作为毕业季受欢迎的政治领导人和社会名流，喜欢并擅长演讲的前总统奥巴马先生今年应邀，为这批不能参加传统毕业典礼的学生们做三场毕业演讲。

第一个演讲在5月16日，78个历史悠久的非裔大学合办的时长2小时的网上毕业典礼“Show me your walk(出来走两步)H.B.C.U.版”中，向27,000多名毕业生致辞。

在这个虚拟毕业典礼上，奥巴马谈到了Covid-19如何严重影响了黑人社区。作为前民权运动律师和社区工作组织者，奥巴马给有希望改变世界的大学生提供了3条建议：

1、参加真实的草根活动，而不是充当键盘侠，在网上打口水仗
2、团结各种有共同理念的盟友
3、行动胜于雄辩

第二个毕业演讲的主题是“一起毕业”。对2020届高中毕业生，前总统巴拉克·奥巴马（Barack Obama）也给了三点建议：

1、 不要害怕
2、做你认为正确的事
3、建立一个社区

奥巴马说：“你不会每次都做对。” “你会像我们所有人一样犯错误。但是，即使很困难，很不方便，如果你听从自己的内心，人们也会注意到。他们会欣赏你。你将成为解决方案中的一部分，而不是成为问题中的一部分。”

套用网络流行新语，奥巴马这场演讲，正是美国版的“前浪”致辞“后浪”。同样，这个演讲在美国社交媒体也以刷屏级的热度正在热传。

#奥巴马毕业典礼2020（#ObamaCommencement2020）、#了不起的奥巴马（#OBAMAGREAT）#奥巴马好过一切（#ObamaWasBetterAtEverything）#一起毕业（#GraduateTogether）等相关标签在推特上都迅速成为今天的热门话题。

你，就是我们一直在等待的人

嗨，大家好。祝贺H.B.C.U. 2020级的学生们。米歇尔和我都为你们感到骄傲。

从大学毕业，无论如何都是一个很大的成就。你们中的很多人，都是克服了很多困难才走到了今天。在充满挑战的课堂里，你们前行；在充满挑战的课堂外，你们前行。你们中的很多人，不得不竭尽全力来支付学费。而你们中的一些人，是你们家族中第一个到达这一里程碑的人。

所以，即使这个学期的一半时间都是在Zoom大学“云”度过的，你们，也赢得了这个时刻。你们应该感到非常自豪。每个支持你们的人都为你们感到骄傲——父母、祖父母、教授、导师、姑姑阿姨、舅舅叔伯、兄弟姐妹、表兄表姐、表弟表妹……还有那些你都不确定是表兄弟的表兄弟。今天就对他们表示感谢吧。

听着，我知道这不是你们想象中的开学典礼。因为我们H.B.C.U. 的同学们往往以学术严谨、社区和更高目标的教育而闻名，他们也知道如何去表现自己。没人能像春日操场上的学长那样闪闪发光。像霍华德（ Howard）和莫尔豪斯（Morehouse）这些学校的春季运动会，就是你大展身手的时候。我知道，在正常情况下，像格兰布林（Grambling）和南方大学、杰克逊州立大学和田纳西州立大学这样的对手，在分享毕业典礼的时候，也会惊讶地挑起眉毛。

但现在不是正常时期。你们被要求 —— 在一场毁灭性的流行病和可怕的大衰退中 —— 寻找自己的道路。现在的时机并不理想。让我们诚实地说 —— 这样的疾病凸显了黑人社区在历史上不得不面对的潜在不平等和额外负担。我们可以从Covid-19对我们社区的巨大影响中看到这一点，就像我们看到一个黑人去慢跑，一些人觉得如果他不服从他们的询问，他们就可以拦住他，审问他，并向他开枪。

你们这一代人中已经有那么多人醒悟到

现状需要改变

像这样的不公正并不是什么新鲜事。

新鲜的是，你们这一代人中已经有那么多人醒悟到，现状需要改变旧的做事方式行不通；如果你身边的人都饿着肚子、病着肚子，你赚多少钱都不再重要；我们的社会和民主，只有在我们不单为自己着想，而是为彼此着想之时，才会起作用。

