What’s going on, Lions!?
I want to thank the Lincoln family for honoring me with the invitation to speak.
To President Allen…
Chair Bruce…
Provost Joseph…
Distinguished faculty, staff, trustees, and members of the platform party…Family, friends, and alumni…
I am honored to stand among you.
And can we please give another big round of applause to the great Lincoln University Class of 2025?
I'm so proud of you. Because I know graduations are not given.
For those who started four years ago and for those who started even before that…
For those who transferred and for those who didn't think you would make it here…
For those who were trying to juggle two majors and for those who were trying to juggle two jobs...
This is your day.
It's a celebration of hard work, it's a celebration of persistence... and it's also a celebration of the shoulders you stand on.
So today, I’d like to talk a little bit about the shoulders that I stand on… in the hopes that the lesson I’ve learned might guide your next steps.
And for me, this is an easy assignment, because I have some pretty broad shoulders with me in the audience! I have a whole bunch of my family here.
Some of them came to be eye-witnesses to the day I finally became a “doctor” … because I know nobody will call me doctor after this, and I need some proof!
But in all seriousness, I know my family being here is deeper than that.
Because you cannot understand my journey without Lincoln University.
I might be the most improbable governor in America.
I’m the Governor of a State that is the birthplace of redlining and some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War…
I work in an office that was built by the hands of enslaved people and overlooks one of the country’s first and largest slave ports…
Still, I stand before you as the first black governor of Maryland and only the third black governor in the history of this country.
I am here today not just because Lincoln University is one of the premier institutions of higher learning in this country…
But because I would not be here without you.
This school created a way for me… because you created a way for James Thomas, my grandfather.
He was born in South Carolina, the child of Jamaican immigrants new to the United States.
But when my grandfather was just a child, he and his parents fled back to Jamaica. They were chased away by the Ku Klux Klan.
You see, his father, my great-grandfather was a vocal minister in the community.
Being Black and outspoken was a crime – even if it wasn’t on the books.
So in the middle of the night, they fled.
My grandfather may have been just a boy… but he never forgot what happened that night.
His earliest memory was of watching a nation reject him because of something that should have been a source of pride, not prejudice.
Most of the members of my extended family vowed never to return to America. Many still live on the island.
But my grandfather loved America too much to let the cruelty of others determine his destination.
In all of his endless humility, my grandfather would often say “This country would be incomplete without me!”
So he came back to the States as a young man… received his degree here, at Lincoln University…
And my grandfather, the late, great Reverend Doctor James Thomas, became the first Black minister in the history of the Dutch Reformed Church.
Now… when he became a minister, the same threats that came to HIS father started coming to HIM. But my grandfather stuck.
He died at the age of eighty-seven, while I was serving overseas in Afghanistan.
And while he had a thick Jamaican accent his entire life, he was the most patriotic American I have ever met.
My grandfather charted an unusual path, from American exile to American patriot.
And some of you in the graduating class may be asking yourselves: “Why would he ever return?”
The answer to that question is the guidance I want to share with you today…
Because within my grandfather’s journey, you find lessons about not just national pride or national spirit… but lessons about what it means to be an American.
First, he taught me that patriotism is not – cannot – be a passive activity…
Because your love of country will always be tested – in ways both big and small.
Patriotism is a responsibility of a lifetime.
Second, he taught me that patriotism is not a belief that your country is perfect or has ever been perfect.
Being an American has always come with struggle and sacrifice.
As someone who’s been married 18 years, I know that’s right. But that love is worth it because it is worth fighting for.
Third, he taught me that skepticism about your country is justified. Loving your country doesn’t mean lying about its history!
But you should always keep skepticism as your companion, never your captor.
Let the hard truths you’ve learned about America be guides toward a better future — not grudges that keep you in the past.
I have tried to live in accordance with these three rules of patriotism my whole life…. From my time in the military to running a non-profit to governor.
And just as I stand here as part of my grandfather’s legacy, so are you.
Class of 2025: You are the living custodians of our nation’s past and the architects of its present…
And the relationship you build with this country will help determine our future.
.
