0:00:00.708,0:00:05.434
My parents gave me an extraordinary name:

0:00:05.458,0:00:10.042
Baratunde Rafiq Thurston.

0:00:11.250,0:00:14.393
Now, Baratunde is based[br]on a Yoruba name from Nigeria,

0:00:14.417,0:00:15.976
but we're not Nigerian.

0:00:16.000,0:00:17.018
(Laughter)

0:00:17.042,0:00:19.018
That's just how black my mama was.

0:00:19.042,0:00:20.059
(Laughter)

0:00:20.083,0:00:23.226
"Get this boy the blackest name possible.[br]What does the book say?"

0:00:23.250,0:00:24.809
(Laughter)

0:00:24.833,0:00:28.559
Rafiq is an Arabic name,[br]but we are not Arabs.

0:00:28.583,0:00:32.976
My mom just wanted me to have difficulty[br]boarding planes in the 21st century.

0:00:33.000,0:00:34.018
(Laughter)

0:00:34.042,0:00:36.809
She foresaw America's turn[br]toward nativism.

0:00:36.833,0:00:38.601
She was a black futurist.

0:00:38.625,0:00:40.309
(Laughter)

0:00:40.333,0:00:45.101
Thurston is a British name,[br]but we are not British.

0:00:45.125,0:00:48.643
Shoutout to the multigenerational,[br]dehumanizing economic institution

0:00:48.667,0:00:51.226
of American chattel slavery, though.

0:00:51.250,0:00:53.684
Also, Thurston makes[br]for a great Starbucks name.

0:00:53.708,0:00:55.434
Really expedites the process.

0:00:55.458,0:00:57.333
(Laughter)

0:00:59.417,0:01:02.684
My mother was a renaissance woman.

0:01:02.708,0:01:05.268
Arnita Lorraine Thurston

0:01:05.292,0:01:08.059
was a computer programmer,[br]former domestic worker,

0:01:08.083,0:01:10.268
survivor of sexual assault,

0:01:10.292,0:01:12.851
an artist and an activist.

0:01:12.875,0:01:17.018
She prepared me for this world[br]with lessons in black history,

0:01:17.042,0:01:19.809
in martial arts, in urban farming,

0:01:19.833,0:01:23.726
and then she sent me in the seventh grade[br]to the private Sidwell Friends School,

0:01:23.750,0:01:26.226
where US presidents send their daughters,

0:01:26.250,0:01:28.809
and where she sent me looking like this.

0:01:28.833,0:01:32.143
(Laughter)

0:01:32.167,0:01:35.226
I had two key tasks going to that school:

0:01:35.250,0:01:37.809
don't lose your blackness[br]and don't lose your glasses.

0:01:37.833,0:01:39.809
This accomplished both.

0:01:39.833,0:01:43.643
(Laughter)

0:01:43.667,0:01:46.893
Sidwell was a great place[br]to learn the arts and the sciences,

0:01:46.917,0:01:51.101
but also the art of living[br]amongst whiteness.

0:01:51.125,0:01:54.059
That would prepare me[br]for life later at Harvard,

0:01:54.083,0:01:55.559
or doing corporate consulting,

0:01:55.583,0:01:57.976
or for my jobs at "The Daily Show"[br]and "The Onion."

0:01:58.000,0:02:01.518
I would write down many of these lessons[br]in my memoir, "How to Be Black,"

0:02:01.542,0:02:04.809
which if you haven't read yet,[br]makes you a racist, because --

0:02:04.833,0:02:06.059
(Laughter)

0:02:06.083,0:02:08.208
you've had plenty of time[br]to read the book.

0:02:11.208,0:02:14.268
But America insists on reminding me

0:02:14.292,0:02:15.726
and teaching me

0:02:15.750,0:02:18.893
what it means to be black in America.

0:02:18.917,0:02:20.893
It's December 2018,

0:02:20.917,0:02:24.643
I'm with my fiancé[br]in the suburbs of Wisconsin.

0:02:24.667,0:02:27.768
We are visiting her parents,[br]both of whom are white,

0:02:27.792,0:02:29.059
which makes her white.

0:02:29.083,0:02:31.184
That's how it works.[br]I don't make the rules.

0:02:31.208,0:02:32.351
(Laughter)

0:02:32.375,0:02:36.643
She's had some drinks,[br]so I drive us in her parents' car,

0:02:36.667,0:02:38.958
and we get pulled over by the police.

