Former professional baseball player and motivational speaker Chris Singleton explained the importance of unity and love being stronger than hate, and being mindful of everyone’s personal struggles and unspoken stories, during a schoolwide assembly on Nov. 13.
Singleton, who became a public speaker and author after his mother was one of nine people killed in a racially motivated shooting in 2015, focused the majority of his talk on other people rather than himself. While speaking to the whole school, he relayed stories of people he’s met while giving talks around the country. Singleton focused on providing a positive message of unity, having empathy for others and remembering that anyone can be struggling with invisible difficulties.
“One person was misguided and misled and misinformed to hate people who look like me,” Singleton said, later adding, “What I can try to do is be the exact opposite of what my mother’s killer was.”
Through anecdotes of people he’s met from a variety of ages, Singleton explained that you will never know what someone else is going through. He shared the story of several high school students with private struggles, including one young woman who was made fun of because her classmates did not believe she had a real injury until it was discovered that she was suffering from a very serious type of bone cancer.
“The people that were laughing at her saying that she wasn’t really hurt, they kind of felt like jerks,” Singleton said. “Because they thought that this was something small.”
Students who were present in the audience said they appreciated Singleton’s message of love, unity and treating everyone with kindness. The students said they could really understand where Singleton came from and his background. They also liked his anecdotes and how Singleton was able to connect with the rest of the audience.
“In my opinion I thought he did a great job,” freshman Brooke Gillen said. “Since his audience was mostly teenagers I thought it was good that he used examples we could relate too.”
One of the anecdotes Singleton shared with the audience was his experience with an older woman, Grandma E, who welcomed him as a grandson and explained her love for her twin granddaughters of different races. Grandma E guided Singleton in the right direction, he said, and was able to motivate him through the hardships he went through along the way.
“I think that a lot of times people who make mistakes are really just misguided and angry at the word and a person like Grandma E can really change someone’s life,” freshman Deanna Fernandez said.
Singleton finished his speech by urging students to understand the power of their own words, and to go out into the world and share his mission for unity.
“I hope that people realize the power of their words,” Singleton said, “… and share love like Grandma E.”
