOT my time. I was told that my dream was
impossible, that I was too young, that I was too inexperienced, that I couldn’t
raise enough money, that my decision to run would potentially destroy and
interrupt, not only my career but also, my husband’s career. For me, as a young
woman to run against an older male incumbent with powerful backers who had the
ability of raising close to a million dollars, the skeptics wanted to know, how
could I have the audacity?
“After thinking long and hard about the skeptics and the
cynics, I thought about the audacity of those fearless leaders woven throughout
our history, such as, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, Dorothy Height, President
Barack Obama, Congressman John Lewis, Congressman Elijah Cummings, all of whom
had been unwavering in their pursuit of justice an equality. Having the
audacity to actually believe in myself, I realize that I had to channel my
confidence and deflect the negativity and ultimately decide that as a wife, a
mother raising two little girls in the heart of West Baltimore, a woman of
faith, a former prosecutor with 6 years of prosecutorial experience, and an 80%
overall conviction rate – that I not only possessed the vision but the
foresight to reform a criminal justice system. With this passion in mind, I
ultimately had to decide that my desire to change the criminal justice system,
a system that has historically and disproportionately affected so many
communities of color far outweighing the force of any skepticism. Reflecting
upon my faith and my life’s experiences I had to make a decision that I was
going to pursue my purpose and leverage the awesome power of now and run for
Baltimore City State’s Attorney but first I had to get pass the skeptics and
the naysayers that tried to impose the self doubt, therefore, I had to channel
my confidence, which is what you all are going to half to do. Much like the
spirit of Booker T. Washington, when he proclaimed, ‘I have begun everything
with the idea that I can succeed and I never had much patience with the
multitudes of people who are always ready to explain why one cannot succeed.’ Unbeknownst
to the skeptics, the depth of my conviction and my passion was because of them.
Looking at the pride of my community and the unparalled destructive impact of
the criminal justice system, I had to decide that I would not pass my
grandparents plight onto my children’s children. From slavery to Jim Crow to
the industrial prison complex, I had to decide that enough was enough and that
God had given me a purpose and wanting me to walk in that purpose. If not me,
then who? If not now, then when?
She went on to discuss how no matter what, as human beings
who diligently chase our dreams, we will always be tested. She recalled the
chilling murder of her 17-year-old cousin who was killed when she was only 14.
He was an honor student, not a “thug”. This traumatic event, in her words,
defined her purpose. “I turned my pain into my passion.”, she said, as she
continued to describe the reason why she fights for the justice of all,
especially the Black youth of Baltimore.
She was very transparent as she described being waitlisted
to every law school she applied to, as a result of her unsatisfactory performance
well on the LSAT. She wanted each person in that auditorium, young or old, to
understand that one should never let their shortcomings steer them away from their
goals. She continued to pursue her dream by personally making connections with
the schools of her choice so that should could assure the schools that her LSAT
scores were not indicative of her potential. She was determined not to allow
her “circumstance define her destiny.” Hearing and watching her speak today was
a testament to the fact that being “certified” has less to do with how well you
can pass a test than it has to do with how much tenacity and determination you
have to succeed.
“I was told”, she continued, “that it was hopeless and that
this was a fruitless effort. I was told that not to do it and to just try again
next time but when your faith and your purpose is REAL, you know when you must
walk in God’s purpose for your life. And let me just say, I did not listen to
the naysayers and I got into my first choice law school.
“I’m giving you my testimony because it’s real. Ya’ gonna’
have challenges in ya’ life.” The authenticity of her Boston accent came to
life, as she got even more genuine with us. “I did not initially pass the BAR
Exam, never allowing that situation or circumstance to define my destiny, I
became relentless in my pursuit to become what God had put in my midst. I was
determined to prevail and become a prosecutor. Its those memories that force me
to never give up, never take no as a last answer, and never allow my purpose to
be subdued or defined by another person’s vision of me. Today I stand as
benefactor of our ancestors who have paved the way…
“In the words of Booker T. Washington, ‘Success should is to
be measured, not by the position that one has reached in life, but by the
obstacles which he or she has overcome.’ All to often in our communities when
we feel that we have obtained the level of success, we want people to see where
we are and not how we got to where we are - but we must continue to pass our
testimonies, our trials, tests, and journeys on to the generations coming
behind us. We must constantly remind ourselves that our success is the
byproduct of the fruits of someone else’s labor. True individual success is
judged on not what we have obtained but rather what we have done to put others
in a position to obtain greater.”
“Ladies, our time is now, we must step up and get pass our
self-doubt and be the example for the young women coming behind us, letting our
young sisters know that despite what they see on reality TV or in the music
videos, respect for their bodies and their mind is what makes them beautiful.
We must instill in our young women that they can succeed at anything they put
their minds to despite what the critics might say, even the haters. Believe me,
I know.
“Fellas, we must be sure that you, as young men, know that
you are not thugs and that you guys are so much more than what the media
portrays. You are not a statistic. Gentlemen, you are kings and more powerful
united than divided. Our communities, our families, our children, we need you
now more than ever.
“In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, we must instill in our
young people, ‘It is not the
critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or
where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the
man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and
blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually
strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who
spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph
of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while
daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid
souls who neither know victory nor defeat.’
“Ladies and
gentlemen, we do not know defeat but turn on the news, the struggle remains,
the struggle continues. We have work to do. The time is now. If not now, then
when? If not us, then who? If not now, then when? … Always remember to exhibit
your strength and never let anything or anyone stop you. Adversity will come.
Cease every moment to turn that fear and that anxiety, that anger… turn that
pain into your passion and pursue your God-given purpose.”
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