0:02:39.875,0:02:41.309
I'm scared.

0:02:41.333,0:02:44.809
I turn on the flashing lights[br]to indicate compliance.

0:02:44.833,0:02:46.226
I pull over slowly

0:02:46.250,0:02:48.893
under the brightest streetlight I can find

0:02:48.917,0:02:51.875
in case I need witnesses[br]or dashcam footage.

0:02:53.417,0:02:56.476
We get out my identification,[br]the car registration,

0:02:56.500,0:02:58.684
lay it out in the open,[br]roll down the windows,

0:02:58.708,0:03:01.018
my hands are placed on the steering wheel,

0:03:01.042,0:03:04.458
all before the officer exits the vehicle.

0:03:05.292,0:03:08.292
This is how to stay alive.

0:03:09.042,0:03:12.268
As we wait, I think[br]about these headlines --

0:03:12.292,0:03:16.059
"Police shoot another[br]unarmed black person" --

0:03:16.083,0:03:17.958
and I don't want to join them.

0:03:19.208,0:03:22.351
The good news is,[br]our officer was friendly.

0:03:22.375,0:03:25.101
She told us our tags were expired.

0:03:25.125,0:03:27.018
So to all the white parents out there,

0:03:27.042,0:03:29.476
if your child is involved with a person

0:03:29.500,0:03:32.851
whose skin tone is rated[br]Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson or darker --

0:03:32.875,0:03:35.393
(Laughter)

0:03:35.417,0:03:39.059
you need to get that car inspected,[br]update the paperwork every time we visit.

0:03:39.083,0:03:40.476
That's just common courtesy.

0:03:40.500,0:03:41.768
(Laughter)

0:03:41.792,0:03:45.393
(Applause)

0:03:45.417,0:03:47.434
I got lucky.

0:03:47.458,0:03:50.601
I got a law enforcement professional.

0:03:50.625,0:03:54.375
I survived something[br]that should not require survival.

0:03:55.375,0:03:58.351
And I think about[br]this series of stories --

0:03:58.375,0:04:01.018
"Police shoot another[br]unarmed black person" --

0:04:01.042,0:04:05.393
and that season when those stories[br]popped up everywhere.

0:04:05.417,0:04:07.518
I would scroll through my feed

0:04:07.542,0:04:10.184
and I would see a baby announcement photo.

0:04:10.208,0:04:12.101
I'd see an ad for a product

0:04:12.125,0:04:15.518
I had just whispered[br]to a friend about yesterday.

0:04:15.542,0:04:18.726
I would see a video of a police officer[br]gunning down someone

0:04:18.750,0:04:20.684
who looked just like me.

0:04:20.708,0:04:21.976
And I'd see a think piece

0:04:22.000,0:04:25.143
about how millennials[br]have replaced sex with avocado toast.

0:04:25.167,0:04:26.768
(Laughter)

0:04:26.792,0:04:29.518
It was a confusing time.

0:04:29.542,0:04:31.643
Those stories kept popping up,

0:04:31.667,0:04:37.518
but in 2018, those stories got changed out[br]for a different type of story,

0:04:37.542,0:04:41.976
stories like, "White Woman Calls Cops[br]On Black Woman Waiting For An Uber."

0:04:42.000,0:04:44.559
That was Brooklyn Becky.

0:04:44.583,0:04:46.559
Then there was, "White Woman Calls Police

0:04:46.583,0:04:48.684
On Eight-Year-Old Black Girl[br]Selling Water."

0:04:48.708,0:04:50.143
That was Permit Patty.

0:04:50.167,0:04:51.893
Then there was, "Woman Calls Police

0:04:51.917,0:04:54.434
On Black Family BBQing[br]At Lake In Oakland."

0:04:54.458,0:04:58.143
That was now infamous BBQ Becky.

0:04:58.167,0:05:01.351
And I contend that these stories[br]of living while black

0:05:01.375,0:05:03.143
are actually progress.

0:05:03.167,0:05:07.143
We used to find out[br]after the extrajudicial police killings.

0:05:07.167,0:05:10.143
Now, we're getting video[br]of people calling 911.

0:05:10.167,0:05:11.893
We're moving upstream,

0:05:11.917,0:05:15.042
closer to the problem[br]and closer to the solution.

0:05:15.917,0:05:18.518
So I started a collection

0:05:18.542,0:05:21.018
of as many of these stories[br]as I could find.