更重要的是，这场大流行病已经完全、终于揭开了某些人的面纱，让我们知道，如此多的负责人知道自己在做什么。而他们中的很多人甚至连假装负责都没有做。

现在比以往任何时候都更需要你们，这是你们的时刻。

这个世界要想变好，就得靠你们了。当你突然觉得一切都是可以争取的时候，这是你抓住主动权的时候了。没有人能再告诉你，该轮到你了。没人能再告诉你，“一向如此”。现在比以往任何时候都更需要你们，这是你们的时刻——你们这一代人要塑造的世界。

在承担起这个责任的时候，我希望你们要有勇气。我希望你的眼光不要被犬儒主义或恐惧所蒙蔽。作为年轻的非裔美国人，你们比一些人更早地接触到了现实世界。而作为年轻的H.B.C.U.的毕业生，你们的教育也让你们看到了世界应该有的样子。

你们中的许多人本来可以上这个国家的任何一所学校。但你们选择了H.B.C.U. —— 特别是，因为它能帮助你们播下改变的种子。你们选择追随那些撼动了整个体系的人的无畏脚步—— 民权代表人物瑟古德·马歇尔(Thurgood Marshall)和金博士(Dr. King)，以及讲故事的大家托尼·莫里森(Toni Morrison)和斯派克·李(Spike Lee)。你选择在Meharry学习医学，在NC A&T学习工程，因为你想要领导，想去服务。

我在这里告诉你们，你们做了一个伟大的选择。无论你意识到与否， 你们拥有更多的路线图，更多的榜样，更多的资源，比民权时代做的更多。你们比我这一代人拥有更多的工具、技术和人才。没有哪一代人比这一代人更有能力成为正义和重塑世界的勇士。

奥巴马的中肯建议

现在，我不是要告诉你们如何运用手中的力量。你们中的许多人已经很好地利用这力量，去创造去改变。在继续你们的旅程时，就让我给你们三条建议：

01.不要只是在网上激活自己。

首先，确保你在实际的社区中与真实的人打成一片----只要你能在基层工作，就在基层工作。争取平等和正义的斗争始于意识、同情、激情，甚至是义愤。不要只是在网上激活自己。改变需要前所未有的，在现实世界中的策略、行动、组织、游行和投票。没有人比这届毕业生更有能力将行动主义带到下一个阶段。从解决健康差距问题到争取刑事司法和投票权，你们中的许多人已经在这样做了。继续努力吧。

02.站出来，和每一个正在挣扎的人站在一起。

第二，你不能单打独斗。有意义的改变需要共同的盟友。作为非裔美国人，我们对不公正、不平等和斗争特别敏感。但这也应该让我们对其他人被遗弃和歧视的经历更感同身受。

所以，与其说 "对我有什么好处？"或 "对我的社区有什么好处？让其他人都见鬼去吧"，站出来，和每一个正在挣扎的人站在一起 —— 无论是移民、难民、农村贫困人口、L.G.B.T.社区、各种背景的低收入工人、经常受到来自同样性别的人的歧视和压迫，不能同工同酬的妇女；无论他们是白人、黑人、亚裔、拉丁裔、原住民，都要为他们着想。正如范妮·卢·哈默(Fannie Lou Hamer)曾经说过的那样，"除非每个人都是自由的，否则没有人是自由的。"

在这个国家尚未完成的宏伟目标上，比如经济和环境正义，以及人人享有的医疗卫生保健等，大多数人在目的上达成了一致。这就是为什么那些有权有势的人，会不断试图分化你们的原因，这就是什么都没有改变的原因。你们得到的，是一个只为权贵不为他人着想的体系。因此，在创造一个更美好的世界的过程中，要扩大你的道德想象力，搭建桥梁，发展盟友。

03.当你出发去改变世界的时候，我们就是你身后的风。

这就是你们所拥有的力量。为正义，为平等，为快乐而发光发亮的力量。你们已经获得了自己的学位，现在就看你怎么用了。我们很多人都相信你们。我真为你们感到骄傲。当你出发去改变世界的时候，我们就是你身后的风。

祝贺2020级的同学们，愿上帝保佑你们。

以下为英文版本：

Read Obama's full Graduating Together speech below.

