powerful speeches 2022

The Most Notable Commencement Speeches of 2022

Following two years of cancellations and virtual ceremonies, traditional commencements have returned to college campuses nationwide. As always, this year’s roster of speakers includes entertainers, politicians, athletes, CEOs, entrepreneurs, writers, and other notable A-listers.

Here’s a sampling of famous speakers and their words of wisdom for the class of 2022.

Note: This list will be updated throughout the commencement season.

Taylor Swift, New York University

The internet blew up when NYU announced Taylor Swift would be this year’s commencement speaker and receive an honorary degree . Telling stories about her triumphs and travails, Swift told graduates to learn from mistakes and stay resilient because “life can be heavy, especially if you try to carry it all at once.”

Favorite Quote: “In your life, you will inevitably misspeak, trust the wrong person, underreact, overreact, hurt the people who didn’t deserve it, overthink, not think at all, self-sabotage, create a reality where only your experience exists, ruin perfectly good moments for yourself and others, deny any wrongdoing, not take the steps to make it right, feel very guilty, let the guilt eat at you, hit rock bottom, finally address the pain you caused, try to do better next time, rinse, repeat.”

Mary Frances Berry, Clark University

Mary Frances Berry, a civil rights activist, historian, and professor emerita at the University of Pennsylvania, reminded graduates of their “moral obligation” to contribute to society and challenged them to “find consensus for a better future.”

Favorite Quote : “My experience is that there can be no real satisfaction in a life devoted entirely to the satisfaction of personal desires. If one is to be consumed by passion, I can think of no more worthy all-consuming passion than the struggle for human rights, greater opportunity, and a livable planet.”

Tim Cook, Gallaudet University

A leading institution for the deaf and signing community, Gallaudet has a longstanding relationship with Apple, whose products have signature benefits for deaf students. Apple’s CEO urged graduates to “lead with your values.”

Favorite Quote: “What I mean is that you should make decisions, big and small, each and every day based on a deep understanding of who you are and what you believe. These are not static things, and you wouldn’t want them to be. You will learn more and grow more with each passing year as all of us do, but there are foundational values that are core to your personality and your character and these are the things you should choose to live by.”

Hamdi Ulukaya, Northeastern University

A Turkish immigrant, Ulukaya used an abandoned factory in upstate New York to launch the Chobani yogurt empire.

Favorite Quote: “As we started to grow, we hired everyone that we could. I realized an hour away there was a community of refugees who were having a hard time finding jobs. I said, ‘Let’s hire them.’ … I promise you that there is nothing more rewarding than showing up in the world for other people, no matter how hard it may be.”

Billie Jean King, Springfield College

A tennis legend and pioneering champion for social change, gender equality, and LGBTQ+ rights, Billie Jean King spoke about the significance of 50 years of Title IX and encouraged graduates to be a “problem-solver and an innovator.”

Favorite Quote : “As a gay woman, I was not comfortable in my own skin until I was 51 years old. You never really understand inclusion until you’ve been excluded. So don’t let others define you. … You define yourself in your life.”

Kamala Harris, Tennessee State University

The vice president challenged fellow HBCU graduates to discover solutions for an “unsettled” world.

Favorite Quote: “Here in the United States, we are once again forced to defend fundamental principles that we hoped were long settled — principles like the freedom to vote, the rights of women to make decisions about their own body, even what constitutes the truth.”

Ken Jeong, Tulane University

The actor and doctor, whose comedy and medical careers began in New Orleans, ruminated on the difficulties of pursuing challenging paths and told graduates to “find your toughness, cultivate your love for what you do, and never give up.”

Favorite Quote : “I don’t define myself by my job. I’m not just a doctor. I’m not just a comedian. I’m not just an annoying overactor. I persisted in annoying the world for decades, and the world relented, yo. I’m just me.”

Joe Biden, University of Delaware

Returning to his alma mater, President Biden told students it’s “no time to be on the sidelines” during what can “feel like a very dark moment in America,” referencing the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas.

Favorite Quote : “Your generation is the most generous, the most tolerant, the least prejudiced, the best-educated generation this nation has ever known. And that’s a simple fact. And it’s your generation, more than anyone else, who will have to answer the question, ‘Who are we?’ ‘What do we stand for?’ ‘What do we believe?’ ‘Who will we be?'”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, University of Maryland, Baltimore

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to the President—and trusted scientific voice during COVID-19—acknowledged graduating students for the “resilience, resolve, and strength of character” they demonstrated during the pandemic and urged them to remain “perpetual students.”

Favorite Quote : “I still feel a palpable excitement in the continual process of learning, no matter which of the many hats of responsibility that I’m wearing — seeing patients, working in the laboratory, directing a large biomedical research institute, or advising the President of the United States during a raging pandemic. I urge you to embrace such an attitude as you proceed in the wide range of careers that you all will pursue.”

Ken Burns, University of Pennsylvania

Fresh off his new series on Benjamin Franklin , Penn’s founder, the award-winning documentary filmmaker urged graduates not to focus on amassing “Benjamins.”

Favorite Quote: “We’ve nearly broken this Republic of ours, but somehow you’ve got to fix it. You’re going to have to initiate a new movement, a new Union Army, that must be dedicated above all else — including your career and personal advancement — to the preservation of this country’s civic ideals. You’ll have to learn, and then re-teach the rest of us that equality — real equality — is the hallmark and birthright of all Americans.”

Allyson Felix, University of Southern California

The most decorated track and field Olympian in history, Felix famously called out Nike for refusing to protect the salaries of sponsored athletes who are pregnant. Nike, along with several other athletic brands, reversed its policy.

Favorite Quote: “Remember: Your voice has power. You have to use your voice, even if it shakes. There are times when you will ask for change, and there are times when you’ll create it. … It’s important to live a life of purpose.”

Follow Harvard Magazine:

Your independent source for Harvard news since 1898

John Harvard's Journal

The Speeches 2022

July-August 2022

President Lawrence S. Bacow at the 371st Commencement, May 26

“Save a Seat for Others”

During his welcoming remarks at the 371st Commencement , on May 26, President Lawrence S. Bacow drew on pandemic-influenced conditions to send a message about the candidates’ future comportment, and truths not always associated with Veritas.

Something very inconvenient happens when you combine a nation’s worth of graduations with a global supply-chain shortage.

There are not enough folding chairs to go around.

I am not kidding—half of you almost had to sit on blankets today.…

Fortunately…our amazing staff…are creative, resilient, and resourceful. So now you know about the Great Seat Scramble of 2022.

I am telling you this because it is likely the last time you almost didn’t get a seat. Soon you will have a degree in hand from an institution whose name is known no matter where you go in the world, whose name is synonymous with excellence, ambition, and achievement—and maybe some other modifiers on which we needn’t dwell today.

With your degree…you may often find yourself invited to sit and stay awhile, invited to share your thoughts and ideas, invited to participate, to contribute, to lead. You may end up sitting on a board or occupying a seat of power.…

And what are you to make of that—of the fact that people will make room for you , find a seat for you ?

You could take it for granted. You could assume that you deserved it all along.

But what a waste that would be.

Today, I want to challenge you—members of the Harvard class of 2022—to save a seat for others, to make room for others, to ensure that the opportunities afforded by your education do not enrich your life alone. You will have more chances than most to make a difference in the world, more opportunities to give others a chance at a better life. Take advantage of these opportunities when they arise. Whatever you do with your Harvard education, please be known at least as much for your humility, kindness, and concern for others as for your professional accomplishments. Recognize the role that good fortune and circumstance have played in your life, and please work to extend opportunity to others just as it has been extended to you.

That is how you will sustain the pride and joy you feel today. And that’s the truth.

“Let Us Reclaim the Space in Between”

Citing the Commencement address by Benazir Bhutto ’73, LL.D. ’89, then prime minister of Pakistan , this year’s guest speaker, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, LL.D. ’22, recalled her warning that “democracy…can be fragile.” Ardern then explained:

This imperfect but precious way that we organize ourselves, that has been created to give equal voice to the weak and to the strong, that is designed to help drive consensus—it is fragile.

For years it feels as though we have assumed that the fragility of democracy was determined by duration. That somehow the strength of your democracy was like a marriage—the longer you’d been in it, the more likely it was to stick.

But that takes so much for granted.

It ignores the fact that the foundation of a strong democracy includes trust in institutions, experts, and government—and that this can be built up over decades but torn down in mere years.

It ignores that a strong democracy relies on debate and dialogue, and that even the oldest regimes can seek to control these forums, and the youngest can seek to liberate them.

It ignores what happens, when regardless of how long your democracy has been tried and tested—when facts are turned into fiction, and fiction turned into fact, you stop debating ideas and you start debating conspiracy.

It ignores the reality of what we are now being confronted by every single day.

Ardern recalled growing up in a rural town of 5,000 where “I lived in that important space that sits between difference and division.” She was “raised a Mormon in a town where the dominant religions were Catholic, Anglican, and Rugby. I was a woman interested in…left-wing politics, in a region that had never in its entire democratic history, elected anyone other than a conservative candidate.” Yet those differences were “a part of my identity, but never a source of isolation.” But now, in an era of social media, she said:

[A]s the opportunities to connect expanded, humans did what we have always done. We organised ourselves.…

We logged on in our billions, forming tribes and sub tribes. We published our thoughts, feelings, and ideas freely. We found a place to share information, facts, fiction dressed up as facts, memes, and more cat videos than you ever thought possible.

We found a place to experience new ways of thinking and to celebrate our difference.

But increasingly, we use it to do neither of those things.

I doubt anyone has ever created a group titled “political views I disagree with, but choose to enter into respectful dialogue with to better understand alternative perspectives.”

As humans, we are naturally predisposed to reinforce our own views, to gather with people like us and avoid the dreaded sense of cognitive dissonance. We seek validation, confirmation, reinforcement. And increasingly with the help of algorithms, what we seek, we are served, sometimes before we even know we’re looking.

Accordingly:

The time has come for social media companies and other online providers to recognise their power and to act on it.

That means upholding their own basic terms of service.

That means recognising the role they play in constantly curating and shaping the online environments that we’re in. That algorithmic processes make choices and decisions for us—what we see and where we are directed —and that at best this means the user experience is personalised and at worst it means it can be radicalised.

It means, that there is a pressing and urgent need for responsible algorithm development and deployment.

We have the forums for online providers and social media companies to work on these issues alongside civil society and governments. And we have every reason to do it…because the time has come.

At the same time, she told the graduates not to “overlook the impact of simple steps that are right in front of us”:

To make a choice to treat difference with empathy and kindness.

Those values that exist in the space between difference and division. The very things we teach our children, but then view as weakness in our leaders.

The issues we navigate as a society will only intensify. The disinformation will only increase. The pull into the comfort of our tribes will be magnified. But we have it within us to ensure that this doesn’t mean we fracture.

We are the richer for our difference, and poorer for our division. Through genuine debate and dialogue, through rebuilding trust in information and one another, through empathy—let us reclaim the space in between.

  Read the full address at harvardmag.com/371-ardern-22 .

“The Urgent Need to Defend Democracy”

Speaking at the May 29 celebration for the classes of 2020 and 2021, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland ’74, J.D. ’77 (who declined an honorary degree, in light of his current responsibilities), talked seriously about what citizens owe one another at a time of rising political violence and threats of violence, unwillingness to accept the peaceful transfer of power, and acts of racially motivated terrorism and mass murders.

There is one particular reason that makes my call to public service especially urgent for your generation. It is an urgency that should move each of you, regardless of the career you choose. It is the urgent need to defend democracy.

Both at home and abroad, we are seeing the many ways in which democracy is under threat.

I want to start with democracy abroad, as I am well aware of the international students in this audience.…

When I was graduating from college, there were many things to worry about in the outside world, including the threat of another land war in Europe. But with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, that threat seemed to recede from the possible to the improbable.

Now that land war is upon us. Russia’s unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine this February has been accompanied by heartbreaking atrocities…

[I]f anything can pull us together as a country and as an international community—and make clear the stake we all have in the success of democracy both at home and abroad—this heinous invasion by an authoritarian government is it.

At home, we are also facing threats to democracy—different in kind, but threats, nonetheless.

We see them in efforts to undermine the right to vote.

We see them in the violence and threats of violence that are directed at people because of who they are or how they serve the public.

We saw them when a violent mob stormed the United States Capitol in an attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.

First, I want to talk about the right to vote.

Shortly before I started high school, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, thanks to the persistent calls to action of the Civil Rights Movement. That Act gave the Justice Department important tools to protect the cornerstone of our democracy—the right of all eligible citizens to vote.

But while many of you were in high school, the Supreme Court significantly weakened those protections. And while you were in college or graduate school, Court decisions weakened them even further.

Following those decisions, there has been a dramatic increase in legislative efforts that make it harder for millions of eligible voters to vote and to elect representatives of their own choice.

Those efforts threaten the foundation of our system of government. And there may be worse to come.

Some have even suggested giving state legislatures the power to set aside the choice of the voters themselves.

That is not the way a representative democracy is supposed to work.

As I said before, when I was sitting where you are sitting today, there were many things to worry about. But it never occurred to me that the right to vote would again be threatened in this country.

Garland also spoke about the threats against public officials, and the January 6, 2021, attempt to disrupt Congress as it met to certify the Electoral College vote. “Like the threat to voting rights, this kind of direct attack on an American institution is something I never worried about as I was graduating from college,” he said. “There had been such attacks on foreign capitals in foreign lands. But a storming of the U.S. Capitol itself had not taken place since the War of 1812.” As the Department of Justice defends democracy, he continued, it cannot proceed alone. Beyond exhorting the recent graduates to pursue public service, he said:

Finally, the preservation of democracy requires our willingness to tell the truth. Together, we must ensure that the magnitude of an event like January 6th is not downplayed or understated. The commitment to the peaceful transfer of power must be respected by every American. Our democracy depends upon it.

Read the full address at harvardmag.com/comm-2021-22 .

Click here for the July-August 2022 issue table of contents

You might also like

Barley Recipe (Orzotto) by Chef Mario Marini

Climate- and heart-friendly barley with crunchy chickpeas & almonds topped with balsamic vinegar

Orchard Elixir by Mixologist Willa Van Nostrand

An orchard elixir mocktail for the holidays—healthy, festive, and organic

Eating for the Holidays, the Planet, and Your Heart

“Sustainable eating,” and healthy recipes you can prepare this Thanksgiving.

Most popular

Restoring Justice

Exploring an alternative to crime and punishment

China’s Social-Media Smoke Screen

Distraction seems to be the aim of a massive government campaign of fake social media posts.

A Higher Degree of Responsibility

On the history and potential of values-driven enterprises

Explore More From Current Issue

University People

Villa I Tatti: How Donors Influence Harvard's Art, Culture, and Academic Experiences

How gifts shape student experiences, in often unseen ways

Do Ivy League Athletes Outperform in Careers?

How does undergraduate participation in varsity sports enhance career success?

Liv Redpath on “What You Can Say” Through Opera

Liv Redpath’s operatic trajectory

Featured Topics

Featured series.

A series of random questions answered by Harvard experts.

Explore the Gazette

Read the latest.

Updating their 3-word bios

Rhodes scholars share their Oxford ambitions  

He didn’t come all this way to lose to Yale

Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer

Break down walls. Vanquish villains. Stand up and speak out. Facts and truth matter.

6 past harvard commencement speakers offer inspiring messages of justice, courage, resilience, empathy.

Harvard graduates this week will hear from two high-profile leaders, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Thursday and Sunday. Ahead of the ceremonies, we look back at Commencement addresses from recent years.

“My philosophy is very simple. When you see something that’s not right, not fair, not just, stand up, say something, and speak out.”

U.S. Rep. John Lewis

2018 The Civil Rights icon delivers a powerful message on the importance of truth, justice, and equality at a time when those values have come under assault.

Thank you so much for those kind words of introduction. I must tell you that I’m delighted, very pleased and really happy to be here. You look good! The weather is good, rain stayed away. I’m happy. It’s good to see each and every one of you. Fellows of Harvard University, members of the Board of Overseers, members of the alumni board, distinguished deans, guests, faculty and all of the students, all of the wonderful graduates, and madam president, thank you. Thank you for your leadership, thank you for getting in good trouble! Necessary trouble. To lead this great University.

I want to take just a moment to honor the tenure of a great leader, who, through her courage and vision, worked to lead this historic university to even higher heights. Madam president, thank you for being a friend, but more importantly, thank you for using your office to move Harvard toward a more all-inclusive institution. Somewhere along the way, you realized that the brilliant mind is not confined to one discipline or one way of thinking.