0:05:21.042,0:05:23.768
I built an evolving,[br]still-growing database

0:05:23.792,0:05:26.643
at baratunde.com/livingwhileblack.

0:05:26.667,0:05:29.684
Seeking understanding,[br]I realized the process

0:05:29.708,0:05:34.601
was really diagramming sentences[br]to understand these headlines.

0:05:34.625,0:05:37.934
And I want to thank[br]my Sidwell English teacher Erica Berry

0:05:37.958,0:05:39.393
and all English teachers.

0:05:39.417,0:05:42.375
You have given us tools[br]to fight for our own freedom.

0:05:43.583,0:05:46.559
What I found was a process[br]to break down the headline

0:05:46.583,0:05:49.309
and understand the consistent layers

0:05:49.333,0:05:50.684
in each one:

0:05:50.708,0:05:55.476
a subject takes an action against a target[br]engaged in some activity,

0:05:55.500,0:05:59.601
so that "White Woman Calls Police[br]On Eight-Year-Old Black Girl"

0:05:59.625,0:06:04.143
is the same as "White Man Calls Police[br]On Black Woman Using Neighborhood Pool"

0:06:04.167,0:06:07.601
is the same as "Woman Calls Cops[br]On Black Oregon Lawmaker

0:06:07.625,0:06:10.167
Campaigning In Her District."

0:06:10.833,0:06:12.083
They're the same.

0:06:13.000,0:06:17.184
Diagramming the sentences[br]allowed me to diagram the white supremacy

0:06:17.208,0:06:19.143
which allowed such sentences to be true,

0:06:19.167,0:06:22.059
and I will pause to define my terms.

0:06:22.083,0:06:23.559
When I say "white supremacy,"

0:06:23.583,0:06:26.101
I'm not just talking about Nazis

0:06:26.125,0:06:28.018
or white power activists,

0:06:28.042,0:06:32.643
and I'm definitely not saying[br]that all white people are racist.

0:06:32.667,0:06:34.143
What I'm referring to

0:06:34.167,0:06:39.518
is a system of structural advantage[br]that favors white people over others

0:06:39.542,0:06:42.226
in social, economic and political arenas.

0:06:42.250,0:06:45.518
It's what Bryan Stevenson[br]at the Equal Justice Initiative

0:06:45.542,0:06:48.351
calls the narrative of racial difference,

0:06:48.375,0:06:52.976
the story we told ourselves[br]to justify slavery and Jim Crow

0:06:53.000,0:06:55.643
and mass incarceration and beyond.

0:06:55.667,0:06:58.893
So when I saw this pattern repeating,

0:06:58.917,0:07:00.726
I got angry,

0:07:00.750,0:07:03.309
but I also got inspired

0:07:03.333,0:07:05.226
to create a game,

0:07:05.250,0:07:10.601
a game of words that would allow me[br]to transform this traumatic exposure

0:07:10.625,0:07:13.559
into more of a healing experience.

0:07:13.583,0:07:15.684
I'm going to talk you through the game.

0:07:15.708,0:07:19.434
The first level is a training level,[br]and I need your participation.

0:07:19.458,0:07:22.976
Our objective: to determine[br]if this is real or fake.

0:07:23.000,0:07:24.601
Did this happen or not?

0:07:24.625,0:07:25.976
Here is the example:

0:07:26.000,0:07:30.059
"Catholic University Law Librarian[br]Calls Police On Student

0:07:30.083,0:07:32.351
For 'Being Argumentative.'"

0:07:32.375,0:07:34.601
Clap your hands if you think this is real.

0:07:34.625,0:07:37.934
(Applause)

0:07:37.958,0:07:40.268
Clap your hands if you think this is fake.

0:07:40.292,0:07:43.518
(Applause)

0:07:43.542,0:07:46.309
The reals have it, unfortunately,

0:07:46.333,0:07:48.518
and a point of information,

0:07:48.542,0:07:50.934
being argumentative in a law library

0:07:50.958,0:07:53.059
is the exact right place to do that.

0:07:53.083,0:07:54.184
(Laughter)

0:07:54.208,0:07:56.333
This student should be[br]promoted to professor.

0:07:57.167,0:08:00.518
Training level complete,[br]so we move on to the real levels.

0:08:00.542,0:08:03.143
Level one, our objective is simple:

0:08:03.167,0:08:05.143
reverse the roles.

