Like many of you, I am not a California native. As a daughter of Mormon Missionaries, my mother was born and raised in Pacheco, a small town in Northern Mexico. When she was a young woman, she immigrated to the United States to pursue her education. She ultimately settled in Tennessee and raised her family, including me, there. Like my mother, I “immigrated” from Tennessee to California 22 yrs ago. California is now my home, but Tennessee is still my homeland. One thing that I deeply miss about Tennessee is the fireflies. If you have never seen a firefly, let me tell you about them. They are small beetles that use biochemical reactions to create flashes of light in their abdomens. And, as their name implies, they can fly. In the summer, after dusk, the fireflies emerge from the shadows to light up the night.

As such, fireflies provide a powerful metaphor for the existence of hope in the dark. Rebecca Solnit, SFSU alum and author of a book, which is aptly titled “Hope in the Dark”, writes: “The grounds for hope are in the shadows, in the people who are inventing the world while no one looks, who themselves don’t know yet whether they will have any effect, in the people you have not yet heard of who will be the next Cesar Chavez, the next Noam Chomsky, the next Cindy Sheehan, or become something you cannot yet imagine.”

You are all fireflies, emerging from the shadows to light up these dark times.

Those of you who know me well know that I love stories. And lucky for me, you all have some amazing stories that it is my privilege to tell…

To me, pursuing your education in an increasingly anti-intellectual world is an act of insurrection. It is an act of hope and lights the way.

• One of you was told that you were never going to make it in science; despite this discouragement, you persevered and will be starting your PhD program at UCSF next year.
• Many of you learned Biology in a language that was not your first language.
• One of you took 9 years to graduate from City College before finally making it to SFSU.
• Many of you saw a scientific need in your community, and so you worked to address it in your research.

To me, persisting in the face of unimaginable challenges is an act of insurrection. It is an act of hope and lights the way.

• One of you cared for your mother the entire time that you were a student at SFSU.
• One of you dealt with multiple hospitalizations and countless doctor visits for your oldest child while juggling two different jobs.
• Many of you overcame the death of a loved one while you were a student at SF State.
• One of you is a cancer survivor while others are you are fighting cancer right now.
• One of you came back to school as a mother of teenagers.

To me, enduring even when you have felt fearful, alienated and isolated is an act of insurrection. It is an act of hope and lights the way.

• One of you, a refugee in our city, was granted asylum.
• Many of you have persevered in the face of hunger and homelessness.
• A number of you are undocumented and live with the constant fear of being deported.
• Many of you had to work one or more jobs to help defray the costs of your college education.

If you recognized yourself in one of those stories, please know that you light up the dark. If you feel comfortable doing so, please stand as you are able. Thank you. You may be seated.

Students, loved ones, faculty and staff, if you are or were the first in your family to attend college, please stand up as you are able. You light up the dark. You may be seated.

If you ever felt like giving up, but persisted, please stand up. You light up the dark. You may be seated.

If you are pursuing a career in science with the hope that it will benefit the health of the planet and its inhabitants, please stand up. You light up the dark. And in so doing, you share your light with others. You may be seated.

If you are pursuing a career in education so that we may live in science-literate society, please stand up. You light up the dark. And in so doing, you share your light with others. You may be seated.

If you are a role model for young people in your communities, guiding them on a path to college and higher education and showing them how to aim high and go for your dreams, please stand up. You light up the dark. And in so doing, you share your light with others. You may be seated.

If you have volunteered your time to organizations such as the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science, Black Excellence in STEM, Oakland Bound, Rotary Club, and GlobeMed, to make the world a better place please stand up. You light up the dark. And in so doing, you share your light with others. You may be seated.

In the part of Tennessee that I am from, there is a rare species of firefly that is known to synchronize their flashes. By so doing, they illuminate the entire night sky. And just like you, the graduates of 2019, they shine brighter together. If you are a member of the graduating class of 2019, please stand up. You light up the dark. And like the fireflies from my backyard, I know that you will light up the world in ways that you cannot yet imagine.

Class of 2019, as a sign that you have successfully graduated from San Francisco State University, I now invite you to move your tassel from the right side of your mortar board to the left!  Congratulations, graduates!  Go out there and shine!

I would like to dedicate this ceremony to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Christian Cooper, Breonna Taylor, Atatiana Jefferson, and all of those who have either been threatened with violence or killed because of the color of their skin. While we are acutely mourning the loss of George Floyd, I would like to highlight the stories of others who are and were biologists at heart. Just like many of you, Christian Cooper is an avid naturalist and birder. He was quite literally threatened for birdwatching while being black. Like many of you, Breonna Taylor was a health care professional, working as an emergency medical technician. And just like all of you today, Atatiana Jefferson had earned a degree in Biology - she had a job selling pharmaceutical equipment and was preparing to apply to medical school. Breonna and Atatiana were killed for being at home while being black. Please take 30 seconds of silence to remember these victims of racial violence.

I want to acknowledge the gravity of our situation and I want to say that I am deeply grateful for the hope, defiance, resilience, and courage that you carry into this broken world. According to Maya Angelou: “Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.”

Today, we find ourselves battling a pandemic. At the same time, climate change and pent up hurt and rage are burning our houses to the ground. We are at the precipice of an economic freefall. Jeff Bezos is on the brink of becoming the first American trillionaire while one in four American workers have applied for unemployment. Our democracy is broken and we are plagued by deep structural inequalities. 27 million Americans have lost their employer-sponsored health care. Families are being separated by the government at borders. Black men and women are being murdered because of the color of their skin.

