Figures Gives Commencement Address at Alabama State University

Thank you, President Ross, the Board of Trustees, deans, members of the faculty and staff, alumni, family and friends, the history-making basketball team that won an NCAA tournament game for the first time in school history, and most importantly the class of 2025; it is an honor to be with you today. 

We are all here not only to celebrate the hard-earned accomplishments of these graduates, but to recognize the promise of a future that they, with their intelligence, passion, and perseverance, are about to shape. 

To the graduates, as much as today is a celebration of you and what you have accomplished, the first part of this speech is not about you. You would not be here without your parents and those who raised you. To those of you who have children or grandchildren graduating today, you are the ones who made this day possible. 

Every late night, moment of doubt, moment of need, and small victory — you were there. From kindergarten to high school, all the way to today, you were there. Your belief, your prayers, your work, your sacrifices, and your Cash Apps, Venmos, Zelles, and direct deposits, are why these graduates are here today. 

So, we say thank you to the parents here in the audience. Especially, those of you who did it with little or no help; those who worked overtime, and multiple jobs to make this dream come true today. And to all of the grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, pastors, coaches, and everyone in between, who offered encouragement, challenged them, and stood beside them through every twist and turn — today is your celebration too.

Now graduates, I know I stand in the way of you and your degree, so I’m going to speed along.

Graduates, you have reached a milestone that many only dream of. This is your time to reflect on how far you've come and embrace the endless possibilities that lie ahead.

Time to reflect on how each of you will take the knowledge, the values, and the fire you’ve gained here, and step forward with to leave your mark on the world.

And as you all know, there’s so much history right here in Montgomery, Alabama—and especially here at Alabama State University. This city, this campus, is more than a place of learning; it’s quite literally the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement. Right here on this campus, in Councill Hall, a professor and young students met and organized the early stages of the bus boycott. Right here at Alabama State. What they did would prove to be one of the most important acts for black and free people in the history of this country. I often speak of how this Nation owes Montgomery because of the movement, but when you really dive into it, it’s not just Montgomery, but this nation also owes Alabama State University.

Because of that movement born here, Black people would be able to sit anywhere on a bus.

Because of that movement, Black people would be able to vote in elections.

Because of that movement, people like me and Terri Sewell would be able to sit in Congress.

Because of that movement, Black people would be able to go schools of their choice.

So, even though I didn’t graduate from Alabama State, I know that I graduated because of Alabama State University. 

Like many families in this state, this institution has also played a role in my family’s journey. My uncle, Thomas Figures was student body president here. Dr. Ross wouldn’t let me speak without mentioning that my uncle pledged the Gamma Sigma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in Spring 1965. Some may call Uncle Thomas an ole school Que. Well, he graduated from ASU and went on to earn his law degree.

He returned home and would later become the first Black Assistant District Attorney in Mobile County and one of, if not the first black person to ever serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the history of the state of Alabama. And when the Klan lynched a young Black man in Mobile in 1981, Uncle Thomas used his position to force a federal investigation, prosecution, and conviction of three members of the Klan. This was the first time anyone was held accountable for a lynching in Alabama. 

This was all done by a young man prepared here at Ole Mother Dear.

You all know the history and the people who went here. You are now part of that history. And with that history, comes an obligation, a duty, a job, to not only represent and uphold the values of this place but also to build upon these values and push further.

I once heard a story from a guy that went something like this: His grandfather walked to work every day. His father could afford a used pick-up truck. He drove a brand-new pickup. His son drove a Cadillac. And his grandson was in a Mercedes. But his great-grandson could be walking again. 

He said this was because hard times create tough people. Tough people create easy times. Easy times create weak people. And weak people create hard times.

Progress isn’t promised—it’s earned through sacrifice. Progress is built upon, step-by-step, and generation by generation. But if we’re not careful, if we stop pushing, if we stop building, if we stop working, if we stop teaching our history, if we stop learning about our history, if we stop celebrating what we’ve overcome, if we stop valuing institutions like Alabama State, then our future generations could be meeting in Councill Hall again to organize and march all over again. That’s the cycle. And it’s up to you — to us — to decide where we are in that cycle, and what we’re willing to fight for, and how we will break that cycle. 

We’ve come too far. We’ve endured too much. Our ancestors sacrificed too much for us to sit silently or allow this country to slide backward without a fight. Truth is we’re living in a moment that is testing everything that has been fought for. The work is not done. 

To remain quiet now would dishonor the legacy of giants—like Alabama State alums Rosa Parks, and Reverend Ralph Abernathy.

So don’t let anyone tell you that you’re too young, too inexperienced, or too Black, or not worthy or deserving. Don’t feel discouraged by the attacks on efforts to make sure people who look like you have a level playing field in a country that wasn’t created with fairness for you and me in mind. 

These are attacks on your future. Just because you didn’t grow up in the Jim Crow era doesn’t mean that you can forget why this country needed diversity, equity, and inclusion in the first place. It’s because we come from people who have experienced the highest levels of adversity, inequity, and exclusion. 

So use what you’ve learned here not just to further your own careers, but to also empower others. To pour back into your communities and leave them better than you found them. To push for change. And never forget or underestimate the power of your voice and of your VOTE. Because you can’t fight for a future or complain about it when you don’t make your voices heard when it’s time to vote. That is how you fight for your future.

That is how you fight for a future that honors the struggles of the past. A future where we rise collectively. 

Because the truth is: we are in a moment of threats to our freedoms, our education, our health care, our jobs, and our ability to simply live and thrive.

Let me be clear: what’s happening in our nation now is personal to you. Walking out of college today is not the same as it was 10 or 20 years ago. Grabbing ahold of your American Dream is becoming tougher and tougher when it should be getting easier. 

It’s going to cost you more. More to pay for the degree you’re getting today. More to buy that first car, more to buy your first house, more to take care of your kids, and more to take care of your parents as they age.

Although it is a time to celebrate, now is not the time to relax. It’s time to get to work. It’s time to grind. It’s time get out and make your own way, your own impact, build your own life, pay your own bills. Trust me, your mama loves you, but she don’t want you coming back home. 

But you are ready. Your generation is different. Your generation is equipped with skills and technological capabilities that your parents and grandparents couldn’t even fathom when they were your age. Your generation is equipped with the resolve and perseverance that can only be forged by seeing the world literally shut down in a pandemic—a pandemic that hit most of your communities much harder than the rest.

But you didn’t let that stop you. When many others let COVID serve as a deterrent or as an excuse, you kept pushing, kept grinding, kept showing up. When colleges, especially HBCUs were struggling to keep students enrolled, this Class of 2025 made a commitment to the Alabama State University. And today you have followed through on that commitment. 

So this moment demands more than celebration — it demands reaffirming that same commitment. Not just to Alabama State, but to your future, the future of your family, the future of your community, the future of this state, and the future of this country.  

Because, Alabama State, America needs you again. I need you. Montgomery needs you. This school needs you to be there for it. And I know you will do it. 

You will do it by living up to what god asks of us all: to love mercy, act justly, and walk humbly with your God.

You will do it by remembering where you come from, what you’ve been through, what you’ve overcome. 

You will do it by continuing the fight, by showing up at the polls to vote, by showing up in your careers, in your homes, in your churches. 

You will do it by being the best version of you every single day. You will do it by protecting the legacy of your people and this great, historic institution.

Because if we don’t fight for what’s ours and if we don’t protect what’s been passed down, if we don’t lead with courage and clarity, if we don’t build on the past, and give it all we’ve got — then yes, just like that story, our future generations will be walking again.

Thank you, Alabama State! Congratulations Class of 2025! Let’s get to work, let’s change the world!