In fact, true genius sees connections and relationships across barriers, to build a new understanding of the world around us. Creating one Harvard is much like the work I dedicated my life to. Ever since as a young girl you wrote a letter to President Eisenhower as a little girl, you have been responding to the cry for human dignity that rings out in our world. You used your vision and your talent, you used the great resources of this university to respond to that call, and I thank you. Thank you for your contribution to human unity in our world.

Today I say to each and every one of you who graduated from this University, you must lead. You’re never too young to lead, you’re never too old to lead! We need your leadership now more than ever before. We need it! We must save our country! We must save it! We must save our democracy. There are forces in America today and around the world trying to take us to some other place. Our foremothers and forefathers brought us to this place. Maybe our foremothers and our forefathers all came to this great land in different ships but as the late great A. Philip Randolph said “we are all in the same boat now” and we must look out for each other and care for each other. You’re never too young or too old to lead! To speak up! Speak out! And get in good trouble, necessary trouble. You cannot afford to stand on the sidelines.

Another generation of young people and people not so young are inspired to get in the way. Students from Harvard, Dr. Cole, who I have been knowing for many years came to Mississippi, came to the South and gave everything you had. During the 63 young men that I knew, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwermer, and James Chaney gave their very lives while they were helping people to register to vote. The vote is precious. It’s almost sacred. It is the most powerful, nonviolent instrument or tool we have in a democratic society and we must use t if we fail to use it, we will lose it.

So during this election year, I urge you, I plead with you to do what you can to save and rescue America. To do what you can to save the planet! Save this spaceship we call earth and leave it a little cleaner, a little greener, and a little more peaceful. For generations yet unborn. We have a mission and a mandate to go out there, play a role and play it so well as Dr. King would say, that no one else can play it any better. Some of you have heard me say from time to time that I grew up in rural Alabama on a farm, picking cotton, gathering peanuts, gathering corn. Sometimes I would be out there working and my mother would say, “boy, you’re falling behind! You need to catch up.” And I would say “this is hard work.” And she said “hard work never killed anybody.” And I said “well it’s about to kill me!” We need to work hard! There is work to be done. These smart graduates will lead us. High school students lead us, and guys, I say to you, if you’re not mindful, the women are going to lead us! It is my belief, it is my feeling as a traveler of America that the women and young. People, high school students, elementary school students and College students will lead us as part of a nonviolent revolution. We will create an America that is better, a little more humane and no one, but no one can deny us of that.

I just want to say one or two words to the graduates. Take a deep breath and take it all in. But tomorrow, I hope you roll up your sleeves, because the world is waiting for talented men and women to lead it to a better place. During the 60s, people literally put their bodies on the line! Many came from this University, came from Cambridge, from Boston, throughout the state and throughout America. Just think a few short years ago that Black people and white people couldn’t be seated together on a Greyhound business or trailway bus, leaving Washington, D.C., to travel through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi. We were on our way to New Orleans to test a decision of the United States Supreme Court. We were beaten, arrested, and more than 400 of us were jailed. My seatmate was a young white gentleman from Connecticut. We arrived in a small town in South Carolina. We were beaten, left bloody. But many years later, and this was May 1961, same year that Barack Obama was born, but many years later, one of the guys that beat us came to my office in Washington. He got information from a local reporter. He was in his 70s, his son came with him in his 40s. He said, “Mr. Lewis, I’m one of the people that beat you. Beat your seatmate. I’ve been a member of the Klan.” He said “will you forgive me? I want to apologize. Will you accept my apology? Will you forgive me?” His son started crying, he started crying and I said, “I forgive you. I accept your apology.” They hugged me, I hugged them back, and I cried with them. It is the power of the way of peace, the power of love, it is the power of the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. We need to create a society where we can be reconciled and lay down the burden of hath for hate is too heavy of a burden to bear.

Fifty years ago the man that I admired, the man that was like a brother, Martin Luther King Jr., was taken from us. When we heard that Dr. King had been assassinated I was in Indianapolis, Indiana, campaigning with Bobby Kennedy. I cried. Stopped crying and I said to myself “we still have bobby.” Two months later Bobby Kennedy was gone. And I cried some more. Today we’ve got to get rid of our are tears and not be down. And not get lost in the sea of despair. We’ve got to be hopeful and keep the faith and turn the ship around. We can do it and we must do it!

Here at Harvard you’ve been well trained. You must lead. You must get out there and as Dr. King would say, be a headlight, not a taillight! It’s your time, it’s your calling. During the 60s I got arrested a few times, 40 times! And since I’ve been in Congress another five times! And I’m probably going to get arrested again! My philosophy is very simple, when you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, stand up! Say something! Speak up and speak out!

When I was growing up as a young boy in rural Alabama, 50 miles from Montgomery, I had an aunt by the name of Seneva and my aunt lived in a shotgun house. Here at Harvard you never seen a shotgun house, you don’t even know what I’m talking about. One way in, one way out. What is a shotgun house? Old house, dirt yard. Sometimes my aunt Seneva would go out on the weekend, Friday or Saturday, and take a brush broom made from dogwood branches and sweep the yard very clean. One Saturday afternoon few of my brothers and sisters, cousins, about 15 of us young children were playing in her dirt yard. And an unbelievable storm came up. The wind started blowing, the thunder started rolling and the lightning started flashing and she told us to come in. We went in. The wind continued to blow, the thunder continued to roll, the lightning continued to flash, and the rain continued to beat on this old tin roof of the shotgun house. And we cried and cried. And in one corner of the old house appeared to be lifting up. And my aunt walked over to that side to hold the house down with her body. When the other corner appeared to be lifting she had us walk to that corner, we were children walking with the wind, but we never, ever left the house! I say to each of you, each and every one of us, the wind may blow, the thunder may roll, the lightning may flash, and the rain may beat down on an old house. Call it a house of Harvard, call it a house of Cambridge, call it a house of Boston, call it the house of Washington, or Alabama or Georgia, we all live in the same house. We all must hold our little house down. So I say to you: Walk with the wind. Let the spirit of history be your guide.

Thank you very much.

“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”

J.K. Rowling

2008 Drawing from her own life story, the “Harry Potter” author urges graduates not to fear failure but to learn from it and emphasized the power of empathy and imagination.

Read the speech.

“If we break down the walls that hem us in, if we step out into the open and have the courage to embrace new beginnings, everything is possible.”

Angela Merkel

2019 Like the Berlin Wall, “anything that seems set in stone or inalterable can indeed change,” Germany’s first woman chancellor said.

Herman Hesse wrote, “In all beginnings dwells a magic force for guarding us and helping us to live.” These words by Herman Hesse inspired me when I completed my physics degree at the age of 24. That was back in 1978. The world was divided into east and west, and it was in the grips of the Cold War. I grew up in East Germany, in the GDR, the part of my country which was not free at that time, in a dictatorship. People were oppressed and under state surveillance. Political dissidents were persecuted. The East German government was afraid that the people would flee to freedom. And that’s why it built the Berlin Wall, a wall made of concrete and steel. Anyone caught trying to overcome it was arrested or shot dead. This wall, which cut Berlin in half, divided a people and it divided families. My family was also divided.My first job after college was as a physicist at the Academy of Sciences in East Berlin. I lived near the Berlin Wall. I walked towards it every day on my way home from my institute. Behind it lay West Berlin, freedom. And every day, when I was very close to the wall, I had to turn away at the last minute in order to head towards my apartment. Every day, I had to turn away from freedom at the last minute. I don’t know how often I thought that I just couldn’t take it anymore. It was so frustrating.

Now, I was not a dissident. I didn’t run up and bang against the wall. Nor, however, did I deny its existence, for I didn’t want to lie to myself. The Berlin Wall limited my opportunities. It quite literally stood in my way. However, there was one thing which this wall couldn’t do during all those years. It couldn’t impose limits on my inner thoughts. My personality, my imagination, my dreams and desires, prohibitions or coercion couldn’t limit any of that. Then came 1989. A common desire for freedom unleashed incredible forces throughout Europe. In Poland, in Hungary, in Czechoslovakia, as well as in East Germany, hundreds of thousands of people dared to take to the streets. The people demonstrated and brought down the wall. Something which many people, including myself, would not have believed possible became reality. Where there was once only a dark wall, a door suddenly opened. For me, too, the moment had come to walk through that door. I no longer had to turn away from freedom at the last minute. I was able to cross this border and venture out into the great wide open.

During these months, 30 years ago, I experienced firsthand that nothing has to stay the way it is. This experience, dear graduates, is the first thought I want to share with you today for your future. Anything that seems to be set in stone or inalterable can, indeed, change. In matters both large and small, it holds true that every change begins in the mind. My parents’ generation discovered this in a most painful way. My father and mother were born in 1926 and 1928.

When they weren’t as old as most of you here today, the betrayal of all civilized well values that was the Shoah and World War II had just ended. My country, Germany, had brought unimaginable suffering on Europe and the world. The victors and the defeated could easily have remained irreconcilable for many years, but instead, Europe overcame centuries old conflicts. A peaceful order based on common values rather than suppose at national strength emerged. Despite all the discussions and temporary setbacks, I firmly believe that we Europeans have United for the better. And the relationship between Germans and Americans, too, demonstrates how former wartime enemies can become friends.

It was George Marshall who gave a crucial contribution to this for the plan he announced at the commencement ceremonies in 1947 in this very place. The transatlantic partnership based on values, such as democracy and human rights, has given us an era of peace and prosperity of benefit to all sides, which has lasted for more than 70 years now. And today, it will not be long now before the politicians of my generation are no longer the subject of the exercising leadership program, and at most will be dealt with in leadership in history. Harvard class of 2019, your generation will be faced with the challenges of the 21st century in the coming decades. You are among those who will lead us into the future.

Protectionism and trade conflicts, jeopardize free international trade, and thus the very foundations of our prosperity. The digital transformation affects all facets of our lives, wars and terrorism lead to displacement and forced migration, climate change poses a threat to our planet’s natural resources, it and the resulting crises are caused by humans. Therefore, we can and must do everything humanly possible to truly master this challenge to humankind. It’s still possible. However, each and every one of us must play our part. And I say this with a measure of self criticism, get better. I will therefore do everything in my power to ensure that Germany, my country, will achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Changes for the better are possible if we tackle them together. If we were to go it alone, we could not achieve much. The second thought I want to share with you is therefore, more than ever our way of thinking and our actions have to be multilateral rather than unilateral, global rather than national, outward looking rather than isolationists. In short, we have to work together rather than alone.

You, dear graduates, will have quite different opportunities to do this in future than my generation did. After all, your smartphone probably has considerably more processing power than the copy of an IBM mainframe computer manufactured in the Soviet Union, which I was allowed to use for my dissertation in East Germany in 1986.

Today we use artificial intelligence, for example, to search through millions of images for symptoms of diseases.In order, among other things, to better diagnose cancer. In future, empathetic robots could help doctors and nurses to focus on the individual needs of patients. We cannot predict today which applications will be possible. However, the opportunities it brings are truly breathtaking.

Class of 2019, how we use these opportunities will be largely up to you as graduates. You are the ones who will be involved in deciding how our approach to how we work, communicate, get about, indeed, our entire way of life will develop. As federal chancellor, I often have to ask myself, “Am I doing the right thing?” “Am I doing something? Because it isn’t right? Or simply because it is possible.” That is something you two need to keep asking yourselves. And that is the third thought I wish to share with you today.

Are we laying down the rules for technology or is technology dictating how we interact? Do we prioritize people as individuals with their human dignity and all their many facets? Or do we see in them merely consumers, data sources, objects of surveyance. These are difficult questions.

I have learned that we can find good answers even to difficult questions if we always try to view the world through the eyes of others. If we respect other people’s history, traditions, religion, and identity. If we hold fast to our inalienable values and act in accordance with them. And if we don’t always act on our first impulses, even when there is pressure to make a snap decision.

But instead take a moment to stop. Be still. Think. Pause. Granted, that certainly takes courage. Above all it calls for truthfulness in our attitude towards others. And perhaps most importantly, it calls for us to be honest with ourselves.

What better place to begin to do so than here, in this place, where so many young people from all over the world come to learn, research, and discuss the issues of our time under the maxim of truth. That requires us not to describe lies as truth and truth as lies. It requires us not to accept shortcomings as our normality. Yet what, dear graduates, could stop you? What could stop us from doing that?

Once again, the answer is walls.

Walls in people’s minds. Walls of ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They exist between family members, as well as between groups within the society, between people of different skin colors, nations, and religions. I would like us to break down these walls. Walls that keep preventing us from envisioning the world in which, together, we want to live.

Whether we manage to do that is up to us. That’s why my full thought for you, dear graduates, to consider is this. Nothing can be taken for granted. Our individual liberties are not givens. Democracy is not something we can take for granted. Neither is peace and neither is prosperity.

But if we break down… If we break down the walls that hem us in, if we step out into the open and have the courage to embrace new beginnings, everything is possible. Walls can collapse. Dictatorships can disappear. We can halt global warming. We can eradicate starvation. We can eliminate diseases. We can give people, especially girls, access to education. We can fight the causes of displacement and forced migration. We can do all of that. Let’s not start by asking what isn’t possible, or focusing on what has always been that way. Let’s start by asking what is possible and looking for things that have never been done like that before. This is exactly what I said to the Bundestag, the German Parliament, in 2005 in my first policy statement as newly elected Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and the first woman to hold this office. I want to use precisely these words to share with you my fifth thought. Let us surprise ourselves by showing what is possible. Let us surprise ourselves by showing what we are capable of. In my own life, it was the fall of the Berlin Wall that allowed me almost 30 years ago to step out into the open. At that point, I left my work as a scientist behind me and entered politics. That was an exciting and magical time, just as your lives will be exciting and magical.

I also experienced moments of doubt and worry, for at that time, we all knew what lay behind us, but not what might lie ahead. Perhaps that reflects a little how you, too, are feeling today, amidst all the joy of this occasion.

The six thought I also want to share with you is this. The moment when you step out into the open is also a moment of risk-taking. Letting go of the old is part of a new beginning. There is no beginning without an end, no day without night, no life without death. Our whole life consists of the difference, the space between beginning and ending.

It is what lies in between that we call life and experience. I believe at time and time again, we need to be prepared to keep bringing things to an end in order to feel the magic of new beginnings and to make the most of opportunities. That was what I learned as a student, and it is what I now in politics. Who knows what life will bring after my time as a politician? That, too, is completely open. Only one thing is clear. It will again be something different and something new.

That’s why I want to leave this wish with you. Tear down walls of ignorance and narrow mindedness for nothing has to stay as it is.

It’s six things. Take joint action in the interest of the moderate lateral global world. Keep asking yourselves, “Am I doing something because it is right, or simply because it’s possible?” Don’t forget that freedom is never something that can be taken for granted. Surprise yourself with what is possible. Remember that openness always involves risks. Letting go of the old is part of the new beginning. Above all, nothing can be taken for granted. Everything is possible. Thank you.

“In a two-hour movie, you get a handful of character-defining moments, but in real life, you face them every day. Life is one strong, long string of character-defining moments.”

Steven Spielberg

2016 Don’t shy away from the world’s pain, the filmmaker urged grads. Instead, examine it, challenge it and, while you’re at it, find “a villain to vanquish.”

Thank you, thank you, President Faust, and Paul Choi, thank you so much.

It’s an honor and a thrill to address this group of distinguished alumni and supportive friends and kvelling parents. We’ve all gathered to share in the joy of this day, so please join me in congratulating Harvard’s Class of 2016.

I can remember my own college graduation, which is easy, since it was only 14 years ago. How many of you took 37 years to graduate? Because, like most of you, I began college in my teens, but sophomore year, I was offered my dream job at Universal Studios, so I dropped out. I told my parents if my movie career didn’t go well, I’d re-enroll. It went all right.But eventually, I returned for one big reason. Most people go to college for an education, and some go for their parents, but I went for my kids. I’m the father of seven, and I kept insisting on the importance of going to college, but I hadn’t walked the walk. So, in my fifties, I re-enrolled at Cal State — Long Beach, and I earned my degree.I just have to add: It helped that they gave me course credit in paleontology for the work I did on Jurassic Park. That’s three units for Jurassic Park, thank you. Well I left college because I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and some of you know, too — but some of you don’t. Or maybe you thought you knew but are now questioning that choice. Maybe you’re sitting there trying to figure out how to tell your parents that you want to be a doctor and not a comedy writer.