Our country is currently divided into two camps – not left versus right… or red versus blue…
But between those who use patriotism as a club to beat others… and those who feel ashamed to bear the flag…
Between those who think loving America means hating half the people in it… and those who allow cynicism about our nation’s history to obscure their aspirations.
We have been told by one group that America is perfect. Another group says that America is irredeemable.
It’s a binary that leaves no room for someone like my grandfather, a man who saw evil, but still had the courage to claim his piece of the American dream…
It’s a binary that leaves no room for someone like me…
A boy who felt handcuffs on his wrists when he was just eleven years old, because I grew up in a community that was overpoliced…
But who now stands before you as the 63rd governor of my state.
It’s a binary that takes the easy way out…
Because it's easy to love a country when you reject the need for self-examination.
It’s easy to rail against a country when you're unwilling to be part of its betterment.
The hard part is being honest about our flaws – and courageous in addressing them.
We need to think beyond the old binaries of moral purity as a “real” metric to define America.
Real patriotism is NEITHER waving the victory flag nor the white flag.
Real patriotism is understanding that every fingerprint is going to matter…
Few institutions embody that spirit of hope better than Lincoln University.
Today, I know certain people question if this institution can adapt and lead in a moment like this…
I would just remind them that Lincoln University was founded in a moment like this!
This school received its charter in 1854.
It was a time when our nation’s fabric was being tested… and it wasn’t entirely clear if we would end up a true, unified nation after all.
It was a time when our country didn't yet view African Americans as more than 3/5ths of a man… and back then, even THAT seemed generous.
And still… in the middle of so much division and chaos… your founders came together and created something needed and enduring. This school!
The story of Lincoln is the story of an abiding love of country, despite our greatest flaws… of those who refused to let the darkness block out their light…
Lincoln was built FOR a moment like this because it was built IN a moment like this…
And now, it is up to each of you to carry that mantle forward.
I’ve gotten to learn a little bit about this graduating class, and I have no doubt that you are the kind of patriots we need right now.
Drake Smith is a patriot. Where is Drake?
Drake is a public servant, a Christian, a family man, and a Marylander!
He helped organize and lead a three-day march that successfully demanded the release of millions of dollars of funding for Lincoln University.
In the fall, he will study at Yale Divinity School.
Jordan Hall is a patriot. Where is Jordan?
Jordan came to Lincoln interested in psychology.
But his psychology professor, Dr. Linton Williams, convinced him to consider entrepreneurship instead.
He joined the student incubator and rose to become its manager…
In the fall, he will join the team at the O’Pake Institute for Economic Development at Alvernia University, while studying on a full scholarship.
Valerie Otutu is a patriot. Where is Valerie?
Valerie was born in Nigeria. But she came to the United States because she knew this country would be incomplete without her!
Today, she graduates with a degree in computer science and has accepted a full-time position at one of America’s great Fortune 500 companies.
These students understand that our nation has its challenges… but they still want to be the first to offer up solutions.
That is the story of America: We are a nation of patriots who serve when the mission is hard and the destination is uncertain.
Because making America great doesn’t mean telling people: "You’re not wanted” – Making America great means saying: "The ambitions of this country would be incomplete without your help."
It’s a legacy of builders and soldiers; preachers and teachers…
It’s the legacy of veterans who protected our freedoms – and ministers who prayed for our success…
It’s the legacy of prosecutors who kept our communities safe – and professors who inspired our children…
It’s the legacy of people who marched, prayed, voted, and organized over generations so we could make it to this point.
It’s the legacy of proud Lincoln alum, Reverend Doctor James Thomas, who was never invited to the Maryland State Capital…
But his shawl is now framed on the wall of the office of the 63rd governor of the state.
Class of 2025:
Today, and every day, let us give thanks for those who came before us – who prayed for the hope of us…
Because the future prays that YOU will work on behalf of the hope of THEM.
AND NOW: As you take your next steps all I ask of you is this:
Live in such a way…
That when you hand off this country to the next generation… your descendants will say back…
“They understood the assignment.”
THAT the most patriotic thing that you can do.
Thank you so much, and congratulations.