This year is an everything-at-once kind of a year. So was 1968. Robert Kennedy was slain in Los Angeles. An unpopular war was raging in Vietnam and the Democratic National Convention was marked by violence and chaos. Martin Luther King was assassinated by James Earl Ray. It felt like things were falling apart and that the center could not hold.

In 1968, I was a young kid growing up in East TN, not too far from where James Earl Ray would be imprisoned the following year. Although my family didn’t have a ton of money for non-essential items, some of my most poignant memories center around the six albums that were kept in a record cabinet in the living room. One of these was the White Album, which is widely considered to be the Beatles reaction to the turbulent times. Blackbird was and still is my most beloved song on the White Album. For me, the song was about being truly free, which as a closeted gay kid growing up in the South felt utterly unattainable. Though I did not know it at the time, I now understand that the song was inspired by the "Little Rock Nine", a group of African-American teens, who fought to enroll in an all-white public high school in Arkansas. The courage of the “Little Rock Nine” was both inspirational and transformational. They were created by and for that moment. They paved the way for all of you to be graduating today.

Over the past few years, I have witnessed your courage. I have seen you struggle, persevere, grow, and discover your passions. I have watched you rise up. You give me great hope. This hope is a gift. Thank you. I light this candle as a symbol of the hope that you have shared with me. Just like the light of this candle, one of the extraordinary qualities of hope is that it can be shared.

All panelists light candles

Blackbird is my gift to share with you. Although I draw on the rhythms and the sounds of my childhood and my culture, I hope that it will evoke the rhythms and sounds of your life.

As graduates of the class of 2020, you know all too well how it feels to be broken. I would like to ask that you take a moment to imagine what it feels like to fly…. Now, imagine what it feels like to soar.

OK….so, this is going to take all of my courage…

Singing

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of a dark black night
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of a dark black night

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

BOLD is singing

Blackbird singing in the dead of night: Some of you have lost loved ones – to COVID19, to cancer and heart disease. Two of you lost uncles to COVID19. One of you lost not one, but two, siblings to COVID19. Let’s all take a moment to remember loved ones who have passed away.

Take these broken wings and learn to fly: A number of you have experienced homelessness and food insecurity while pursuing your studies. Your degree provides a path to economic security

All your life, You were only waiting for this moment to arise: Many of you have been accepted into doctoral programs, where you will develop into leaders in your communities.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night: One of you is an EMT who has risked exposure to COVID-19 while working to finish this final semester strong.

Take these sunken eyes and learn to see: One of you is going on to become a rheumatologist so that you can develop better treatments for the chronic pain you have endured throughout your undergraduate years.

All your life, You were only waiting for this moment to be free: Many of you have freed others by teaching and mentoring them. According to author Toni Morrison, “The function of freedom is to free someone else.”

Blackbird singing in the dead of night: Some of you have parents who had to school you in how not to get shot if you got pulled over. Even with that knowledge, you live in fear that you will be hurt or killed just because of the color of your skin. Some of you are undocumented and not eligible for DACA, making it difficult to find a job.

Take these broken wings and learn to fly: One of you has excelled while living with the debilitating effects of Myasthenia Gravis.

You were only waiting for this moment to arise: One of you, by graduating today, is lifting up your 7 children. Another is showing the way for his 4 children.

You were only waiting for this moment to arise: One of you finished strong even though your construction job had increased demands; you are also engaged to be married in the next month.

You were only waiting for this moment to arise: One of you is an older student who grew up in Northern Mexico. Today represents the culmination of a life-long dream. By achieving your dream, you are changing the face of science to more closely reflect the demographics of your community.

Into the light of the dark black night: Your hard work over the last 4, 6, 8, or even 10 years has prepared you for this moment; it has prepared you to fly. You have learned how to ask questions… and not just any questions, like hey, how are you doing today, but the really really hard questions like why are Native American, LatinX and Black people disproportionately affected by Coronavirus? How can we eliminate deep structural inequities to ensure that everyone has access to the American Dream? How can we move past climate change denial to climate change action? You have learned how to be skeptical. And right now there is so much to be skeptical about. Be skeptical of cures that have not been subjected to the rigor of scientific testing. And be VERY skeptical when someone suggests that injecting bleach might be a good way to treat Coronavirus. You have learned how to use evidence and to make evidence-based decisions. Scientific evidence tells us that Coronavirus and climate change are inconvenient, but very real truths. We have sheltered in place to save lives. Now it is time to take action to protect our planet. By heeding the evidence, we have saved lives. Your education here at SF State has given you the wings to fly.

Like blackbird murmurations, wild swirls of thousands of birds moving in unison, we are a community of friends, fellow scientists, and mentors that will be with you for the rest of your life. This community has sustained you in this time of need. Now is the time for all of us to band together and give back to our communities. Now more than ever, we need scientists and science educators…we need YOU…we need YOU to help us ensure the health and well-being of all living creatures on the planet. As James Baldwin aptly wrote, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing will be changed until it is faced.” Graduates of 2020, now is the time to face the challenges of our time. Just like the “Little Rock Nine”, you have been created by and for this moment. This is your moment. Spread your wings and fly.