Well, what you choose to do next is what we call in the movies the “character-defining moment.” Now, these are moments you’re very familiar with, like in the last “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” when Rey realizes the force is with her. Or Indiana Jones choosing mission over fear by jumping over a pile of snakes. Now in a two-hour movie, you get a handful of character-defining moments, but in real life, you face them every day. Life is one strong, long string of character-defining moments. And I was lucky that at 18 I knew what I exactly wanted to do. But I didn’t know who I was. How could I? And how could any of us? Because for the first 25 years of our lives, we are trained to listen to voices that are not our own. Parents and professors fill our heads with wisdom and information, and then employers and mentors take their place and explain how this world really works. And usually these voices of authority make sense, but sometimes, doubt starts to creep into our heads and into our hearts. And even when we think, “that’s not quite how I see the world,” it’s kind of easier to just to nod in agreement and go along, and for a while, I let that going along define my character. Because I was repressing my own point of view, because like in that Nilsson song, “Everybody was talkin’ at me, so I couldn’t hear the echoes of my mind.” And at first, the internal voice I needed to listen to was hardly audible, and it was hardly noticeable — kind of like me in high school.

But then I started paying more attention, and my intuition kicked in. And I want to be clear that your intuition is different from your conscience. They work in tandem, but here’s the distinction: Your conscience shouts, “here’s what you should do,” while your intuition whispers, “here’s what you could do.” Listen to that voice that tells you what you could do. Nothing will define your character more than that. Because once I turned to my intuition, and I tuned into it, certain projects began to pull me into them, and others, I turned away from. And up until the 1980s, my movies were mostly, I guess what you could call “escapist.” And I don’t dismiss any of these movies — not even 1941. Not even that one. And many of these early films reflected the values that I cared deeply about, and I still do. But I was in a celluloid bubble, because I’d cut my education short, my worldview was limited to what I could dream up in my head, not what the world could teach me.

But then I directed “The Color Purple.” And this one film opened my eyes to experiences that I never could have imagined, and yet were all too real. This story was filled with deep pain and deeper truths, like when Shug Avery says, “Everything wants to be loved.” My gut, which was my intuition, told me that more people needed to meet these characters and experience these truths. And while making that film, I realized that a movie could also be a mission. I hope all of you find that sense of mission. Don’t turn away from what’s painful. Examine it. Challenge it. My job is to create a world that lasts two hours. Your job is to create a world that lasts forever. You are the future innovators, motivators, leaders and caretakers. And the way you create a better future is by studying the past.

“Jurassic Park” writer Michael Crichton, who graduated from both this college and this medical school, liked to quote a favorite professor of his who said that if you didn’t know history, you didn’t know anything. You were a leaf that didn’t know it was part of a tree. So history majors: Good choice, you’re in great shape…Not in the job market, but culturally. The rest of us have to make a little effort. Social media that we’re inundated and swarmed with is about the here and now. But I’ve been fighting and fighting inside my own family to get all my kids to look behind them, to look at what already has happened. Because to understand who they are is to understand who we were, and who their grandparents were, and then, what this country was like when they emigrated here. We are a nation of immigrants at least for now.

So to me, this means we all have to tell our own stories. We have so many stories to tell. Talk to your parents and your grandparents, if you can, and ask them about their stories. And I promise you, like I have promised my kids, you will not be bored. And that’s why I so often make movies based on real-life events. I look to history not to be didactic, cause that’s just a bonus, but I look because the past is filled with the greatest stories that have ever been told. Heroes and villains are not literary constructs, but they’re at the heart of all history.

And again, this is why it’s so important to listen to your internal whisper. It’s the same one that compelled Abraham Lincoln and Oskar Schindler to make the correct moral choices. In your defining moments, do not let your morals be swayed by convenience or expediency. Sticking to your character requires a lot of courage. And to be courageous, you’re going to need a lot of support.And if you’re lucky, you have parents like mine. I consider my mom my lucky charm. And when I was 12 years old, my father handed me a movie camera, the tool that allowed me to make sense of this world. And I am so grateful to him for that. And I am grateful that he’s here at Harvard, sitting right down there. My dad is 99 years old, which means he’s only one year younger than Widener Library. But unlike Widener, he’s had zero cosmetic work. And dad, there’s a lady behind you, also 99, and I’ll introduce you after this is over, okay? But look, if your family’s not always available, there’s backup. Near the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life” — you remember that movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”? Clarence the Angel inscribes a book with this: “No man is a failure who has friends.” And I hope you hang on to the friendships you’ve made here at Harvard. And among your friends, I hope you find someone you want to share your life with.

I imagine some of you in this yard may be a tad cynical, but I want to be unapologetically sentimental. I spoke about the importance of intuition and how there’s no greater voice to follow. That is, until you meet the love of your life. And this is what happened when I met and married Kate, and that became the greatest character-defining moment of my life.Love, support, courage, intuition. All of these things are in your hero’s quiver, but still, a hero needs one more thing: A hero needs a villain to vanquish. And you’re all in luck. This world is full of monsters. And there’s racism, homophobia, ethnic hatred, class hatred, there’s political hatred, and there’s religious hatred.As a kid, I was bullied — for being Jewish. This was upsetting, but compared to what my parents and grandparents had faced, it felt tame. Because we truly believed that anti-Semitism was fading. And we were wrong. Over the last two years, nearly 20,000 Jews have left Europe to find higher ground. And earlier this year, I was at the Israeli embassy when President Obama stated the sad truth. He said: “We must confront the reality that around the world, anti-Semitism is on the rise. We cannot deny it.”

My own desire to confront that reality compelled me to start, in 1994, the Shoah Foundation. And since then, we’ve spoken to over 53,000 Holocaust survivors and witnesses in 63 countries and taken all their video testimonies. And we’re now gathering testimonies from genocides in Rwanda, Cambodia, Armenia and Nanking. Because we must never forget that the inconceivable doesn’t happen — it happens frequently. Atrocities are happening right now. And so we wonder not just, “When will this hatred end?” but, “How did it begin?”

Now, I don’t have to tell a crowd of Red Sox fans that we are wired for tribalism. But beyond rooting for the home team, tribalism has a much darker side. Instinctively and maybe even genetically, we divide the world into “us” and “them.” So the burning question must be: How do all of us together find the “we?” How do we do that? There’s still so much work to be done, and sometimes I feel the work hasn’t even begun. And it’s not just anti-Semitism that’s surging — Islamophobia’s on the rise, too. Because there’s no difference between anyone who is discriminated against, whether it’s the Muslims, or the Jews, or minorities on the border states, or the LGBT community — it is all big one hate.

And to me, and, I think, to all of you, the only answer to more hate is more humanity. We gotta repair — we have to replace fear with curiosity. “Us” and “them” — we’ll find the “we” by connecting with each other. And by believing that we’re members of the same tribe. And by feeling empathy for every soul — even Yalies.

My son graduated from Yale, thank you …

But make sure this empathy isn’t just something that you feel. Make it something you act upon. That means vote. Peaceably protest. Speak up for those who can’t and speak up for those who may be shouting but aren’t being hard. Let your conscience shout as loud as it wants if you’re using it in the service of others.

And as an example of action in service of others, you need to look no further than this Hollywood-worthy backdrop of Memorial Church. Its south wall bears the names of Harvard alumni — like President Faust has already mentioned — students and faculty members, who gave their lives in World War II. All told, 697 souls, who once tread the ground where stand now, were lost. And at a service in this church in late 1945, Harvard President James Conant — which President Faust also mentioned — honored the brave and called upon the community to “reflect the radiance of their deeds.”

Seventy years later, this message still holds true. Because their sacrifice is not a debt that can be repaid in a single generation. It must be repaid with every generation. Just as we must never forget the atrocities, we must never forget those who fought for freedom. So as you leave this college and head out into the world, continue please to ‘reflect the radiance of their deeds,’ or as Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan would say, “Earn this.”

And please stay connected. Please never lose eye contact. This may not be a lesson you want to hear from a person who creates media, but we are spending more time looking down at our devices than we are looking in each other’s eyes. So, forgive me, but let’s start right now. Everyone here, please find someone’s eyes to look into. Students, and alumni and you too, President Faust, all of you, turn to someone you don’t know or don’t know very well. They may be standing behind you, or a couple of rows ahead. Just let your eyes meet. That’s it. That emotion you’re feeling is our shared humanity mixed in with a little social discomfort.

But, if you remember nothing else from today, I hope you remember this moment of human connection. And I hope you all had a lot of that over the past four years. Because today you start down the path of becoming the generation on which the next generation stands. And I’ve imagined many possible futures in my films, but you will determine the actual future. And I hope that it’s filled with justice and peace.

And finally, I wish you all a true, Hollywood-style happy ending. I hope you outrun the T. rex, catch the criminal and for your parents’ sake, maybe every now and then, just like E.T.: Go home. Thank you.

“Facts and truth are matters of life and death. Misinformation, disinformation, delusions, and deceit can kill.”

Martin Baron

2020 “Imperfect though [it] may be” an independent press is key to ensuring that facts are presented and truth defended in society,” the Washington Post executive editor said.

Good morning from my home. Like you, I wish we were together on campus.There is so much now we can no longer take for granted. The air we breathe is first among them. So, those of us who are healthy have ample reason to be grateful. I am also grateful to Harvard and to President Bacow for inviting me to be with you. To the Harvard Class of 2020, congratulations. And congratulations to the parents, professors, mentors and friends who helped you along the way. Joining you for graduation is a high honor.

For me, this is an opportunity – an opportunity to speak about subjects that I believe are of real urgency. Especially now during a worldwide health emergency.

I would like to discuss with you the need for a commitment to facts and to truth. Only a few months ago, I would have settled for emphasizing that our democracy depends on facts and truth. And it surely does. But now, as we can plainly see, it is more elemental than that.

Facts and truth are matters of life and death. Misinformation, disinformation, delusions and deceit can kill. Here is what can move us forward: Science and medicine. Study and knowledge. Expertise and reason. In other words, fact and truth. I want to tell you why free expression by all of us and an independent press, imperfect though we may be, is essential to getting at the truth. And why we must hold government to account. And hold other powerful interests to account as well.When I began thinking about these remarks, I expected, of course, to be on Harvard’s campus. And I thought: Not a bad place to talk about a free press. Not a bad place to talk about our often-testy relationship with official power.

It was in Boston, after all, where the first newspaper of the American colonies was founded. Its first edition was published September 25th, 1690. The very next day, the governor and council of Massachusetts shut it down. So, the press of this country has long known what it means to face a government that aims to silence it. Fortunately, there has been progress. With the First Amendment, James Madison championed the right of “freely examining public characters and measures.”

But it took a very long time before we as a nation fully absorbed what Madison was talking about. We took many ominous turns. We had the Alien and Sedition acts under John Adams, the Sedition and Espionage Acts under Woodrow Wilson, the McCarthy era. It was not always clear where we as a nation would end up.

Finally, witnessing the authoritarianism of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, we began to secure a free press in this country. The Supreme Court would forcefully emphasize the press’ role in guaranteeing a democracy. Justice Hugo Black said it well decades later: “The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people.” Not only the secrets of government, I would add. Our duty to inform the public does not stop there. Not by a long shot.

That was evident during my years as a journalist in Boston. Amid today’s crisis, it seems like another era. And I guess it is. But I want to tell you about it — because I think it remains instructive about what a strong, independent press must do.

I started as editor of the Boston Globe in the summer of 2001. One day prior to my start date, a Globe columnist wrote about a shocking case. A priest had been accused of abusing as many as 80 kids. A lawsuit alleged that the cardinal in Boston at the time knew about the serial abuse, didn’t do anything about it — and repeatedly reassigned this priest from parish to parish, warning no one, over decades. The Archdiocese called the accusations baseless and reckless. The Globe columnist wrote that the truth might never be known. Internal documents that might reveal it had been sealed by a judge. On my first day of work, we asked the question: How do we get at the truth? Because the public deserved to know.

That question led us to challenge the judge’s secrecy order. And our journalists launched an investigation of their own. In early 2002, we published what we had learned through reporting and by prevailing in court. We published the truth: The cardinal did know about the abuse by this priest. Yet he kept him in ministry, thus enabling further abuse. Dozens of clergy in the diocese had committed similar offenses. The cardinal had covered it all up.

And a bigger truth would emerge: Covering up such abuse had been practice and policy in the Church for decades. Only now the powerful were being held to account.

Late in 2002, after hundreds of stories on this subject, I received a letter from a Father Thomas P. Doyle. Father Doyle had struggled for years – in vain — to get the Church to confront the very issue we were writing about. He expressed deep gratitude for our work. “It is momentous,” he wrote, “and its good effects will reverberate for decades.” Father Doyle did not see journalists as the enemy. He saw us an ally when one was sorely needed. So did abuse survivors. I kept Father Doyle’s letter on my desk — a daily reminder of what journalists must do when we see evidence of wrongdoing.

Harvard’s commencement speaker two years ago, civil rights pioneer John Lewis, once said this: “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” We as journalists have the capacity – along with the constitutional right — to say and do something. We also have the obligation. And we must have the will. So must you. Every one of you has a stake in this idea of free expression. You want to be free to express your views. You should be free to hear the views of others, the same or different. You want to be free to watch any movie. To read any book. To listen to any lyrics. You should be free to say what you know is true without threat of government reprisal.And you should acknowledge this if you value these freedoms that come with democracy: Democracy cannot exist without a free and independent press. It never has.

Leaders who crave more power for themselves always move quickly to crush an independent press. Next, they destroy free expression itself. Sadly, much of the world is on that worrisome path. And efforts in this country to demonize, delegitimize and dehumanize the press give license to other governments to do the same – and to do far worse.

By the end of last year, a near-record 250 journalists worldwide were sitting in prison. Thirty of them faced accusations of “false news,” a charge virtually unheard-of only seven years earlier.

Turkey has been trading places with China as No. 1 on the list of countries that jail the most journalists. The Turkish government has shut down more than 100 media outlets and charged many journalists as terrorists. Independent media have been largely extinguished. China, of course, imposes some of the world’s tightest censorship on what its citizens can see and hear.

In Hungary, the prime minister has waged war on independent media. Harvard Nieman fellow Andras Petho, who runs an investigative reporting center there, notes that the prime minister’s business allies are “taking over hundreds of outlets and turning them into propaganda machines.”

Like other heads of state, Hungary’s prime minister has exploited the pandemic to grab more power, suppress inconvenient facts, and escalate pressure on news outlets. A new law threatens up to five-year jail terms against those accused of spreading supposedly false information. Independent news outlets have questioned how the crisis was managed. And the fear now is that such accountability journalism will lead to harassment and arrests, as it has in other countries.

In the Philippines, the courageous Maria Ressa, who founded the country’s largest online-only news site, has been battling government harassment for years on other fronts. She now faces prosecution on bogus charges of violating foreign ownership laws. By the end of last year, she had posted bail eight times. Her real violation? She brought scrutiny to the president. In Myanmar, two Reuters journalists — Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo – were imprisoned for more than 500 days for investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys. Finally, a year ago, they were released. In 2018, an opinion writer for The Washington Post, Jamal Khashoggi, walked into Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul to get documents he needed to marry. He was murdered there at the hands of a team sent by highest-level Saudi officials. His offense? He had sharply criticized the Saudi government. In Mexico, murderous vengeance against journalists is common. Last year, at least five were killed, more than in any other country. I think also of the risks that American journalists have taken to inform the public. Among them are colleagues I can never forget.

One is Elizabeth Neuffer. Seventeen years ago this month, I stood before her friends at the Boston Globe to report that she had died covering the war in Iraq. Elizabeth was 46, an experienced foreign correspondent, a mentor to others; vivacious and brave. Her Iraqi driver was traveling at high speed because of the risk of abductions. He lost control. Elizabeth died instantly; her translator, too. Elizabeth had a record of fearlessness in investigating war crimes and human rights abuses. Her goal: Reveal the world as it is — because someone might then make things better.

Another colleague was Anthony Shadid. In 2002, I visited Anthony, then a reporter for the Globe, after he was shot and wounded in Ramallah. Lying in a hospital in Jerusalem, it was clear that he had narrowly escaped being paralyzed. Anthony recovered and went on to report from Iraq, where he won two Pulitzer Prizes for The Washington Post. From Egypt, where he was harassed by police. From Libya, where he and three New York Times colleagues were detained by pro-government militias and physically abused. He died in 2012, at age 43, while reporting in Syria, apparently of an asthma attack. Anthony told the stories of ordinary people. Without him, their voices would have gone unheard.

And now I think constantly of reporters, photographers and videographers who risk their own well-being to be with heroic frontline health workers — frontline workers of every sort – to share their stories. Anthony, Elizabeth and my present-day colleagues sought to be eyewitnesses. To see the facts for themselves. To discover the truth and tell it. As a profession, we maintain there is such a thing as fact, there is such a thing as truth.

