公眾人物畢業(yè)演講(MP3+字幕)第81期:米歇爾奧巴馬迪拉德大學(xué)(7)
我引用他的原話 他說
For twenty years I was a slave on these streets
我在這些街道上當(dāng)了二十年奴隸
It was a penitentiary offense to educate a Negro
為黑人提供教育曾是應(yīng)處監(jiān)禁的罪行
I have seen my fellow-servants whipped for trying to learn
我親眼見到過嘗試學(xué)習(xí)的奴隸同胞受到鞭刑
but today here I am
而今天我站在這里
speaking where a building is to be erected for the education of the children of my people
為一座黑人兒童教育建筑的奠基發(fā)表講話
He goes on to say, I wonder
他繼續(xù)說道 我想知道
if this is the world I was born in
這個世界是否不同于我所生在的世界
See, in the course of his short lifetime
在他短暫的一生中
Emperor saw education go from being a crime for black folks
皇帝見證了黑人教育從不被允許的犯罪行為
to being a real possibility for his kids and grandkids
轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)榱四軌驗槠渥訉O提供的正當(dāng)行為
So no wonder he
毫不奇怪
was asking whether this was the same world he'd been born into
他會問 這個世界是否不同于他所生在的世界
See, for a man like Emperor getting an education
對于皇帝這樣的人 獲得教育
could open up a whole new world of opportunity
讓充滿機(jī)會的全新世界得以開啟
An education meant having real power
教育意味著真正的力量
It meant you could manage your own money
意味著你可以掌控自己的錢
It meant you couldn't get swindled out of land or possessions
意味著別人不能再忽悠你在虛線上簽名
when somebody told you to just sign on the dotted line
借此騙取你的土地或財產(chǎn)
sometimes even determined whether or not you could vote
教育甚至決定了你能否投票
So most folks back then saw education as the key to real and lasting freedom
當(dāng)時 很多人都將教育看成是真正持久自由的關(guān)鍵
That's why
正是因為這些
when New Orleans University
新奧爾良大學(xué)
and the other African American college in town
和鎮(zhèn)上另一所非裔美國人大學(xué)
Straight University, first opened their doors
正直大學(xué) 首次開啟大門時
one of the biggest problems they faced was too many students
它們碰到的最大問題之一便是學(xué)生太多
That's right too many students
真的 學(xué)生太多
Many of these students barely spoke English
很多學(xué)生英語都說不好
they'd grown up speaking Creole or French
很多人說克里奧爾語或法語
Few had ever seen the inside of a classroom or even been taught their ABCs
有些人甚至沒見過教室 連ABC都沒人教過他們
But let me tell you, those students were hungry
不過我可以告訴你們 這些學(xué)生非?？释?/p>
you hear me Hungry
他們非常渴望
They studied like their lives depended on it
他們拼了命地學(xué)習(xí)
They blazed through their lessons
激昂奮進(jìn)
And that hunger for education
這種學(xué)習(xí)的渴望
lasted for generations in the African American community here in New Orleans
在新奧爾良非裔美國人群體中持續(xù)了好多代人