And of course, I couldn't be prouder of all of you and be graduating class of 2020, as well as the teachers and the coaches and most of all, the parents and families who guided you all the way. Now, graduating is a big achievement under any circumstances. Some of you had to overcome serious obstacles along the way, whether it was an illness or a parent losing a job, we're living in a neighborhood where people too often count you out. Along with the usual challenges of growing up, all of you have had to deal with the added pressures of social media, reports of school shootings, and the specter of climate change. And then, just as you're about to celebrate having made it through, just as you've been looking forward to proms and senior nights, graduation ceremonies, and let's face it, a whole bunch of parties, the world was turned upside down by global pandemic. And as much as I'm sure you love your parents, I'll bet the big stuck at home with him playing board games or watching Tiger King on TV is not exactly how you envisioned the last few months of your senior year.

Now, I'll be honest with you, the disappointments of missing, a live graduation, those will pass pretty quick. I don't remember much of my own high school graduation. I know that not having to sit there and listen to a commencement speaker isn't all that bad. Mine usually go on way too long. Also, not that many people look great in those caps, especially if you have big ears like me. You'll have plenty of time to catch up with your friends once the immediate public health crisis is over. But what remains true is that your graduation marks your passage into adulthood. The time when you begin to take charge of your own life. It's when you get to decide what's important to you, the kind of career you want to pursue, who you want to build a family with, the values you want to live by. And given the current state of the world, that may be kind of scary.

If you planned on going away for college, getting dropped off at campus in the fall, that's no longer a given. If you were planning to work while going to school, finding that first job is going to be tough. Even families that are relatively well off, they're dealing with massive uncertainty. Those who were struggling before, they're hanging on by a thread. All of which means that you're going to have to grow up faster than some generations. This pandemic has shaken up the status quo, laid bare a lot of our country's, deep-seated problems, from massive economic inequality, to ongoing racial disparities, to a lack of basic healthcare for people who need it. It's woken a lot of young people up to the fact that the old ways of doing things just don't work. That it doesn't matter how much money you make if everyone around you is hungry and sick, and that our society are not democracy only work when we think not just about ourselves but about each other. It's also pull the curtain back on another hard truth, something that we all have to eventually accept once our childhood comes to an end. You know all those adults that used to think [they were] in charge or knew what they were doing? Turns out they don't have all the answers. A lot of them aren't even asking the right questions. So if the world's going to get better, it's going to be up to you.

That realization may be kind of intimidating, but I hope it's also inspiring. With all the challenges this country faces right now, nobody can tell you, "No you're too young to understand," or "This is how it's always been done." Because with so much uncertainty, with everything suddenly up for grabs, this is your generation's world to shape. Since I'm one of the old guys, I won't tell you what to do with this power that rests in your hands, but I'll leave you with three quick pieces of advice. First, don't be afraid. America's gone through tough times before. Slavery, civil war, famine, disease, the Great Depression, and 9/11, and each time we came out strong. Usually because a new generation, young people like you, learned from past mistakes and figured out how to make things better.

Second, do what you think is right. Doing what feels good, what's convenient, what's easy, that's [how kids] think. Unfortunately, a lot of so-called grownups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs, still think that way, which is why things are so screwed up. I hope that instead you decide to ground yourself in values that last like honesty, hard work, responsibility, fairness, generosity, respect for others. You won't get it right every time. You'll make mistakes like we all do. But if you listen to the truth that's inside yourself, even when it's hard, even when it's inconvenient, people will notice. They'll gravitate towards you and you'll be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

And finally, build a community. No one does big things by themselves. Right now, when people are scared, it's easy to be cynical and say, "Let me just look out for myself or my family or people who look or think or pray like me." But if we're going to get through these difficult times, if we're going to create a world where everybody has opportunity to find a job and afford college, and we're going to save the environment and defeat future pandemics, then we're going to have to do it together. So be alive to one another's struggles. Stand up for one another's rights. Leave behind all the old ways of thinking, the bias, sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed, and set the world on a different path.

When you need help, Michelle and I have made it the mission of our foundation to give young people like you the skills and support to lead in your own communities and to connect you with other young leaders around the country, and around the globe. But, the truth is, you don't need us to tell you what to do because there's so many ways you've already started to lead. Congratulations, class of 2020. Keep making us proud.

奥巴马先生和夫人今年的第三次毕业典礼致辞将于6月6日在YouTube播出，有兴趣的小伙伴可以持续关注！