At Harvard, where the school’s motto is “Veritas,” presumably you do, too. Truth, we know, is not a matter of who wields power or who speaks loudest. It has nothing to do with who benefits or what is most popular. And ever since the Enlightenment, modern society has rejected the idea that truth derives from any single authority on Earth.

To determine what is factual and true, we rely on certain building blocks. Start with education. Then there is expertise. And experience. And, above all, we rely on evidence. We see that acutely now when people’s health can be jeopardized by false claims, wishful thinking and invented realities. The public’s safety requires the honest truth. Yet education, expertise, experience and evidence are being devalued, dismissed and denied. The goal is clear: to undermine the very idea of objective fact, all in pursuit of political gain. Along with that is a systematic effort to disqualify traditional independent arbiters of fact. The press tops the list of targets. But others populate the list, too: courts, historians, even scientists and medical professionals – subject-matter experts of every type.

And so today the government’s leading scientists find their motives questioned, their qualifications mocked — despite a lifetime of dedication and achievement that has made us all safer. In any democracy, we want vigorous debate about our challenges and the correct policies. But what becomes of democracy if we cannot agree on a common set of facts, if we can’t agree on what even constitutes a fact? Are we headed for extreme tribalism, believing only what our ideological soulmates say? Or do we become so cynical that we think everyone always lies for selfish reasons? Or so nihilistic that we conclude no one can ever really know what is true or false; so, no use trying to find out? Regardless, we risk entering dangerous territory. Hannah Arendt, in 1951, wrote of this in her first major work, “The Origins of Totalitarianism.” There, she observed “the possibility that gigantic lies and monstrous falsehoods can eventually be established as unquestioned facts … that the difference between truth and falsehood may cease to be objective and may become a mere matter of power and cleverness, of pressure and infinite repetition.”

One hundred years ago – in 1920 – a renowned journalist and leading thinker, Walter Lippmann, harbored similar worries. Lippmann, once a writer for the Harvard Crimson, warned of a society where people “cease to respond to truths, and respond simply to opinions … what somebody asserts, not what actually is.” Lippmann wrote those words because of concerns about the press itself. He saw our defects and hoped we might fix them, thus improving how information got to the public.

Ours is a profession that still has many flaws. We make mistakes of fact, and we make mistakes of judgment. We are at times overly impressed with what we know when much remains for us to learn. In making mistakes, we are like people in every other profession. And we, too, must be held accountable. What frequently gets lost, though, is the contribution of a free and independent press to our communities and our country — and to the truth.

I think back to the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 when the Miami Herald showed how lax zoning, inspection and building codes had contributed to the massive destruction. Homes and lives are safer today as a result. In 2016, the Charleston Gazette-Mail in West Virginia exposed how opioids had flooded the state’s depressed communities, contributing to the highest death rates in the country. In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana’s newspapers were indispensable sources of reliable information for residents. The Washington Post in 2007 revealed the shameful neglect and mistreatment of wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital. Corrective action was immediate. The Associated Press in 2015 documented a slave trade behind our seafood supply. Two thousand slaves were freed as a result. The New York Times and The New Yorker in 2017 exposed sexual predators in elite boardrooms. A movement of accountability for abuses against women took root. The New York Times in 1971 was the first to publish the Pentagon Papers, revealing a pattern of official deceit in a war that killed more than 58,000 Americans and countless others. The Washington Post broke open the Watergate scandal in 1972. That led ultimately to the president’s resignation.Those news organizations searched for the truth and told it, undeterred by pushback or pressure or vilification.Facing the truth can cause extreme discomfort. But history shows that we as a nation become better for that reckoning. It is in the spirit of the preamble to our Constitution: “to form a more perfect union.” Toward that end, it is an act of patriotism.

W.E.B. Du Bois, the great scholar and African American activist — and the first African American to graduate with a PhD from Harvard – cautioned against the falsification of events in relating our nation’s history. In 1935, distressed at how deceitfully America’s Reconstruction period was being taught, Du Bois assailed the propaganda of the era. “Nations reel and stagger on their way,” he wrote. “They make hideous mistakes; they commit frightful wrongs; they do great and beautiful things. And shall we not best guide humanity by telling the truth about all this, so far as the truth be ascertainable?”

At this university, you answer that question with your motto — “Veritas.” You seek the truth — with scholarship, teaching and dialogue – knowing that it really matters.My profession shares with you that mission — the always arduous, often tortuous and yet essential pursuit of truth. It is the demand that democracy makes upon us. It is the work we must do. We will keep at it. You should, too. None of us should ever stop.

Thank you for listening. Thank you for honoring me. Good luck to you all. And please, stay well.

“While the legacy of enslavement, racism, discrimination, and exclusion still influences so much of contemporary attitudes, we must never conclude that it is too late to overcome such a legacy. For it is never too late to do justice.”

Ruth J. Simmons

2021 The president of Prairie View A&M University and former president of Brown University and Smith College exhorted graduates to fight inequality and foster diversity and inclusion.

Share this article

Good day and congratulations to the Harvard University Class of 2021.

It is a singular honor to be invited to address you on this important milestone occasion. To all completing their studies today, I offer my best wishes as you undertake the next exciting phase of your lives. That you have succeeded so well during such a time as this is commendable and augurs well for the years to come when the world will rely greatly on your knowledge, your discernment, and your empathy for those less fortunate than you.

When first approached about delivering this Commencement address, I was, frankly, taken aback. I did not immediately feel up to the task. Recalling occasions when I sat in Tercentenary Theatre looking across the expanse of graduates to the steps of Widener Library, I could not picture myself confidently delivering remarks from a dais where so many more eminent figures had stood and, indeed, made history. Growing up on a constant Jim Crow diet that offered assertions of my inferiority, I’m always that same little Black girl trying to believe in and demonstrate her worthiness. Further, I thought about the challenge of what I might impart in such a pivotal national moment when social gains seem more like losses, when clarity gives way so easily to confusion, and when much heralded progress recedes like a trompe l’oeil that was never real.

I extend greetings from the faculty, administration and students of our 145 year old institution, Prairie View A&M University. And, though I have not been anointed to do so, I also bring greetings from the collection of Historically Black and Minority Serving institutions that have the weight and privilege of advancing access, equity and opportunity for so many communities across the world. Our university, like many others HBCUs, was founded at the end of Reconstruction when Blacks were thought to be unable to perform the highest level academic study. I speak to you, in fact, from the Prairie View campus whose 1500 acres were once the site of the Alta Vista Plantation. That plantation, before being sold to the State of Texas, was the site where 400 human beings were held in slavery. Thus, our very steps as they daily tread upon vestiges of the suffering of our ancestors, call to us constantly to do our duty as full citizens. Painful as such memories are, they are a powerful force that calls us to action when challenges arise.

During the 145 years following our 1876 founding, it would take many years for most universities in our nation to grant access to Blacks. So, universities like Prairie View, designed with limited resources, served the state and nation by admitting students to whom full access to the fruits of liberty was intentionally blocked. We are therefore proud of our legacy of endurance and even prouder of the fact that we converted an assertion of the inferiority of African Americans into a triumph of human capacity. Like other HBCUs, we made a place to empower rather than disparage, to open minds rather than imprison them, to create pathways to promise rather than to stifle opportunity.

Such is the task of every true university. Those of you graduating today can well attest to that. When you first arrived at Harvard as undergraduate or post-graduate students, you most likely could not have imagined the many ways that your ability would be tested, your insights sharpened and expanded, and your prospects in life improved by studying at the University. I certainly didn’t expect such results when I arrived at Harvard and yet I know now that it is likely primarily because I studied at Harvard that I have had the deeply rich and satisfying career that I’ve enjoyed for so many years.

A product of a segregated upbringing in Houston and undergraduate study at an HBCU, I am ashamed to say that in my youth, I secretly bought into the prevailing racial assumptions of the day: that someone like me would be ill-prepared to benefit from and contribute to study at a university of Harvard’s stature. I expected to be flatfooted if not oafish in the company of well-heeled and urbane students who had the advantage of the best education and a wealth of experiences. While not outwardly immobilized by fear of failing the biggest test of my life, I was inwardly terrified that I would fail to measure up. Uncertainty and malaise governed my early days at the university.

Harvard was, you see, a place steeped in other peoples’ traditions—traditions that I could not easily access. My reaction was very much akin to the French expression denoting window shopping: “lécher les vitrines.” Those of us who are outsiders are often as mere observers looking through windows, salivating and wondering how we might ever be able to attain a sense of inclusion, acceptance and respect. Just as when, as a child, I was banned from white establishments, I identified as the outsider looking enviously at others who not only had full access to Harvard’s history and traditions but who also could so easily see themselves reflected in them. Few things that I could see at Harvard at the time represented me. Perhaps it is the memory of that feeling that moved me to remain in university life to make that experience easier for others who felt excluded.

The need to make universities more aware of how first generation and underserved communities reacted to the stultified tradition in many universities shaped my conviction about the importance of individuals feeling fully embraced and respected as learners, erasing vestiges of disparagement that inevitably accrue in an unequal society. Having been profiled and racially isolated and having carried within me for so many years the weight of that sentence, I understood that to change our country, we had to insist that everyone’s humanity, everyone’s traditions and history, everyone’s identity contributes to our learning about the world we must live in together. I came to believe what Harvard expressed in its admission philosophy: that such human differences, intentionally engaged in the educational context, are as much a resource to our intellectual growth as the magnificent tomes that we build libraries to protect and the state of the art equipment proudly arrayed in our laboratories. The encounter with difference rocks!

I believe that each of us has a solemn duty to learn about and embrace that difference. That undertaking takes not a month or a year but a lifetime of concerted action to ensure that we are equipped to play a role in caring for and improving the world we inhabit together. This responsibility should encourage us to commit to our individual as well as professional role in advancing access, equality and mutual respect.

Thus, I believe that the task of a great university is not merely to test the mettle and stamina of brilliant minds but to guide them toward enlightenment, enabling thereby the most fruitful and holistic use of their students’ intelligence and humanity. That enlightenment suggests the need for improving upon students’ self-knowledge but it also means helping them judge others fairly, using the full measure of their empathy and intelligence to do so. In an environment rich in differences of background, experience and perspectives, learning is turbo charged and intensified by the juxtaposition of these differences. Those open minded enough to benefit fully from the power of this learning opportunity are bound for leadership in this time of confusion and division. The Harvard model intentionally and successfully provides to students a head start in understanding how to mediate difference in an ever more complex reality in which some exploit those differences for corrupt purposes.

Today, irrational hatred of targeted groups is seemingly on the rise, stoked by opportunists seeking advantage for themselves and their profits. What stands between such malefactors and the destruction of our common purpose are people like you who, having experienced learning through difference, courageously stand up for the rights of those who are targeted. Your Harvard education, if you were paying close attention here, should have encouraged you to commit willingly to playing such a role. If you follow through on this commitment, in addition to anything else you accomplish in life, you will be saving lives, stanching the flow of hatred and the dissolution of our national bond. You will be serving the mighty cause of justice. If we are to thrive on this orb that we share, our schools and universities must contribute deliberately to increasing our understanding of the ways to interact meaningfully with others.

Harvard is, in some ways, the most powerful university bully pulpit in the nation. It did not achieve that status merely through its age and wealth; it attained that status principally through the efforts of its faculty and graduates’ scholarly and professional output. Through its gates have come generations of scholars with immense intelligence and passionate purpose to whom fate bequeathed the laurels of success. But it is important that universities model in their own values and actions the high purpose that they hope to see in the actions of their scholars.

In that vein, Harvard has a special responsibility as both a prod and steward of the national conscience. It could sit on the hill and congratulate itself on its prowess but it could also use its immense stature to address the widening gaps in how different groups experience freedom and justice. I spoke earlier about the heroic work of HBCUs and minority serving institutions that keep our country open and advancing the cause of equality and access. Yet, many of them have been starved for much of their history by the legacy of underfunding and isolation from the mainstream of higher education.

I call on universities like Harvard to acknowledge the limitations imposed on these institutions over the past decades. While universities like Harvard had the wind at their back, flourishing from endowments, strong enrollments, constant curricular expansion, massive infrastructure improvements, and significant endowment growth, HBCUs often had gale force winds impeding their development. Our nation is finally coming to terms with the consequences of the underfunding of HBCUs but we are far from where we need to be if we are to be assured continued progress in the fight for equal educational benefits.

I ask the university that did so much for me to add to its luster by embracing the opportunity to stand alongside these historic and other minority serving institutions to build stronger partnerships, advocate for greater funding, and elevate the fight for parity and justice to the level it deserves. Let us not complain in a hundred years that those historically excluded from access and opportunity continue to ask how much longer it will take to gain the respect, inclusion and support that their service to the nation deserves.

Many minority serving institutions accept students from impoverished underserved communities where educational preparation often lacks the pre-requisites needed for certain careers. Children in those communities may experience the same or a worse fate than I and my peers did during the pre-Civil Rights era. Consigned to underfunded schools and alienating curricula, they must wonder as I did what will befall them in life. ublic schools saved me and they have the burden still of saving millions of children across this land. In so very many cases, these institutions are the only hope for many children and their families. Support for public education in this moment is as important as it was in the early days of the country when Horace Mann first called for universal education. For Mann, it was a matter of what our young country would need; it still is today as Mann’s emphasis on civic virtue continues to ring true.

Further, in such a moment, universities and all of you must play a leadership role in reversing the designation of the teaching profession as less intellectually worthy, less glamorous, and less important than the high-flying careers of financiers and technologists. Attention to and investment in K-12 teacher preparation and curricular content remains one of the most important ways for universities and the average citizen to contribute to the civic good.

None of us is exempt from responsibility for the future we give our children. Harvard has its role and so do all of you. I have come to ask you who graduate today what you are prepared to do to acknowledge and address the historic biases and inequities that so many continue to experience. Will your actions point us in a more uplifting direction? For, just as we recount the moral bankruptcy of those who cruelly enslaved others, we also tell the story of those who were equally guilty because they refused to challenge the practice of slavery. In the future, the history of these times will reveal both what we do and what we fail to do to address the unjust treatment of marginalized groups. Among all that you will have learned at Harvard, I hope that the consciousness of your responsibility in the struggle for equality remains with you. While the legacy of enslavement, racism, discrimination and exclusion still influences so much of contemporary attitudes, we must never conclude that it is too late to overcome such a legacy. For it is never too late to do justice.

Today, I call on all of you to declare that you will not give sanction to discriminatory actions that hold some groups back to the advantage of others. I call on you to be a force for inclusion by not choosing enclaves of wealth, privilege and tribalism such that you abandon the lessons you learned from your Harvard experience of diversity. I call on you to do your part to ensure that generations to come will no longer be standing on the outside fighting for fairness, respect and inclusion.

Today, after decades in the academy, my path has taken me back to a place where students are waging the same battles that were so hard fought when I was a teenager: safe passage in the face of bigotry, the right to vote, and equal access to educational and professional opportunities. Sandra Bland, a Prairie View alumna, was stopped for a minor traffic offense at the entrance to our campus. Jailed for this offense, she was found deceased in her cell three days later. Must every generation add more tragic evidence of the racial hatred that has troubled the world? Our work is not done as long as there are young people growing up with the thought that they matter less than others. As long as they have fewer and narrower educational opportunities. As long as they must fear for their safety every moment of every day of their lives. As long as their full participation in society is circumscribed by policies that willfully chip away at or block their rights.

Just as I ask Harvard to use its voice on behalf of minority institutions that have been unfairly treated across time, I ask you to add your voice to the cause of justice wherever you go. Help the children of need wherever they are: in underfunded public schools, in neighborhoods bereft of resources, in search of a way to belong. If they do not hear your voices advocating for them and their worth, what must they conclude about their place in the world?

If you take up the cause of these children, you are taking up the greatest cause—that of justice. Today, you earn your laurels as a scholar. Taking up the cause of justice, you will earn your laurels as a human being.

Congratulations, once again, and God speed.

You might like

Juniors who talked to us when they first arrived here — and again as sophomores — reflect on how they’ve changed

8 students to pursue social, political, computational sciences

Dream job and a winning season for Aurich, but one big test remains: The Game.

8 Harvard students named Rhodes Scholars

5 in U.S. class, most for any institution, joined by 3 international recipients

What Trump got right

Kellyanne Conway, president-elect’s 2016 campaign manager and former senior adviser, discusses election, what comes next

Mobile Menu Overlay

The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

State of the Union Address

President biden’s state of the union address.

Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President, and our First Lady and Second Gentleman, members of Congress and the Cabinet, Justices of the Supreme Court, my fellow Americans: Last year, COVID-19 kept us apart. This year, we’re finally together again.

