Oprah Winfrey’s commencement speech

Oprah Winfrey gave a commencement speech at her alma mater, Tennessee State University. She graduated in 1988.

Transcript

00:00Voting rights are being gutted. Women's rights are being dismantled. Books are being banned. History is being rewritten.

00:05The Supreme Court is being corrupted. The debt ceiling is being held hostage. The climate is changing. The LGBTQ community,

00:13LGBT plus community is under attack. The Cold War is back.

00:18The leaders are behaving like children. The children are being gunned down by military-grade assault rifles.

00:24We live on a planet where there is more than enough wrong to keep you busy trying to make things right

00:30for the rest of your natural life.

00:32Well, this is what I know for sure.

00:36There will never be anything in your life as fulfilling as making a difference in somebody else's.

00:45Everybody here wants to see you take your integrity,

00:50your curiosity,

00:52your creativity,

00:53your guts, and this newfound education of yours, and use it to make a difference.

01:01Everybody always thinks you got to go do something big and grand. I'll tell you where you start. You start by being good

01:09to at least one other person

01:12every single day.

01:15Just start there.