0:08:05.167,0:08:08.268
That means "Woman Calls Cops[br]On Black Oregon Lawmaker"

0:08:08.292,0:08:12.184
becomes "Black Oregon Lawmaker[br]Calls Cops On Woman."

0:08:12.208,0:08:14.851
That means "White Man[br]Calls Police On Black Woman

0:08:14.875,0:08:16.476
Using Neighborhood Pool"

0:08:16.500,0:08:21.143
becomes "Black Woman Calls Police[br]On White Man Using Neighborhood Pool."

0:08:21.167,0:08:23.208
How do you like[br]them reverse racist apples?

0:08:24.625,0:08:27.101
That's it, level one complete,

0:08:27.125,0:08:29.893
and so we level up to level two,

0:08:29.917,0:08:34.351
where our objective is to increase[br]the believability of the reversal.

0:08:34.375,0:08:37.708
Let's face it, a black woman[br]calling police on a white man using a pool

0:08:37.732,0:08:39.643
isn't absurd enough,

0:08:39.667,0:08:43.417
but what if that white man was trying[br]to touch her hair without asking,

0:08:44.917,0:08:48.833
or maybe he was making oat milk[br]while riding a unicycle,

0:08:50.417,0:08:53.309
or maybe he's just talking[br]over everyone in a meeting.

0:08:53.333,0:08:54.518
(Laughter)

0:08:54.542,0:08:56.559
We've all been there, right?

0:08:56.583,0:08:58.167
Seriously, we've all been there.

0:08:59.917,0:09:02.893
So that's it, level two complete.

0:09:02.917,0:09:04.976
But it comes with a warning:

0:09:05.000,0:09:09.809
simply reversing the flow[br]of injustice is not justice.

0:09:09.833,0:09:11.976
That is vengeance,[br]that is not our mission,

0:09:12.000,0:09:16.393
that's a different game[br]so we level up to level three,

0:09:16.417,0:09:19.476
where the objective[br]is to change the action,

0:09:19.500,0:09:23.018
also known as "calling the police[br]is not your only option

0:09:23.042,0:09:24.768
OMG, what is wrong with you people!"

0:09:24.792,0:09:26.226
(Applause)

0:09:26.250,0:09:30.518
And I need to pause the game[br]to remind us of the structure.

0:09:30.542,0:09:35.393
A subject takes an action[br]against a target engaged in some activity.

0:09:35.417,0:09:38.309
"White Woman Calls Police[br]On Black Real Estate Investor

0:09:38.333,0:09:40.434
Inspecting His Own Property."

0:09:40.458,0:09:43.268
"California Safeway[br]Calls Cops On Black Woman

0:09:43.292,0:09:45.851
Donating Food To The Homeless."

0:09:45.875,0:09:50.625
"Gold Club Twice Calls Cops[br]On Black Women For Playing Too Slow."

0:09:51.667,0:09:55.184
In all these cases,[br]the subject is usually white,

0:09:55.208,0:09:57.184
the target is usually black,

0:09:57.208,0:09:59.893
and the activities are anything,

0:09:59.917,0:10:02.559
from sitting in a Starbucks

0:10:02.583,0:10:05.018
to using the wrong type of barbecue

0:10:05.042,0:10:06.393
to napping

0:10:06.417,0:10:09.643
to walking "agitated" on the way to work,

0:10:09.667,0:10:12.018
which I just call "walking to work."

0:10:12.042,0:10:13.601
(Laughter)

0:10:13.625,0:10:15.684
And, my personal favorite,

0:10:15.708,0:10:19.684
not stopping his dog from humping her dog,

0:10:19.708,0:10:22.309
which is clearly a case for dog police,

0:10:22.333,0:10:23.958
not people police.

0:10:24.625,0:10:28.750
All of these activities add up to living.

0:10:30.292,0:10:35.101
Our existence is being[br]interpreted as crime.

0:10:35.125,0:10:38.934
Now, this is the obligatory moment[br]in the presentation where I have to say,

0:10:38.958,0:10:41.226
not everything is about race.

0:10:41.250,0:10:43.809
Crime is a thing, should be reported,

0:10:43.833,0:10:49.809
but ask yourself, do we need armed men[br]to show up and resolve this situation,

0:10:49.833,0:10:52.351
because when they show up for me,

0:10:52.375,0:10:53.667
it's different.