Tonight — tonight we meet as Democrats, Republicans, and independents, but, most importantly, as Americans with a duty to one another, to America, to the American people, and to the Constitution, and an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny.

Six — thank you. Six days ago, Russia’s Vladimir Putin sought to shake the very foundations of the free world, thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways. But he badly miscalculated. He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead, he met with a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined. He met the Ukrainian people.

President Putin thought he could roll into Ukraine — and the world would roll over. Instead, he met a wall of strength he never imagined. He met the Ukrainian people. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

From President Zelenskyy to every Ukrainian, their fearlessness, their courage, their determination literally inspires the world. Groups of citizens blocking tanks with their bodies. Everyone from students to retirees, to teachers turned soldiers defending their homeland.

And in this struggle — President Zelenskyy said in his speech to the European Parliament, “Light will win over darkness.”

The Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States is here tonight sitting with the First Lady. Let each of us, if you’re able to stand, stand and send an unmistakable signal to the world and Ukraine. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

She’s bright, she’s strong, and she’s resolved.

Yes. We, the United States of America, stand with the Ukrainian people.

Throughout our history, we’ve learned this lesson: When dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos; they keep moving; and the costs, the threats to the America — and America, to the world keeps rising.

That’s why the NATO Alliance was created: to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War Two.

The United States is a member, along with 29 other nations. It matters. American diplomacy matters. American resolve matters.

Putin’s latest attack on Ukraine was premeditated and totally unprovoked. He rejected repeated efforts at diplomacy.

He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. He thought he could divide us at home, in this chamber, in this nation. He thought he could divide us in Europe as well.

But Putin was wrong. We are ready. We are united. And that’s what we did: We stayed united.

We prepared extensively and carefully. We spent months building coalitions of other freedom-loving nations in Europe and the Americas to — from America to the Asian and African continents to confront Putin.

Like many of you, I spent countless hours unifying our European Allies.

We shared with the world, in advance, what we knew Putin was planning and precisely how he would try to falsely and justify his aggression.

We countered Russia’s lies with the truth. And now — now that he’s acted, the free world is holding him accountable, along with 27 members of the European Union — including France, Germany, Italy — as well as countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and many others. Even Switzerland are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine.

Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been.

Together. Together. Together, along with our Allies, we are right now enforcing powerful economic sanctions. We’re cutting off Russia’s largest banks from the international financial system; preventing Russia’s Central Bank from defending the Russian ruble, making Putin’s $630 billion war fund worthless. We’re choking Russia’s access, we’re choking Russia’s access to technology that will sap its economic strength and weaken its military for years to come.

Tonight, I say to the Russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who’ve bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime: No more.

The United States — I mean it. The United States Department of Justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of the Russian oligarchs.

We’re joining with European Allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets. We’re coming for your ill-begotten gains.

The U.S. Department of Justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of Russian oligarchs. We are joining with our European allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets. We are coming for their ill-begotten gains. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

And, tonight, I’m announcing that we will join our Allies in closing off American air space to all Russian flights, further isolating Russia and adding an additional squeeze on their economy.

He has no idea what’s coming.

The ruble has already lost 30 percent of its value, the Russian stock market has lost 40 percent of its value, and trading remains suspended.

The Russian economy is reeling, and Putin alone is the one to blame.

Together with our Allies, we’re providing support to the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom: military assistance, economic assistance, humanitarian assistance. We’re giving more than a billion dollars in direct assistance to Ukraine. And we’ll continue to aid the Ukrainian people as they defend their country and help ease their suffering.

Together with our allies, we are providing support to the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom. Military assistance. Economic assistance. Humanitarian assistance. And we will continue to aid the Ukrainian people as they defend their country and to help ease their suffering. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

But let me be clear: Our forces are not engaged and will not engage in the conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine. Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine but to defend our NATO Allies in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west.

For that purpose, we have mobilized American ground forces, air squadrons, ship deployments to protect NATO countries, including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

And as I’ve made crystal clear, the United States and our Allies will defend every inch of territory that is NATO territory with the full force of our collective power — every single inch.

And we’re clear-eyed. The Ukrainians are fighting back with pure courage. But the next few days, weeks, and months will be hard on them.

Putin has unleashed violence and chaos. But while he may make gains on the battlefield, he will pay a continuing high price over the long run.

And a pound of Ukrainian people — the proud, proud people — pound for pound, ready to fight with every inch of (inaudible) they have. They’ve known 30 years of independence — have repeatedly shown that they will not tolerate anyone who tries to take their country backwards.

To all Americans, I’ll be honest with you, as I’ve always promised I would be. A Russian dictator infa- — invading a foreign country has costs around the world. And I’m taking robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at the Russian economy and that we use every tool at our disposal to protect American businesses and consumers.

Tonight, I can announce the United States has worked with 30 other countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around the world. America will lead that effort, releasing 30 million barrels of our own Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And we stand ready to do more if necessary, united with our Allies.

These steps will help blunt gas prices here at home. But I know news about what’s happening can seem alarming to all Americans. But I want you to know: We’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.

When the history of this era is written, Putin’s war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger.

When the history of this era is written, Putin’s war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

While it shouldn’t and while it shouldn’t have taken something so terrible for people around the world to see what’s at stake, now everyone sees it clearly.

We see the unity among leaders of nations, a more unified Europe, a more unified West.

We see unity among the people who are gathering in cities in large crowds around the world, even in Russia, to demonstrate their support for the people of Ukraine.

In the battle between democracy and autocracies, democracies are rising to the moment and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security.

This is the real test, and it’s going to take time. So, let us continue to draw inspiration from the iron will of the Ukrainian people.

To our fellow Ukrainian Americans who forged a deep bond that connects our two nations: We stand with you. We stand with you.

Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he’ll never gain the hearts and souls of Ukrainian people. He’ll never — he’ll never extinguish their love of freedom. And he will never, never weaken the resolve of the free world.

We meet tonight in an America that has lived through two of the hardest years this nation has ever faced. The pandemic has been punishing. And so many families are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep up with the rising cost of food, gas, housing, and so much more.

I understand, like many of you did. My dad had to leave his home in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to find work. So, like many of you, I grew up in a family when the price of food went up, it was felt throughout the family; it had an impact.

That’s why one of the first things I did as President was fight to pass the American Rescue Plan, because people were hurting. We needed to act and we did.

Few pieces of legislation have done more at a critical moment in our history to lift us out of a crisis. It fueled our efforts to vaccinate the nation and combat COVID-19. It delivered immediate economic relief to tens of millions of Americans. It helped put food on the table. Remember those long lines of cars waiting for hours just to get a box of food put in their trunk? It cut the cost of healthcare insurance. And as my dad used to say, it gave the people “just a little bit of breathing room.”

And unlike the $2 trillion tax cut passed in the previous administration that benefitted the top 1 percent of Americans, the American Rescue Plan helped working people and left no one behind. And, folks — and it worked. It worked.

It worked and created jobs — lots of jobs. In fact, our economy created over 6.5 million new jobs just last year, more jobs in one year than ever before in the history of the United States of America.

The economy grew at a rate of 5.7 last year — the strongest growth rate in 40 years and the first step in bringing fundamental change to our economy that hasn’t worked for working people in this nation for too long.

For the past 40 years, we were told that tax breaks for those at the top and benefits would trickle down and everyone would — would benefit.

But that trickle-down theory led to a weaker economic growth, lower wages, bigger deficits, and a widening gap between the top and everyone else in the — in nearly a century.

Look, Vice President Harris and I ran for office — and I realize we have fundamental disagreements on this — but ran for office with a new economic vision for America: invest in America; educate Americans; grow the workforce; build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down. Because we know when the middle class grows — when the middle class grows, the poor go way up and the wealthy do very well.

America used to have the best roads, bridges, and airports on Earth. And now our infrastructure is ranked 13th in the world. We won’t be able to compete for the jobs of the 21st century if we don’t fix it.

That’s why it was so important to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law . And I thank my Republican friends who joined to invest and rebuild America — the single biggest investment in history.

It was a bipartisan effort, and I want to thank the members of both parties who worked to make it happen. We’re done talking about infrastructure weeks. We’re now talking about an infrastructure decade.

And look, it’s going to — it’s going to transform America to put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st century that we face with the rest of the world, particularly China.

I’ve told Xi Jinping: It’s never been a good bet to bet against the American people.

We’ll create good jobs for millions of Americans — modernizing roads, airports, ports, waterways — all across America. And we’ll do it to withstand the devastating effects of climate crisis and promote environmental justice.

We’ll build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations; begin to replace the poisonous lead pipes, so every child, every American has clean water to drink at home and at school.

We’re going to provide — provide affordable high-speed Internet for every American — rural, suburban, urban, and Tribal communities. Four thousand projects have already been announced. Many of you have announced them in your districts.

And tonight, I’m announcing that, this year, we will start fixing over 65,000 miles of highway and 1,500 bridges in disrepair.

And, folks, when we use taxpayers’ dollars to rebuild America, we’re going to do it by buying American. Buy American products. Support American jobs.

The federal government spends about $600 billion a year to keep this country safe and secure. There’s been a law on the books for almost a century to make sure taxpayers’ dollars support American jobs and businesses. Every administration — Democrat and Republican — says they’ll do it, but we’re actually doing it.

We’ll buy America to make sure every — everything from the deck of an aircraft carrier to the steel on highway guardrails is made in America from beginning to end. All of it. All of it.

But, folks, to compete for the jobs of the future, we also need to level the playing field with China and other competitors. That’s why it’s so important to pass the bipartisan Innovation Act sitting in Congress that will make record investments in emerging technologies and American manufacturing.

We need to level the playing field with China and other competitors. That’s why it’s so important to pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act. It will make record investments in emerging technologies, American manufacturing, and innovation. Send it to my desk. I’ll sign it. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

We used to invest almost 2 percent of our GDP in research and development. We don’t now. Can’t — China is.

Let me give you one example why it’s so important to pass.

If you travel 20 miles east of Columbus, Ohio, you’ll find a thousand empty acres of land. It won’t look like much. But if you stop and look closely, you’ll see a “field of dreams” — the ground on which America’s future will be built.

That’s where Intel, the American company that helped build Silicon Valley, is going to build a $20 billion semiconductor “mega site.” Up to eight state-of-the-art factories in one place. Ten thousand new jobs. And in those factories, the average job — about $135 — $135,000 a year.

Some of the most sophisticated manufacturing in the world to make computer chips the size of a fingertip that power the world and everyday lives, from smartphones, technology that — the Internet — technology that’s yet to be invented.

But that’s just the beginning.

Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, who is here tonight — and I don’t know where Pat is. Pat? There you go, Pat. Stand up. Pat came to see me, and he told me they’re ready to increase their investment from $20 billion to $100 billion.

That would be the biggest investment in manufacturing in American history. And all they’re waiting for is for you to pass this bill.

So, let’s not wait any longer. Send it to my desk, I’ll sign it, and we will really take off in a big way.

And, folks, Intel is not alone. There’s something happening in America. Just look around, and you’ll see an amazing story — the rebirth of pride that comes from stamping products “Made in America,” the revitalization of American manufacturing.

Companies are choosing to build new factories here when just a few years ago, they would have gone overseas. That’s what is happening.

Ford is investing $11 billion in electric vehicles, creating 11,000 jobs across the country.

GM is making the largest investment in its history — $7 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 4,000 jobs in Michigan.

All told, 369,000 new manufacturing jobs were created in America last year alone.

Folks, powered by people I’ve met — like JoJo Burgess from generations of union steelworkers in Pittsburgh, who’s here with us tonight. Where are you, JoJo? There you go. Thanks, buddy.

As Ohio — as Ohio Sherrod Brown says, “It’s time to bury the label ‘Rust Belt.'” It’s time to see the — the — what used to be called the Rust Belt become the — the home of a significant resurgence of manufacturing.

And with all the bright spots in our economy — record job growth, higher wages — too many families are struggling to keep up with their bills.

Inflation is robbing them of gains they thought otherwise they would be able to feel.

I get it. That’s why my top priority is getting prices under control.

Inflation is robbing families of the gains they might otherwise feel from our growing economy. I get it. That’s why my top priority is getting prices under control. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

Look, our economy roared back faster than almost anyone predicted, but the pandemic meant that businesses had a hard time hiring enough people because of the pandemic to keep up production in their factories. So, you didn’t have people making those beams that went into buildings because they were out — the factory was closed.

The pandemic also disrupted the global supply chain. Factories close. When that happens, it takes longer to make goods and get them to the warehouses, to the stores, and go — prices go up.

Look at cars last year. One third of all the inflation was because of automobile sales. There weren’t enough semiconductors to make all the cars that people wanted to buy.

And guess what? Prices of automobiles went way up, especially used vehicles as well.

And so, we have a choice.

One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer.

I think I have a better idea to fight inflation: Lower your costs, not your wages.

And, folks, that means make more cars and semiconductors in America, more infrastructure and innovation in America, more goods moving faster and cheaper in America, more jobs where you can earn a good living in America.

Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America.

Look, economists call this increasing the productive capacity of our economy.

I call it building a better America .

Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America. Economists call it “increasing the productive capacity of our economy.” I call it building a better America. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

My plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and lower the deficit. Seventeen Nobel laureates in economics said my plan will ease long-term inflationary pressures. Top business leaders and, I believe, most Americans support the plan.

And here’s the plan.

First, cut the cost of prescription drugs. We pay more for the same drug produced by the same company in America than any other country in the world.

Just look at insulin. One in ten Americans has diabetes. In Virginia, I met a 13-year-old boy — the handsome young man standing up there, Joshua Davis. He and his dad both have Type 1 diabetes, which means they need insulin every single day.

Insulin costs about $10 a vial to make. That’s what it costs the — the pharmaceutical company. But drug companies charge families like Joshua and his dad up to 30 times that amount.

I spoke with Joshua’s mom. Imagine what it’s like to look at your child who needs insulin to stay healthy and have no idea how in God’s name you’re going to be able to pay for it — what it does to your family, but what it does to your dignity, your ability to look your child in the eye, to be the parent you expect yourself to be. I really mean it. Think about that. That’s what I think about.

You know, yesterday — Joshua is here tonight, but yesterday was his birthday. Happy birthday, buddy, by the way.

For Joshua and 200,000 other young people with Type 1 diabetes, let’s cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month so everyone can afford it. And drug companies will do very, very well — their profit margin.

Let’s cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month so every family can afford it. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

And while we’re at it — I know we have great disagreements on this floor with this — let’s let Medicare negotiate the price of prescription drugs. They already set the price for VA drugs.

Look, the American Rescue Plan is helping millions of families on Affordable Care Act plans to save them $2,400 a year on their health premiums. Let’s close the coverage gap and make those savings permanent.

And second, let’s cut energy costs for families an average of $500 a year by combatting climate change.

Let’s provide an investment and tax credit to weatherize your home and your business to be energy efficient and get a tax credit for it; double America’s clean energy production in solar, wind, and so much more; lower the price of electric vehicles, saving another $80 a month that you’ve not going to have to pay at the pump.

We can cut energy costs for families an average of $500 a year by combating climate change. Let’s provide investments and tax credits to: - Weatherize homes and businesses - Double America’s clean energy production - Lower the price of electric vehicles — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

Folks — third — the third thing we can do to change the standard of living for hardworking folks is cut the cost of childcare. Cut the cost of childcare.

Folks, if you live in a major city in America, you can pay up to $14,000 a year for childcare per child.

I was a single dad for five years, raising two kids. I had a lot of help, though. I had a mom, a dad, a brother, and sister that really helped.

But middle-class and working folks shouldn’t have to pay more than 7 percent of their income to care for their young children.

My plan would cut the cost of childcare in half for most families and help parents, including millions of women who left the workforce during the pandemic because they couldn’t afford childcare to be able to get back to work, generating economic growth.

Many families pay up to $14,000 a year for child care per child. My plan will cut the cost in half for most families. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

But my plan doesn’t stop there. It also includes home and long-term care, more affordable housing, pre-K for three- and four-year-olds. All of these will lower costs to families.

And under my plan, nobody — let me say this again — nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in new taxes. Not a single penny.

I may be wrong, but my guess is, if we took a secret ballot in this floor, that we’d all agree that the present tax system ain’t fair. We have to fix it.

I’m not looking to punish anybody, but let’s make corporations and wealthy Americans start paying their fair share.

Look, last year — like Chris Coons and Tom Carper and my distinguished congresswoman — we come from the land of corporate America. There are more corporations incorporated in Delaware than every other state in America combined. And I still won 36 years in a row. The point is: Even they understand they should pay just a fair share.

Last year, 55 of the Fortune 500 companies earned $40 billion in profit and paid zero in federal taxes.

