An assembly of students from the University of the Virgin Islands welcomed a freshman member of the United States Senate on Wednesday. Sen. Raphael Warnock delivered the keynote speech at a student convocation program held at the Elridge Blake Sports and Fitness Center.
Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, is also the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. The church was also the base of ministry for civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the house of worship for the late Congressman John Lewis.
As the keynote speaker took his seat on stage at the sport and fitness center he was greeted by UVI President David Hall. The two leaders share Savannah, Georgia, as their childhood home.
Warnock, along with fellow Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff took their oaths of office as freshmen lawmakers on Jan. 5, 2021. Hall told the audience that the Georgia election of Warnock and Ossoff “created political earthquakes, yet the next day — Jan. 6 — reactionary forces attempted to shatter democracy through an insurrection at the Capitol.”
The speaker said he viewed those and other events taking place in the country as a struggle for the soul of the nation. Political, but also a spiritual moment in America’s history. Then Warnock recalled an earlier effort towards the same end undertaken by Dr. King.
It was, he said, the driving force behind the civil rights movement. But Warnock pointed out the role of ordinary people working with leadership to accomplish the gains achieved at that time.
“Fifty-six years ago tonight, Martin King Jr. delivered his last sermon. Today is April 3. It was 56 years ago tonight that he delivered his last public address. Less than 24 hours later he would meet his apotheosis; he belongs to the ages.”
“But it was the culmination of a 13-year commitment to redeem the soul of America. It started as a bus boycott in Montgomery. The thing that I want these students especially in front of me to understand is that Dr. King did not start the bus boycott. To begin talking about his history by saying that he started by organizing a bus boycott — that’s not true,” Warnock said, “the movement was already happening.”
The senator wrapped up his address by invoking the image of a flight of geese and urging the students to lead their lives in anticipation of the day that they will be called on to lead a cause greater than their own hopes and dreams.
To take on such a role takes a lot of work and brings its own burdens, he said, and those who lead can grow tired. But like a flock of geese, good leadership brings along an organization that works together.
“That’s what Dr. Hall is going to do in a few weeks. When the time comes, he moves further back into the formation but he’s still in the formation. That’s for all of us at some point,” Warnock said.
“What I like about geese is that when the time comes the one out front just moves further back into formation; he moves back, she moves forward and takes his place and they keep moving.”
The student convocation brought together leaders of UVI student government, the student representative to the school’s board of trustees, Lt. Gov. Tregenza Roach, V.I. Senate President Novelle Francis, Jr. and fellow lawmakers, educators, political leaders and residents eager to hear the words of a renowned religious and political figure.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story misstated the name of Sen. Warnock’s church. It is the Ebenezer Baptist Church, not the Abyssinian Baptist Church.
