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(7)

He said and these are his words he said

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習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

當時 很多人都將教育看成是真正持久自由的關鍵

That's why

正是因為這些

when New Orleans University

新奧爾良大學

and the other African American college in town

和鎮(zhèn)上另一所非裔美國人大學

Straight University, first opened their doors

正直大學 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生太多

That's right too many students

真的 學生太多

Many of these students barely spoke English

很多學生英語都說不好

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 這些學生非常渴望

you hear me Hungry

他們非?？释?/p>

They studied like their lives depended on it

他們拼了命地學習

They blazed through their lessons

激昂奮進

And that hunger for education

這種學習的渴望

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