No, look, it’s not fair. That’s why I proposed a 15 percent minimum tax rate for corporations.

We’ve got — and that’s why in the G7 and other meetings overseas we were able to put together — I was able to be somewhat helpful — 130 countries to agree on a global minimum tax rate — so companies can’t get out of paying their taxes at home by shipping jobs and factories overseas. It’ll raise billions of dollars.

And that’s why I’ve proposed closing loopholes for the very wealthy who don’t pay — who pay a lower tax rate than a teacher and a firefighter.

So that’s my plan. But we have — we’ll go into more detail later.

I’m going to grow — we will grow the economy, lower the costs to families.

So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get this done. We all know we’ve got to make changes.

Folks, and while you’re at it, confirm my nominees for the Federal Reserve which plays a critical role in fighting inflation.

My plan will not only lower costs and give families a fair shot, it will lower the deficit.

The previous administration not only ballooned the deficit with those tax cuts for the very wealthy and corporations, it undermined the watchdogs — the job of those to keep pandemic relief funds from being wasted. Remember we had those debates about whether or not those watchdogs should be able to see, every day, how much money was being spent, where it — was it going to the right place?

In my administration, the watchdogs are back. And we’re going after the criminals who stole billions of relief money meant for small business and millions of Americans.

My predecessor undermined the watchdogs whose job was to keep pandemic relief funds from being wasted. In my Administration, the watchdogs are back. We’re going after the criminals who stole billions in relief money meant for small businesses and millions of Americans. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

And tonight, I’m announcing that the Justice Department will soon name a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud.

And, look I think we all agree — thank you — by the end of this year, the deficit will be down to less than half what it was before I took office — the only President ever to cut the deficit by more than $1 trillion in a single year.

Lowering your costs also meant demanding more competition. I’m a capitalist, but capitalism without competition is not capitalism. Capitalism without competition is exploitation. It drives up prices.

When corporations have to compete, their profits go up and your prices go up — when they don’t have to compete.

Small businesses and family farmers and ranchers — I need not tell some of my Republican friends from those states — guess what? You got four basic meatpacking facilities. That’s it. You play with them or you don’t get to play at all. And you pay a hell of a lot more — a hell of a lot more because there’s only four.

See what’s happening with ocean carriers moving goods in and out of America. During the pandemic, about half a dozen or less foreign-owned companies raised prices by as much as 1,000 percent and made record profits.

Tonight, I’m announcing a crackdown on those companies overcharging American businesses and consumers.

Folks and as Wall Street firms take over more nursing homes, quality in those homes has gone down and costs have gone up. That ends on my watch.

Medicare is going to set higher standards for nursing homes and make sure your loved ones get the care they deserve and that they expect, and they will look at that closely.

We’re also going to cut costs to keep the economy going strong and giving workers a fair shot; provide more training and apprenticeships; hire them based on skills, not just their degrees.

Let’s pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and paid leave raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour; and extend the Child Tax Credit so no one has to raise a family in poverty.

Let’s pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and paid leave, raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and extend the Child Tax Credit — so no one has to raise a family in poverty. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

Let’s increase Pell Grants; increase our historic support for HBCUs; and invest in what Jill, our First Lady, who teaches full-time, calls America’s best-kept secret: community colleges.

Look, let’s pass the PRO Act. When a majority of workers want to form a union, they shouldn’t be able to be stopped.

When we invest in our workers and we build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, together we can do something we haven’t done in a long time: build a better America.

For more than two years, COVID has impacted every decision in our lives and the life of this nation. And I know you’re tired, frustrated, and exhausted. That doesn’t even count the close to a million people who sit at a dining room table or a kitchen table and look at an empty chair because they lost somebody.

But I also know this: Because of the progress we’ve made, because of your resilience and the tools that we have been provided by this Congress, tonight I can say we’re moving forward safely, back to a norm- — more normal routines.

We’ve reached a new moment in the fight against COVID-19 where severe cases are down to a level not seen since July of last year.

Just a few days ago, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new mask guidelines. Under the new guidelines, most Americans in most of the country can now go mask free.

And based on projections — and based on projections, more of the country will reach a point across — that point across the next couple of weeks.

And thanks to the progress we’ve made in the past year, COVID-19 no longer need control our lives. I know some are talking about “living with COVID-19.” But tonight, I say that we never will just accept living with COVID-19; we’ll continue to combat the virus as we do other diseases.

And because this virus mutates and spreads, we have to stay on guard. And here are four common sense steps as we move forward safely, in my view:

Some are talking about “living with COVID-19.” Tonight, I say that we will never just accept living with COVID-19. We will continue to combat the virus as we do other diseases. But thanks to the progress we have made this year, COVID-19 need no longer control our lives. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

First, stay protected with vaccines and treatments. We know how incredibly effective vaccines are. If you’re vaccinated and boosted, you have the highest degree of protection, and we’ll never give up on vaccinating more Americans.

Now, I know parents with kids under five are eager to see their vaccines authorized for their children. Scientists are working hard to get that done, and we’ll be ready with plenty of vaccines if and when they do.

We’re already — we are also ready with anti-viral treatments. If you get COVID-19, the Pfizer pill reduces your chances of ending up in the hospital by 90 percent.

I’ve ordered more pills than anyone in the world has. Pfizer is working overtime to get us a million pills this month and more than double that next month.

And now we’re launching the “Test to Treat” initiative so people can get tested at a pharmacy and, if they prove positive, receive the antiviral pills on the spot at no cost.

And folks if you’re immunocompromised or have some other vulnerability, we have treatments and free high-quality masks.

We’re leaving no one behind or ignoring anyone’s needs as we move forward.

On testing, we’ve made hundreds of millions of tests available, and you can order them for free to your doorstep.

And we’ve already ordered free tests. If you already ordered free tests, tonight I’m announcing you can order another group of tests. COVID — go to COVIDTests.gov, starting next week, and you can get more tests.

Second, we must prepare for new variants.

Over the past — we’ve gotten much better at detecting new variants. If necessary, we’ll be able to deploy new vaccines within 100 days instead of maybe months or years. And if Congress provides the funds we need, we’ll have new stockpiles of tests, masks, pills ready if needed.

I can’t promise a new variant won’t come, but I ca- — I can promise you we’ll do everything within our power to be ready if it does.

Third, we can end the shutdown of schools and businesses. We have the tools we need.

It’s time for America to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again with people. People working from home can feel safe and begin to return to their offices.

We’re doing that here in the federal government. The vast majority of federal workers will once again work in person.

Our schools are open. Let’s keep it that way. Our kids need to be in school.

With 75 percent of adult Americans fully vaccinated and hospitalizations down by 77 percent, most Americans can remove their masks and stay in the classroom and move forward safely.

We achieved this because we provided free vaccines, treatments, tests, and masks. Of course, continuing this costs money, so it will not surprise you I’ll be back to see you all. And re- — I’m going to soon send a request to Congress.

The vast majority of Americans have used these tools and may want to again — we may need them again. So I expect Congress — and I hope you’ll pass that quickly.

Fourth, we’ll continue vaccinating the world. We’ve sent 475 million vaccine doses to 112 countries — more than any nation on Earth. We won’t stop, because you can’t build a wall high enough to keep out a —

A vaccine — the vaccine can stop the spread of these diseases.

You know, we’ve lost so much in COVID-19. Time with one another. The worst of all, the much loss of life.

Let’s use this moment to reset. So, stop looking at COVID as a partisan dividing line. See it for what it is: a God-awful disease.

Let’s stop sending — seeing each other as enemies and start seeing each other for who we are: fellow Americans.

Let’s stop looking at COVID as a partisan dividing line and see it for what it is: a God-awful disease. Let’s stop seeing each other as enemies — and start seeing each other for who we really are: fellow Americans. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

Look we can’t change how divided we’ve been. That was a long time in coming. But we can change how to move forward on COVID-19 and other issues that we must face together.

I recently visited New York City Police Department days after the funerals of Officer Wilbert Mora and his partner, Officer Jason Rivera.

They were responding to a 911 call when a man shot and killed them with a stolen gun.

Officer Mora was 27 years old. Officer Rivera was 22 years old. Both Dominican Americans who grew up in the same streets that they later chose to patrol as police officers.

I spoke with their families, and I told them that we are forever in debt for their sacrifices and we’ll carry on their mission to restore the trust and safety in every community it deserves.

Like some of you that have been around for a while — I’ve worked with you on these issues for a long time. I know what works: Investing in crime prevention and community policing — cops who walk the beat, who know the neighborhood, and who can restore trust and safety.

I know what works: investing in crime prevention and community police officers who’ll walk the beat, know the neighborhood, and restore trust and safety. We have to fund the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

Let’s not abandon our streets or choose between safety and equal justice. Let’s come together and protect our communities, restore trust, and hold law enforcement accountable.

That’s why the Justice Department has required body cameras, banned chokeholds, and restricted no-knock warrants for its officers.

That’s why the American Rescue Plan that you all provided $350 billion that cities, states, and counties can use to hire more police, invest in more proven strategies like community violence interruption, trusted messengers breaking the cycle of violence and trauma and giving young people some hope.

We should all agree the answer is not to defund the police.

It’s to fund the police. Fund them. Fund them. Fund them with the resources and training — resources and training they need to protect our communities.

I ask Democrats and Republicans alike to pass my budget and keep our neighborhoods safe.

And we’ll do everything in my power to crack down on gun trafficking of ghost guns that you can buy online, assemble at home — no serial numbers, can’t be traced.

I ask Congress to pass proven measures to reduce gun violence. Pass universal background checks. Why should anyone on the terrorist list be able to purchase a weapon. Why? Why?

And, folks, ban assault weapons with high-capacity magazines that hold up to 100 rounds. You think the deer are wearing Kevlar vests?

Look, repeal the liability shield that makes gun manufacturers the only industry in America that can’t be sued — the only one. Imagine had we done that with the tobacco manufactures.

These laws don’t infringe on the Second Amendment; they save lives.

I’m calling on Congress to: - Pass universal background checks - Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines - Repeal the liability shield that makes gun manufacturers the only industry that can’t be sued These laws don’t infringe on the Second Amendment. They save lives. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

The most fundamental right in America is the right to vote and have it counted. And look, it’s under assault.

In state after state, new laws have been passed not only to suppress the vote — we’ve been there before — but to subvert the entire election. We can’t let this happen.

Tonight, I call on the Senate to pass — pass the Freedom to Vote Act. Pass the John Lewis Act — Voting Rights Act. And while you’re at it, pass the DISCLOSE Act so Americans know who is funding our elections.

Look, tonight, I’d — I’d like to honor someone who has dedicated his life to serve this country: Justice Breyer — an Army veteran, Constitutional scholar, retiring Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Justice Breyer, thank you for your service. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I mean it. Get up. Stand — let me see you. Thank you.

And we all know — no matter what your ideology, we all know one of the most serious constitutional responsibilities a President has is nominating someone to serve on the United States Supreme Court.

As I did four days ago, I’ve nominated a Circuit Court of Appeals — Ketanji Brown Jackson . One of our nation’s top legal minds who will continue in just Brey- — Justice Breyer’s legacy of excellence. A former top litigator in private practice, a former federal public defender from a family of public-school educators and police officers — she’s a consensus builder.

Since she’s been nominated, she’s received a broad range of support, including the Fraternal Order of Police and former judges appointed by Democrats and Republicans.

Folks, if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure our border and fix the immigration system.

And as you might guess, I think we can do both. At our border, we’ve installed new technology, like cutting-edge scanners, to better detect drug smuggling.

We’ve set up joint patrols with Mexico and Guatemala to catch more human traffickers.

We’re putting in place dedicated immigration judges in significant larger number so families fleeing persecution and violence can have their cases — cases heard faster — and those who aren’t legitimately here can be sent back.

We’re screening — we’re securing commitments and supporting partners in South and Central America to host more refugees and secure their own borders.

We can do all this while keeping lit the torch of liberty that has led the generation of immigrants to this land — my forebearers and many of yours.

Provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers — those with temporary status, farmworkers, essential workers. To revise our laws so businesses have workers they need and families don’t wait decades to reunite.

It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s economically smart thing to do. That’s why the immigration reform is supported by everyone from labor unions to religious leaders to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Let’s get it done once and for all.

Folks, advancing liberty and justice also requires protecting the rights of women. The constitutional right affirmed by Roe v. Wade, standing precedent for half a century, is under attack as never before.

If you want to go forward not backwards, we must protect access to healthcare; preserve a woman’s right to choose — and continue to advance maternal healthcare for all Americans.

The constitutional right affirmed in Roe v. Wade — standing precedent for half a century — is under attack as never before. If we want to go forward — not backward — we must protect access to health care. Preserve a woman’s right to choose. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

And folks, for our LGBTQ+ Americans, let’s finally get the bipartisan Equality Act to my desk. The onslaught of state laws targeting transgender Americans and their families — it’s simply wrong.

As I said last year, especially to our younger transgender Americans, I’ll always have your back as your President so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential.

For LGBTQ+ Americans, let’s finally get the bipartisan Equality Act to my desk. As I said last year — especially to our younger transgender Americans — I will always have your back as your president so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

Folks as I’ve just demonstrated, while it often appears we do not agree and that — we — we do agree on a lot more things than we acknowledge.

I signed 80 bipartisan bills into law last year, from preventing government shutdowns, to protecting Asian Americans from still-too-common hate crimes, to reforming military justice. And we’ll soon be strengthening the Violence Against Women Act that I first wrote three decades ago.

And it’s important — it’s important for us to show — to show the nation that we can come together and do big things.

So tonight, I’m offering a “Unity Agenda for the Nation”: four big things we can do together, in my view.

First, beat the opioid epidemic. There’s so much we can do: increase funding for prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery; get rid of outdated rules and stop doctors and — that stop doctors from prescribing treatments; stop the flow of illicit drugs by working with state and local law enforcement to go after the traffickers.

And if you’re suffering from addiction, you know — you should know you’re not alone. I believe in recovery, and I celebrate the 23 million — 23 million Americans in recovery.

Second, let’s take on mental health — especially among our children, whose lives and education have been turned upside down.

The American Rescue Plan gave schools money to hire teachers and help students make up for lost learning. I urge every parent to make sure your school — your school does just that. They have the money.

We can all play a part. Sign up to be a tutor or a mentor.

Children were also struggling before the pandemic: bullying, violence, trauma, and the harms of social media.

As Frances Haugen, who is here tonight with us, has shown, we must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit. Folks — thank you. Thank you for the courage you showed.

It’s time to strengthen privacy protections; ban targeted advertising to children; demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.

And let’s get all Americans the mental health services they need — more people can turn for help and full parity between physical and mental healthcare if we treat it that way in our insurance.

Look, the third piece of that agenda is support our veterans. Veterans are the backbone and the spine of this country. They’re the best of us.

I’ve always believed that we have a sacred obligation to equip those we send to war and care for those and their family when they come home.

My administration is providing assistance and job training and housing, and now helping lower-income veterans get VA care debt free.

And our troops in Iraq have faced — and Afghanistan — have faced many dangers. One being stationed at bases, breathing in toxic smoke from burn pits. Many of you have been there. I’ve been in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan over 40 times. These burn pits that incinerate waste — the wastes of war, medical and hazardous material, jet fuel, and so much more.

And they come home — many of the world’s fittest and best trained warriors in the world — never the same: headaches, numbness, dizziness, a cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin. I know.

One of those — one of those soldiers was my son, Major Beau Biden. I don’t know for sure if the burn pit that he lived near — that his hooch was near in Iraq and, earlier than that, in Kosovo is the cause of his brain cancer and the disease of so many other troops. But I’m committed to find out everything we can.

Committed to military families like Danielle Robinson from Ohio, the widow of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson. He was born a soldier. Army National Guard. Combat medic in Kosovo and Iraq. Stationed near Baghdad, just yards from burn pits the size of football fields.

Danielle is here with us tonight. They loved going to Ohio State football games. And he loved building Legos with their daughter. But cancer from prolonged exposure to burn pits ravaged Heath’s lungs and body.

Danielle says Heath was a fighter to the very end. He didn’t know how to stop fighting, and neither did she.

Through her pain, she found purpose to demand that we do better. Tonight, Danielle, we are going to do better.

The VA — the VA is pioneering new ways of linking toxic exposures to disease, already helping more veterans get benefits. And tonight, I’m announcing we’re expanding eligibility to veterans suffering from nine respiratory cancers.

The VA is pioneering new ways of linking toxic exposures to diseases. This is already helping more veterans get benefits. And tonight, I’m announcing we're expanding eligibility to veterans suffering from nine respiratory cancers. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

I’m also calling on Congress to pass a law to make sure veterans devastated by toxic exposure in Iraq and Afghanistan finally get the benefits and the comprehensive healthcare they deserve.