0:10:54.417,0:10:56.893
We know that police officers

0:10:56.917,0:11:01.351
use force more with black people[br]than with white people,

0:11:01.375,0:11:05.018
and we are learning[br]the role of 911 calls in this.

0:11:05.042,0:11:08.643
Thanks to preliminary research[br]from the Center for Policing Equity,

0:11:08.667,0:11:10.393
we're learning that in some cities,

0:11:10.417,0:11:13.018
most of the interactions[br]between cops and citizens

0:11:13.042,0:11:14.851
is due to 911 calls,

0:11:14.875,0:11:16.934
not officer-initiated stops,

0:11:16.958,0:11:20.851
and most of the violence,[br]the use of force by police on citizens,

0:11:20.875,0:11:23.059
is in response to those calls.

0:11:23.083,0:11:27.226
Further, when those officers[br]responding to calls use force,

0:11:27.250,0:11:29.601
that increases in areas

0:11:29.625,0:11:31.726
where the percentage[br]of the white population

0:11:31.750,0:11:33.059
has also increased,

0:11:33.083,0:11:35.143
aka gentrification,

0:11:35.167,0:11:38.059
aka unicycles and oat milk,

0:11:38.083,0:11:40.976
aka when BBQ Becky feels threatened,

0:11:41.000,0:11:45.309
she becomes a threat to me[br]in my own neighborhood,

0:11:45.333,0:11:47.643
which forces me and people like me

0:11:47.667,0:11:49.684
to police ourselves.

0:11:49.708,0:11:52.726
We quiet ourselves, we walk on eggshells,

0:11:52.750,0:11:55.434
we maybe pull over to the side of the road

0:11:55.458,0:11:57.434
under the brightest light we can find

0:11:57.458,0:11:59.309
so that our murder

0:11:59.333,0:12:02.226
might be caught cleanly on camera,

0:12:02.250,0:12:05.226
and we do this because we live in a system

0:12:05.250,0:12:09.268
in which white people[br]can too easily call on deadly force

0:12:09.292,0:12:11.500
to ensure their comfort.

0:12:12.542,0:12:15.667
(Applause)

0:12:18.042,0:12:19.351
The California Safeway

0:12:19.375,0:12:24.184
didn't just call cops[br]on black woman donating food to homeless.

0:12:24.208,0:12:27.601
They ordered armed,[br]unaccountable men upon her.

0:12:27.625,0:12:30.417
They essentially called in a drone strike.

0:12:31.125,0:12:34.559
This is weaponized discomfort,

0:12:34.583,0:12:36.042
and it is not new.

0:12:36.958,0:12:39.309
From 1877 to 1950,

0:12:39.333,0:12:44.851
there were at least 4,400 documented[br]racial terror lynchings of black people

0:12:44.875,0:12:46.768
in the United States.

0:12:46.792,0:12:49.018
They had headlines as well.

0:12:49.042,0:12:52.434
"Rev. T.A. Allen was lynched[br]in Hernando, Mississippi

0:12:52.458,0:12:55.643
for organizing local sharecroppers."

0:12:55.667,0:12:58.518
"Oliver Moore was lynched[br]in Edgecomb County, North Carolina,

0:12:58.542,0:12:59.976
for frightening a white girl."

0:13:00.000,0:13:02.059
"Nathan Bird was lynched[br]near Luling, Texas,

0:13:02.083,0:13:05.375
for refusing to turn his son[br]over to a mob."

0:13:06.417,0:13:08.768
We need to change the action,

0:13:08.792,0:13:10.643
whether that action is "lynches"

0:13:10.667,0:13:12.726
or "calls police."

0:13:12.750,0:13:16.268
And now that I have shortened[br]the distance between those two,

0:13:16.292,0:13:18.976
let's get back to our game,[br]to our mission.

0:13:19.000,0:13:22.018
Our objective in level three[br]is to change the action.

0:13:22.042,0:13:23.851
So what if, instead of

0:13:23.875,0:13:26.809
"Calls Cops On Black Woman[br]Donating Food To Homeless,"

0:13:26.833,0:13:29.417
that California Safeway simply thanks her.

0:13:30.500,0:13:33.726
Thanking is far cheaper than bringing[br]law enforcement to the scene.

0:13:33.750,0:13:35.018
(Applause)

0:13:35.042,0:13:37.434
Or, instead,

0:13:37.458,0:13:40.059
they could give the food[br]they would have wasted to her,

0:13:40.083,0:13:41.833
upped their civic cred.

