The great feminist poet, scholar and activist Audre Lorde wrote, “Revolution is not a one-time event. It is becoming always vigilant for the smallest opportunity to make genuine change in established, outgrown responses.”
Remarks on the occasion of the Class of 2019’s graduation at Kenyon’s 191st Commencement.
We increasingly discuss education as a “ticket” to something greater, with an individual reward. Lost in these conversations is the social obligation we all have to engage in good citizenship and contribute to our democracy.
In creating a student award in his honor, Leopoldo López’s family, friends and fellow alumni are keeping his spark and his story alive, ensuring that generations of Kenyon students will see the promise and the value of a life lived in pursuit of a higher public calling.
As we mourn the lives so needlessly cut short in Christchurch, New Zealand, we should remind ourselves of the important work we can do here, now, in our own communities.