And fourth and last, let’s end cancer as we know it. This is personal. This is personal to me and to Jill and to Kamala and so many of you. So many of you have lost someone you love — husband, wife, son, daughter, mom, dad.

Cancer is the number-two cause of death in America, second only to heart disease.

Last month, I announced the plan to supercharge the Cancer Moonshot that President Obama asked me to lead six years ago.

Last month, I announced our plan to supercharge the Cancer Moonshot. To get there, I call on Congress to fund ARPA-H — the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

Our goal is to cut cancer death rates by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years. And I think we can do better than that: turn cancers from death sentences into treatable diseases, more support for patients and families.

To get there, I call on Congress to fund what I called ARPA-H: Advanced — Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Patterned after DARPA in the Defense Department, projects that led — in DARPA — to the Internet, GPS, and so much more that make our forces more safer and be able to wage war more — with more clarity.

ARPA-H will have a singular purpose to drive breakthroughs in cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes, and more.

A Unity Agenda for the nation. We can do these things. It’s within our power. And I don’t see a partisan edge to any one of those four things.

My fellow Americans — tonight we’ve gathered in a sacred space: the citadel of democracy. In this Capitol, generation after generation of Americans have debated great questions amid great strife and have done great things.

We have fought for freedom, expanded liberty, defeated totalitarianism and terror. We built the strongest, freest, and most prosperous nation the world has ever known.

Now is the hour: our moment of responsibility, our test of resolve and conscience of history itself. It is in this moment that our character of this generation is formed, our purpose is found, our future is forged.

Well, I know this nation. We’ll meet the test, protect freedom and liberty, expand fairness and opportunity. And we will save democracy.

As hard as those times have been, I’m more optimistic about America today than I’ve been my whole life because I see the future that’s within our grasp, because I know there is simply nothing beyond our camas- — our capacity.

We’re the only nation on Earth that has always turned every crisis we’ve faced into an opportunity, the only nation that can be defined by a single word: possibilities.

So, on this night, on our 245th year as a nation, I’ve come to report on the state of the nation — the state of the union. And my report is this: The State of the Union is strong because you, the American people, are strong.

We are stronger today — we are stronger today than we were a year ago. And we’ll be stronger a year from now than we are today.

The State of the Union is strong — because you, the American people, are strong. We are stronger today than we were a year ago — and we will be stronger a year from now than we are today. — President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022

This is our moment to meet and overcome the challenges of our time. And we will, as one people, one America — the United States of America.

God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you. Go get ’em.

Stay Connected

We'll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better.

Opt in to send and receive text messages from President Biden.

Give to PBS News Hour now while all gifts are MATCHED!

Double your support for intelligent, in-depth, trustworthy journalism.

Associated Press Associated Press

Leave your feedback

• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-joe-bidens-full-2022-state-of-the-union-address

Read Joe Biden’s full 2022 State of the Union address

Read the full text of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, as provided by the White House:

WATCH: President Joe Biden’s 2022 State of the Union address – A PBS NewsHour Special

Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President, our First Lady and Second Gentleman. Members of Congress and the Cabinet. Justices of the Supreme Court. My fellow Americans.

Last year COVID-19 kept us apart. This year we are finally together again. Tonight, we meet as Democrats Republicans and Independents. But most importantly as Americans. With a duty to one another to the American people to the Constitution. And with an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny.

Six days ago, Russia’s Vladimir Putin sought to shake the foundations of the free world thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways. But he badly miscalculated. He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over.

WATCH: Russian forces pound Ukraine’s cities as the resistance holds the line in Kyiv

Instead he met a wall of strength he never imagined. He met the Ukrainian people. From President Zelensky to every Ukrainian, their fearlessness, their courage, their determination, inspires the world. Groups of citizens blocking tanks with their bodies. Everyone from students to retirees teachers turned soldiers defending their homeland.

In this struggle as President Zelensky said in his speech to the European Parliament “Light will win over darkness.” The Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States is here tonight.

Let each of us here tonight in this Chamber send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world. Please rise if you are able and show that, yes, we the United States of America stand with the Ukrainian people.

Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression they cause more chaos. They keep moving. And the costs and the threats to America and the world keep rising. That’s why the NATO Alliance was created to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War 2. The United States is a member along with 29 other nations. It matters. American diplomacy matters. American resolve matters.

READ MORE: Unity between NATO and the West is key tool against Putin, Biden to stress in State of the Union

Putin’s latest attack on Ukraine was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected repeated efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And he thought he could divide us at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready.

Here is what we did. We prepared extensively and carefully. We spent months building a coalition of other freedom-loving nations from Europe and the Americas to Asia and Africa to confront Putin. I spent countless hours unifying our European allies. We shared with the world in advance what we knew Putin was planning and precisely how he would try to falsely justify his aggression.

We countered Russia’s lies with truth. And now that he has acted the free world is holding him accountable. Along with twenty-seven members of the European Union including France, Germany, Italy, as well as countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and many others, even Switzerland.

We are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine. Putin is now isolated from the world more than ever. Together with our allies – we are right now enforcing powerful economic sanctions. We are cutting off Russia’s largest banks from the international financial system. Preventing Russia’s central bank from defending the Russian Ruble making Putin’s $630 Billion “war fund” worthless. We are choking off Russia’s access to technology that will sap its economic strength and weaken its military for years to come.

WATCH: Sen. Thune on Biden’s handling of Russian aggression: ‘They’re doing the right things’

Tonight I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime no more. The U.S. Department of Justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of Russian oligarchs. We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts your luxury apartments your private jets. We are coming for your ill-begotten gains.

And tonight I am announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American air space to all Russian flights – further isolating Russia – and adding an additional squeeze –on their economy. The Ruble has lost 30 percent of its value. The Russian stock market has lost 40 percent of its value and trading remains suspended. Russia’s economy is reeling and Putin alone is to blame.

Together with our allies we are providing support to the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom. Military assistance. Economic assistance. Humanitarian assistance. We are giving more than $1 Billion in direct assistance to Ukraine. And we will continue to aid the Ukrainian people as they defend their country and to help ease their suffering.

Let me be clear, our forces are not engaged and will not engage in conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine. Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO Allies – in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west. For that purpose we’ve mobilized American ground forces, air squadrons, and ship deployments to protect NATO countries including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. As I have made crystal clear the United States and our Allies will defend every inch of territory of NATO countries with the full force of our collective power. And we remain clear-eyed.

READ MORE: In blue and yellow, lawmakers show support for Ukraine at State of the Union

The Ukrainians are fighting back with pure courage. But the next few days weeks, months, will be hard on them. Putin has unleashed violence and chaos. But while he may make gains on the battlefield – he will pay a continuing high price over the long run.

And a proud Ukrainian people, who have known 30 years of independence, have repeatedly shown that they will not tolerate anyone who tries to take their country backwards.

To all Americans, I will be honest with you, as I’ve always promised. A Russian dictator, invading a foreign country, has costs around the world. And I’m taking robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at Russia’s economy. And I will use every tool at our disposal to protect American businesses and consumers.

Tonight, I can announce that the United States has worked with 30 other countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around the world . America will lead that effort, releasing 30 million barrels from our own Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And we stand ready to do more if necessary, unified with our allies.

These steps will help blunt gas prices here at home. And I know the news about what’s happening can seem alarming. But I want you to know that we are going to be okay. When the history of this era is written Putin’s war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger.

READ MORE: Key inflation gauge hit 6.1% in January, highest since 1982

While it shouldn’t have taken something so terrible for people around the world to see what’s at stake now everyone sees it clearly. We see the unity among leaders of nations and a more unified Europe a more unified West. And we see unity among the people who are gathering in cities in large crowds around the world even in Russia to demonstrate their support for Ukraine. In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security.

This is a real test. It’s going to take time. So let us continue to draw inspiration from the iron will of the Ukrainian people. To our fellow Ukrainian Americans who forge a deep bond that connects our two nations we stand with you. Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he will never gain the hearts and souls of the Ukrainian people. He will never extinguish their love of freedom. He will never weaken the resolve of the free world.

We meet tonight in an America that has lived through two of the hardest years this nation has ever faced. The pandemic has been punishing. And so many families are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep up with the rising cost of food, gas, housing, and so much more.

I understand. I remember when my Dad had to leave our home in Scranton, Pennsylvania to find work. I grew up in a family where if the price of food went up, you felt it. That’s why one of the first things I did as President was fight to pass the American Rescue Plan. Because people were hurting. We needed to act, and we did.

READ MORE: Here’s how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could worsen everyday costs in the U.S.

Few pieces of legislation have done more in a critical moment in our history to lift us out of crisis. It fueled our efforts to vaccinate the nation and combat COVID-19. It delivered immediate economic relief for tens of millions of Americans. Helped put food on their table, keep a roof over their heads, and cut the cost of health insurance. And as my Dad used to say, it gave people a little breathing room.

And unlike the $2 trillion tax cut passed in the previous administration that benefitted the top 1 percent of Americans, the American Rescue Plan helped working people — and left no one behind. And it worked. It created jobs. Lots of jobs. In fact — our economy created over 6.5 Million new jobs just last year, more jobs created in one year than ever before in the history of America.

Our economy grew at a rate of 5.7 percent last year, the strongest growth in nearly 40 years, the first step in bringing fundamental change to an economy that hasn’t worked for the working people of this nation for too long.

For the past 40 years we were told that if we gave tax breaks to those at the very top, the benefits would trickle down to everyone else. But that trickle-down theory led to weaker economic growth, lower wages, bigger deficits, and the widest gap between those at the top and everyone else in nearly a century.

WATCH: ‘Lower your costs, not your wages,’ Biden tells companies on inflation

Vice President Harris and I ran for office with a new economic vision for America. Invest in America. Educate Americans. Grow the workforce. Build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down. Because we know that when the middle class grows, the poor have a ladder up and the wealthy do very well.

America used to have the best roads, bridges, and airports on Earth. Now our infrastructure is ranked 13th in the world. We won’t be able to compete for the jobs of the 21st Century if we don’t fix that. That’s why it was so important to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—the most sweeping investment to rebuild America in history. This was a bipartisan effort, and I want to thank the members of both parties who worked to make it happen.

We’re done talking about infrastructure weeks. We’re going to have an infrastructure decade. It is going to transform America and put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st Century that we face with the rest of the world—particularly with China. As I’ve told Xi Jinping, it is never a good bet to bet against the American people.

We’ll create good jobs for millions of Americans, modernizing roads, airports, ports, and waterways all across America. And we’ll do it all to withstand the devastating effects of the climate crisis and promote environmental justice. We’ll build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, begin to replace poisonous lead pipes—so every child—and every American—has clean water to drink at home and at school, provide affordable high-speed internet for every American—urban, suburban, rural, and tribal communities.

WATCH: Biden says infrastructure bill will ease economy woes with time

4,000 projects have already been announced. And tonight, I’m announcing that this year we will start fixing over 65,000 miles of highway and 1,500 bridges in disrepair. When we use taxpayer dollars to rebuild America – we are going to Buy American: buy American products to support American jobs.

The federal government spends about $600 Billion a year to keep the country safe and secure. There’s been a law on the books for almost a century to make sure taxpayers’ dollars support American jobs and businesses. Every Administration says they’ll do it, but we are actually doing it. We will buy American to make sure everything from the deck of an aircraft carrier to the steel on highway guardrails are made in America.

But to compete for the best jobs of the future, we also need to level the playing field with China and other competitors. That’s why it is so important to pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act sitting in Congress that will make record investments in emerging technologies and American manufacturing.

Let me give you one example of why it’s so important to pass it. If you travel 20 miles east of Columbus, Ohio, you’ll find 1,000 empty acres of land. It won’t look like much, but if you stop and look closely, you’ll see a “Field of dreams,” the ground on which America’s future will be built.

WATCH: Intel plans to build a $20 billion chip facility in Ohio

This is where Intel, the American company that helped build Silicon Valley, is going to build its $20 billion semiconductor “mega site”. Up to eight state-of-the-art factories in one place. 10,000 new good-paying jobs. Some of the most sophisticated manufacturing in the world to make computer chips the size of a fingertip that power the world and our everyday lives. Smartphones. The Internet. Technology we have yet to invent.

But that’s just the beginning. Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, who is here tonight, told me they are ready to increase their investment from $20 billion to $100 billion. That would be one of the biggest investments in manufacturing in American history.

And all they’re waiting for is for you to pass this bill. So let’s not wait any longer. Send it to my desk. I’ll sign it. And we will really take off.

And Intel is not alone. There’s something happening in America. Just look around and you’ll see an amazing story. The rebirth of the pride that comes from stamping products “Made In America.” The revitalization of American manufacturing. Companies are choosing to build new factories here, when just a few years ago, they would have built them overseas. That’s what is happening. Ford is investing $11 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 11,000 jobs across the country. GM is making the largest investment in its history—$7 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 4,000 jobs in Michigan.

All told, we created 369,000 new manufacturing jobs in America just last year. Powered by people I’ve met like JoJo Burgess, from generations of union steelworkers from Pittsburgh, who’s here with us tonight. As Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown says, “It’s time to bury the label “Rust Belt.” It’s time.

READ MORE: 56 percent of Americans think Biden’s first year was a failure

But with all the bright spots in our economy, record job growth and higher wages, too many families are struggling to keep up with the bills. Inflation is robbing them of the gains they might otherwise feel. I get it. That’s why my top priority is getting prices under control.

Look, our economy roared back faster than most predicted, but the pandemic meant that businesses had a hard time hiring enough workers to keep up production in their factories. The pandemic also disrupted global supply chains. When factories close, it takes longer to make goods and get them from the warehouse to the store, and prices go up. Look at cars. Last year, there weren’t enough semiconductors to make all the cars that people wanted to buy. And guess what, prices of automobiles went up.

So—we have a choice. One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer. I have a better plan to fight inflation. Lower your costs, not your wages. Make more cars and semiconductors in America. More infrastructure and innovation in America. More goods moving faster and cheaper in America. More jobs where you can earn a good living in America. And instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America.

Economists call it “increasing the productive capacity of our economy.” I call it building a better America. My plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and lower the deficit. 17 Nobel laureates in economics say my plan will ease long-term inflationary pressures. Top business leaders and most Americans support my plan.

And here’s the plan: First – cut the cost of prescription drugs. Just look at insulin. One in ten Americans has diabetes. In Virginia, I met a 13-year-old boy named Joshua Davis. He and his Dad both have Type 1 diabetes, which means they need insulin every day. Insulin costs about $10 a vial to make. But drug companies charge families like Joshua and his Dad up to 30 times more. I spoke with Joshua’s mom. Imagine what it’s like to look at your child who needs insulin and have no idea how you’re going to pay for it. What it does to your dignity, your ability to look your child in the eye, to be the parent you expect to be.

WATCH: The Build Back Better bill wants to lower prescription drug costs. Does it go far enough?

Joshua is here with us tonight. Yesterday was his birthday. Happy birthday, buddy.

For Joshua, and for the 200,000 other young people with Type 1 diabetes, let’s cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month so everyone can afford it. Drug companies will still do very well. And while we’re at it let Medicare negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs, like the VA already does. Look, the American Rescue Plan is helping millions of families on Affordable Care Act plans save $2,400 a year on their health care premiums. Let’s close the coverage gap and make those savings permanent.

Second: cut energy costs for families an average of $500 a year by combatting climate change. Let’s provide investments and tax credits to weatherize your homes and businesses to be energy efficient and you get a tax credit; double America’s clean energy production in solar, wind, and so much more; lower the price of electric vehicles, saving you another $80 a month because you’ll never have to pay at the gas pump again.

Third: cut the cost of child care. Many families pay up to $14,000 a year for child care per child. Middle-class and working families shouldn’t have to pay more than 7 percent of their income for care of young children. My plan will cut the cost in half for most families and help parents, including millions of women, who left the workforce during the pandemic because they couldn’t afford child care, to be able to get back to work.

READ MORE: Moms have made it work during the pandemic — but at what cost?

My plan doesn’t stop there. It also includes home and long-term care. More affordable housing. And Pre-K for every 3- and 4-year-old. All of these will lower costs.

And under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in new taxes. Nobody. The one thing all Americans agree on is that the tax system is not fair. We have to fix it.

