Use the Mind You Invested In

[Remarks below were delivered at the Incorporated Gathering banquet, Oct. 20, 2018. The Incorporated Gathering is an organization of  Indiana State University African American alums.  I was recognized for my career at ISU teaching African American history and helping to create the African American Studies Program (AASP) in 1972.  The banquet honor served as an announcement that my photo and a plaque will be placed in a room in one of the AASP classrooms on campus. I am humbled.] 
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"A mind is a terrible thing to waste." This truth was first stated by Arthur Fletcher of the United Negro College Fund.

Now we have this new spot and appeal from the United Negro College Fund:: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in.”

And on this theme  I say tonight:  “The mind your family and community invested in, the mind Indiana State University invested in, and most of all the mind you invested in, is a terrible thing to waste.

We are suffocating in numbers and data today. But the returns on investments in curious, open, empathic, creative, and yes, courageous minds, cannot be counted or plugged into columns on spreadsheets. These are the minds that must step forward and stand out. These are the minds touching and guiding the people and institutions in our communities in meaningful and lasting ways.  These are the minds Indiana State University should nurture and celebrate.  These are the minds that I feel fill the tables before me.

You will hear tonight how Mr. Mel Burks continues to honor the investments made in his mind. His community, my community of Terre Haute, is a far better place because of his giving back.  Thank you for that, Mel.  And thank you as well Incorporated Gathering and Sam Dixon all who work with Sam  for the deserved recognition you bestowed on this community leader, Indiana State graduate, and  my former student.

Finally, here’s an old story but an important one for all of us to consider.  [Hold up photo of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable.] This man, this black man from Haiti, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, was a  pioneer.  He was the very first settler in my and Mel Burks first hometown, Chicago, Illinois. He came to the shores of Lake Michigan in the 1790s. He built a home along the Chicago River and started a successful trading post. And no one recognized or honored Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, Chicago’s very first resident, a black man, until 1933.  The bust in this photo was not put in place until  1979. We know him now.  We honor him now.

So Incorporated Gathering, take your fine minds into your communities and beyond.  Keep turning the investments made on your minds to the good. Continue the pioneering work that needs you today.  If you do, you cannot fail or ever be forgotten.