With an admonition to not dwell on the past, but to start wherever they stand, the Rev. Otis Anthony II kicked off his address to the students at the sixth annual initiation and installation ceremony for Jobs for America’s Graduates—Mississippi by reciting the poem written by author, Berton Braley.
Quoting from the verses, he told the attending crowd of students, parents and others that, “Old failures will not halt, old triumphs aid, to-day's the thing, to-morrow soon will be; get in the fight and face it unafraid, and leave the past to ancient history. What has been, has been; yesterday is dead and by it you are neither blessed nor banned, take courage, man, be brave and drive ahead…start where you stand.”
In reference to the chosen theme that suggests that everybody is somebody and that you only become a nobody when you give up, Anthony surmised that there are two types of people in the world, those who have conquered their fears and those who are living out their fears.
He said everyone has some type of fear, however some get up each day despite those fears and go out to conquer the world. Anthony suggested that fear is the number one killer of peoples’ dreams. He called fear a voice in our heads that tells us we can’t do something.
He said, “Being afraid of something that has not yet happened and may never happen based on past thoughts, beliefs and conditions that is what fear is, fear is false evidence, appearing real.”
By way of encouragement, he told those gathered that if anyone has ever told them that they could not do something, “That is not true,” he said. Anthony said being from a certain side of the track; being a certain skin color or lacking money and certain resources should not be a deterrent. “Because there are people who have done with less than what you have, they’ve gone forth and done great things even though they faced fear,” he said.
Anthony said they should strive for success even if they have to struggle by themselves. He concluded by announcing examples of several noted Americans who fought to achieve their goals without quitting and announced, “If they didn’t give up, you can’t give up, we need you to grow strong, we need you to learn all you can, and then when you get all you can, you’ve got to reach back and help the next generation,” he said.
The Ruleville Central High band and choir provided musical selections during the program, which also featured a poem, and a candlelight ceremony in addition to the pinning ceremony and issuance of the certificates by retired Mississippi District 31- State Representative, Sara Richardson-Thomas and Makendra Mitchell, PhD.
Elizabeth Blackshire, JMG program manager, gave acknowledgements and closing comments. Marva Anthony is JMG Specialist for Ruleville Central and the coordinator of the program.