0:13:42.708,0:13:46.268
Or, the white woman who called the police[br]on the eight-year-old black girl,

0:13:46.292,0:13:49.684
she could have bought all the inventory[br]from that little black girl,

0:13:49.708,0:13:51.893
support a small business.

0:13:51.917,0:13:55.518
And the white woman who called the police[br]on the black real estate investor,

0:13:55.542,0:13:57.601
we would all be better off,[br]the cops agree,

0:13:57.625,0:14:00.601
if she had simply ignored him[br]and minded her own damn business.

0:14:00.625,0:14:02.184
(Laughter)

0:14:02.208,0:14:06.643
Minding one's own damn business[br]is an excellent choice, excellent choice.

0:14:06.667,0:14:08.476
Choose it more often.

0:14:08.500,0:14:13.101
Level three is complete,[br]but there is a final bonus level,

0:14:13.125,0:14:15.893
where the objective is inclusion.

0:14:15.917,0:14:18.393
We have also seen headlines like this:

0:14:18.417,0:14:21.393
"Powerful Man Masturbates[br]In Front Of Young Women

0:14:21.417,0:14:22.792
Visiting His Office."

0:14:23.542,0:14:27.309
What an odd choice[br]for powerful man to make.

0:14:27.333,0:14:30.226
So many other actions available to him.

0:14:30.250,0:14:31.268
(Laughter)

0:14:31.292,0:14:34.934
Like, such as, "listens to,"

0:14:34.958,0:14:36.226
"mentors,"

0:14:36.250,0:14:40.518
"inspired by, starts joint venture,[br]everybody rich now."

0:14:40.542,0:14:41.809
(Laughter)

0:14:41.833,0:14:44.268
I want to live in that world[br]of everybody rich now,

0:14:44.292,0:14:48.208
but because of his poor choice,[br]we are all in a poorer world.

0:14:49.125,0:14:51.059
Doesn't have to be this way.

0:14:51.083,0:14:55.643
This word game reminded me that[br]there is a structure to white supremacy,

0:14:55.667,0:14:57.268
as there is to misogyny,

0:14:57.292,0:15:00.643
as there is to all[br]systemic abuses of power.

0:15:00.667,0:15:03.625
Structure is what makes them systemic.

0:15:05.083,0:15:07.018
I'm asking people here

0:15:07.042,0:15:09.101
to see the structure,

0:15:09.125,0:15:11.518
where the power is in it,

0:15:11.542,0:15:14.893
and even more importantly[br]to see the humanity

0:15:14.917,0:15:18.375
of those of us made targets[br]by this structure.

0:15:19.042,0:15:25.184
I am here because I was loved[br]and invested in and protected and lucky,

0:15:25.208,0:15:28.351
because I went to the right schools,[br]I'm semifamous, mostly happy,

0:15:28.375,0:15:30.143
meditate twice a day,

0:15:30.167,0:15:31.976
and yet,

0:15:32.000,0:15:34.393
I walk around in fear,

0:15:34.417,0:15:38.851
because I know that someone[br]seeing me as a threat

0:15:38.875,0:15:41.351
can become a threat to my life,

0:15:41.375,0:15:43.042
and I am tired.

0:15:44.000,0:15:45.434
I am tired of carrying

0:15:45.458,0:15:49.309
this invisible burden[br]of other people's fears,

0:15:49.333,0:15:51.393
and many of us are,

0:15:51.417,0:15:53.601
and we shouldn't have to,

0:15:53.625,0:15:56.518
because we can change this,

0:15:56.542,0:16:01.059
because we can change the action,[br]which changes the story,

0:16:01.083,0:16:03.125
which changes the system

0:16:04.292,0:16:06.143
that allows those stories to happen.

0:16:06.167,0:16:10.083
Systems are just collective[br]stories we all buy into.

0:16:11.083,0:16:13.226
When we change them,

0:16:13.250,0:16:17.768
we write a better reality[br]for us all to be a part of.

0:16:17.792,0:16:19.893
I am asking us

0:16:19.917,0:16:22.393
to use our power to choose.

0:16:22.417,0:16:25.934
I am asking us to level up.

0:16:25.958,0:16:27.226
Thank you.

0:16:27.250,0:16:29.684
I am Baratunde Rafiq Thurston.

0:16:29.708,0:16:34.500
(Applause)