I’m not looking to punish anyone. But let’s make sure corporations and the wealthiest Americans start paying their fair share. Just last year, 55 Fortune 500 corporations earned $40 billion in profits and paid zero dollars in federal income tax. That’s simply not fair. That’s why I’ve proposed a 15 percent minimum tax rate for corporations. We got more than 130 countries to agree on a global minimum tax rate so companies can’t get out of paying their taxes at home by shipping jobs and factories overseas. That’s why I’ve proposed closing loopholes so the very wealthy don’t pay a lower tax rate than a teacher or a firefighter.

So that’s my plan. It will grow the economy and lower costs for families. So what are we waiting for? Let’s get this done. And while you’re at it, confirm my nominees to the Federal Reserve, which plays a critical role in fighting inflation. My plan will not only lower costs to give families a fair shot, it will lower the deficit.

The previous administration not only ballooned the deficit with tax cuts for the very wealthy and corporations, it undermined the watchdogs whose job was to keep pandemic relief funds from being wasted. But in my administration, the watchdogs have been welcomed back. We’re going after the criminals who stole billions in relief money meant for small businesses and millions of Americans. And tonight, I’m announcing that the Justice Department will name a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud.

READ MORE: Nearly $100 billion stolen in pandemic relief funds, Secret Service says

By the end of this year, the deficit will be down to less than half what it was before I took office. The only president ever to cut the deficit by more than one trillion dollars in a single year. Lowering your costs also means demanding more competition. I’m a capitalist, but capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation—and it drives up prices. When corporations don’t have to compete, their profits go up, your prices go up, and small businesses and family farmers and ranchers go under. We see it happening with ocean carriers moving goods in and out of America. During the pandemic, these foreign-owned companies raised prices by as much as 1,000 percent and made record profits.

Tonight, I’m announcing a crackdown on these companies overcharging American businesses and consumers. And as Wall Street firms take over more nursing homes, quality in those homes has gone down and costs have gone up. That ends on my watch. Medicare is going to set higher standards for nursing homes and make sure your loved ones get the care they deserve and expect.

We’ll also cut costs and keep the economy going strong by giving workers a fair shot, provide more training and apprenticeships, hire them based on their skills not degrees. Let’s pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and paid leave. Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and extend the Child Tax Credit , so no one has to raise a family in poverty. Let’s increase Pell Grants and increase our historic support of HBCUs, and invest in what Jill—our First Lady who teaches full-time—calls America’s best-kept secret: community colleges. And let’s pass the PRO Act when a majority of workers want to form a union—they shouldn’t be stopped.

READ MORE: After bomb threats against HBCUs across the country, students wonder why there’s not more urgency

When we invest in our workers, when we build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out together, we can do something we haven’t done in a long time: build a better America.

For more than two years, COVID-19 has impacted every decision in our lives and the life of the nation. And I know you’re tired, frustrated, and exhausted. But I also know this. Because of the progress we’ve made, because of your resilience and the tools we have, tonight I can say we are moving forward safely, back to more normal routines. We’ve reached a new moment in the fight against COVID-19, with severe cases down to a level not seen since last July.

Just a few days ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—the CDC—issued new mask guidelines. Under these new guidelines, most Americans in most of the country can now be mask free. And based on the projections, more of the country will reach that point across the next couple of weeks. Thanks to the progress we have made this past year, COVID-19 need no longer control our lives.

I know some are talking about “living with COVID-19”. Tonight – I say that we will never just accept living with COVID-19. We will continue to combat the virus as we do other diseases. And because this is a virus that mutates and spreads, we will stay on guard.

WATCH: CDC changes recommendations on when to wear masks in public

Here are four common sense steps as we move forward safely. First, stay protected with vaccines and treatments. We know how incredibly effective vaccines are. If you’re vaccinated and boosted you have the highest degree of protection. We will never give up on vaccinating more Americans. Now, I know parents with kids under 5 are eager to see a vaccine authorized for their children. The scientists are working hard to get that done and we’ll be ready with plenty of vaccines when they do. We’re also ready with anti-viral treatments. If you get COVID-19, the Pfizer pill reduces your chances of ending up in the hospital by 90 percent. We’ve ordered more of these pills than anyone in the world. And Pfizer is working overtime to get us 1 million pills this month and more than double that next month.

And we’re launching the “Test to Treat” initiative so people can get tested at a pharmacy, and if they’re positive, receive antiviral pills on the spot at no cost. If you’re immunocompromised or have some other vulnerability, we have treatments and free high-quality masks. We’re leaving no one behind or ignoring anyone’s needs as we move forward. And on testing, we have made hundreds of millions of tests available for you to order for free. Even if you already ordered free tests tonight, I am announcing that you can order more from covidtests.gov starting next week.

Second – we must prepare for new variants. Over the past year, we’ve gotten much better at detecting new variants. If necessary, we’ll be able to deploy new vaccines within 100 days instead of many more months or years. And, if Congress provides the funds we need, we’ll have new stockpiles of tests, masks, and pills ready if needed. I cannot promise a new variant won’t come. But I can promise you we’ll do everything within our power to be ready if it does.

READ MORE: As experts say Biden should pivot on COVID, Harris sees current strategy making progress

Third – we can end the shutdown of schools and businesses. We have the tools we need. It’s time for Americans to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again. People working from home can feel safe to begin to return to the office. We’re doing that here in the federal government. The vast majority of federal workers will once again work in person. Our schools are open. Let’s keep it that way. Our kids need to be in school.

And with 75 percent of adult Americans fully vaccinated and hospitalizations down by 77 percent, most Americans can remove their masks, return to work, stay in the classroom , and move forward safely. We achieved this because we provided free vaccines, treatments, tests, and masks. Of course, continuing this costs money. I will soon send Congress a request. The vast majority of Americans have used these tools and may want to again, so I expect Congress to pass it quickly.

Fourth, we will continue vaccinating the world . We’ve sent 475 million vaccine doses to 112 countries, more than any other nation. And we won’t stop.

READ MORE: National Cathedral’s bell tolls again as COVID deaths hit ‘figure I can’t even comprehend’

We have lost so much to COVID-19. Time with one another. And worst of all, so much loss of life. Let’s use this moment to reset. Let’s stop looking at COVID-19 as a partisan dividing line and see it for what it is: A God-awful disease. Let’s stop seeing each other as enemies, and start seeing each other for who we really are: Fellow Americans. We can’t change how divided we’ve been. But we can change how we move forward—on COVID-19 and other issues we must face together.

I recently visited the New York City Police Department days after the funerals of Officer Wilbert Mora and his partner, Officer Jason Rivera. They were responding to a 9-1-1 call when a man shot and killed them with a stolen gun. Officer Mora was 27 years old. Officer Rivera was 22. Both Dominican Americans who’d grown up on the same streets they later chose to patrol as police officers. I spoke with their families and told them that we are forever in debt for their sacrifice, and we will carry on their mission to restore the trust and safety every community deserves.

I’ve worked on these issues a long time. I know what works: Investing in crime prevention and community police officers who’ll walk the beat, who’ll know the neighborhood, and who can restore trust and safety. So let’s not abandon our streets. Or choose between safety and equal justice. Let’s come together to protect our communities, restore trust, and hold law enforcement accountable.

WATCH: Recent surge in violent crimes has made ‘law & order’ a hot button topic, again

That’s why the Justice Department required body cameras, banned chokeholds, and restricted no-knock warrants for its officers. That’s why the American Rescue Plan provided $350 Billion that cities, states, and counties can use to hire more police and invest in proven strategies like community violence interruption—trusted messengers breaking the cycle of violence and trauma and giving young people hope.

We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police. The answer is to FUND the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities. I ask Democrats and Republicans alike: Pass my budget and keep our neighborhoods safe. And I will keep doing everything in my power to crack down on gun trafficking and ghost guns you can buy online and make at home—they have no serial numbers and can’t be traced.

And I ask Congress to pass proven measures to reduce gun violence. Pass universal background checks. Why should anyone on a terrorist list be able to purchase a weapon? Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Repeal the liability shield that makes gun manufacturers the only industry in America that can’t be sued. These laws don’t infringe on the Second Amendment. They save lives.

The most fundamental right in America is the right to vote – and to have it counted. And it’s under assault. In state after state, new laws have been passed, not only to suppress the vote, but to subvert entire elections. We cannot let this happen.

WATCH: A look at Justice Stephen Breyer’s career and opinions on the bench

Tonight. I call on the Senate to: Pass the Freedom to Vote Act. Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act . And while you’re at it, pass the Disclose Act so Americans can know who is funding our elections.

Tonight, I’d like to honor someone who has dedicated his life to serve this country: Justice Stephen Breyer—an Army veteran, Constitutional scholar, and retiring Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Justice Breyer, thank you for your service.

One of the most serious constitutional responsibilities a President has is nominating someone to serve on the United States Supreme Court. And I did that 4 days ago, when I nominated Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson . One of our nation’s top legal minds, who will continue Justice Breyer’s legacy of excellence. A former top litigator in private practice. A former federal public defender. And from a family of public school educators and police officers. A consensus builder. Since she’s been nominated, she’s received a broad range of support—from the Fraternal Order of Police to former judges appointed by Democrats and Republicans.

READ MORE: Jackson prepares to meet with senators in swift start toward Supreme Court confirmation

And if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure the Border and fix the immigration system. We can do both. At our border, we’ve installed new technology like cutting-edge scanners to better detect drug smuggling. We’ve set up joint patrols with Mexico and Guatemala to catch more human traffickers. We’re putting in place dedicated immigration judges so families fleeing persecution and violence can have their cases heard faster. We’re securing commitments and supporting partners in South and Central America to host more refugees and secure their own borders.

We can do all this while keeping lit the torch of liberty that has led generations of immigrants to this land—my forefathers and so many of yours. Provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers, and essential workers. Revise our laws so businesses have the workers they need and families don’t wait decades to reunite. It’s not only the right thing to do—it’s the economically smart thing to do. That’s why immigration reform is supported by everyone from labor unions to religious leaders to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Let’s get it done once and for all.

READ MORE: With Roe in doubt, states act on abortion limits, expansions

Advancing liberty and justice also requires protecting the rights of women. The constitutional right affirmed in Roe v. Wade—standing precedent for half a century—is under attack as never before. If we want to go forward—not backward—we must protect access to health care. Preserve a woman’s right to choose. And let’s continue to advance maternal health care in America.

And for our LGBTQ+ Americans, let’s finally get the bipartisan Equality Act to my desk. The onslaught of state laws targeting transgender Americans and their families is wrong. As I said last year, especially to our younger transgender Americans, I will always have your back as your President, so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential.

READ MORE: Texas AG Ken Paxton once joined this family of a trans kid for dinner. They now feel under attack

While it often appears that we never agree, that isn’t true. I signed 80 bipartisan bills into law last year. From preventing government shutdowns to protecting Asian-Americans from still-too-common hate crimes to reforming military justice.

And soon, we’ll strengthen the Violence Against Women Act that I first wrote three decades ago. It is important for us to show the nation that we can come together and do big things.

So tonight I’m offering a Unity Agenda for the Nation. Four big things we can do together.

First, beat the opioid epidemic . There is so much we can do. Increase funding for prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery. Get rid of outdated rules that stop doctors from prescribing treatments. And stop the flow of illicit drugs by working with state and local law enforcement to go after traffickers.

READ MORE: Overdose deaths hit a historic high in 2020. Frustrated experts say these strategies could save lives

If you’re suffering from addiction, know you are not alone. I believe in recovery, and I celebrate the 23 million Americans in recovery. Second, let’s take on mental health. Especially among our children, whose lives and education have been turned upside down. The American Rescue Plan gave schools money to hire teachers and help students make up for lost learning. I urge every parent to make sure your school does just that. And we can all play a part—sign up to be a tutor or a mentor.

Children were also struggling before the pandemic. Bullying, violence, trauma, and the harms of social media. As Frances Haugen, who is here with us tonight, has shown, we must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit. It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.

And let’s get all Americans the mental health services they need. More people they can turn to for help, and full parity between physical and mental health care.

READ MORE: What two decades of data on overdose suicides shows about mental health care disparities

Third, support our veterans. Veterans are the best of us. I’ve always believed that we have a sacred obligation to equip all those we send to war and care for them and their families when they come home. My administration is providing assistance with job training and housing, and now helping lower-income veterans get VA care debt-free. Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan faced many dangers. One was stationed at bases and breathing in toxic smoke from “burn pits” that incinerated wastes of war—medical and hazard material, jet fuel, and more. When they came home, many of the world’s fittest and best trained warriors were never the same. Headaches. Numbness. Dizziness. A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin.

I know. One of those soldiers was my son Major Beau Biden . We don’t know for sure if a burn pit was the cause of his brain cancer, or the diseases of so many of our troops. But I’m committed to finding out everything we can.

Committed to military families like Danielle Robinson from Ohio. The widow of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson. He was born a soldier. Army National Guard. Combat medic in Kosovo and Iraq. Stationed near Baghdad, just yards from burn pits the size of football fields. Heath’s widow Danielle is here with us tonight. They loved going to Ohio State football games. He loved building Legos with their daughter. But cancer from prolonged exposure to burn pits ravaged Heath’s lungs and body. Danielle says Heath was a fighter to the very end. He didn’t know how to stop fighting, and neither did she. Through her pain she found purpose to demand we do better. Tonight, Danielle—we are.

READ MORE: Biden addresses possible link between son’s fatal brain cancer and toxic military burn pits

The VA is pioneering new ways of linking toxic exposures to diseases, already helping more veterans get benefits. And tonight, I’m announcing we’re expanding eligibility to veterans suffering from nine respiratory cancers. I’m also calling on Congress: pass a law to make sure veterans devastated by toxic exposures in Iraq and Afghanistan finally get the benefits and comprehensive health care they deserve.

And fourth, let’s end cancer as we know it . This is personal to me and Jill, to Kamala, and to so many of you. Cancer is the #2 cause of death in America–second only to heart disease. Last month, I announced our plan to supercharge the Cancer Moonshot that President Obama asked me to lead six years ago. Our goal is to cut the cancer death rate by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years, turn more cancers from death sentences into treatable diseases. More support for patients and families. To get there, I call on Congress to fund ARPA-H, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. It’s based on DARPA—the Defense Department project that led to the Internet, GPS, and so much more. ARPA-H will have a singular purpose—to drive breakthroughs in cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and more.

A unity agenda for the nation. We can do this.

My fellow Americans—tonight , we have gathered in a sacred space—the citadel of our democracy. In this Capitol, generation after generation, Americans have debated great questions amid great strife, and have done great things. We have fought for freedom, expanded liberty, defeated totalitarianism and terror. And built the strongest, freest, and most prosperous nation the world has ever known.

READ MORE: Biden to commit to new ‘moonshot’ goal of halving cancer death rate over 25 years

Now is the hour. Our moment of responsibility. Our test of resolve and conscience, of history itself. It is in this moment that our character is formed. Our purpose is found. Our future is forged.

Well I know this nation. We will meet the test. To protect freedom and liberty, to expand fairness and opportunity. We will save democracy. As hard as these times have been, I am more optimistic about America today than I have been my whole life. Because I see the future that is within our grasp. Because I know there is simply nothing beyond our capacity. We are the only nation on Earth that has always turned every crisis we have faced into an opportunity. The only nation that can be defined by a single word: possibilities.

So on this night, in our 245th year as a nation, I have come to report on the State of the Union. And my report is this: the State of the Union is strong—because you, the American people, are strong. We are stronger today than we were a year ago. And we will be stronger a year from now than we are today. Now is our moment to meet and overcome the challenges of our time.

And we will, as one people. One America. The United States of America.

May God bless you all. May God protect our troops.

Support Provided By: Learn more

Support PBS News:

Educate your inbox

Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else.

Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm.

Biden delivers his State of the Union address with the ‘world on edge’

Politics Mar 01

• UK Politics
• News Videos
• Paris 2024 Olympics
• Rugby Union
• Sport Videos
• John Rentoul
• Mary Dejevsky
• Andrew Grice
• Sean O’Grady
• Photography
• Theatre & Dance
• Culture Videos
• Fitness & Wellbeing
• Food & Drink
• Health & Families
• Royal Family
• Electric Vehicles
• Car Insurance Deals
• Lifestyle Videos
• Home & Garden
• Broadband deals
• Fashion & Beauty
• Travel & Outdoors
• Sports & Fitness
• Hotel Reviews
• News & Advice
• Simon Calder
• Australia & New Zealand
• South America
• C. America & Caribbean
• Middle East
• Politics Explained
• News Analysis
• Today’s Edition
• Climate 100
• Sustainable Living
• Climate Videos
• Solar Panels
• Behind The Headlines
• On The Ground
• Decomplicated
• You Ask The Questions
• Binge Watch
• Travel Smart
• Watch on your TV
• Crosswords & Puzzles
• Most Commented
• Newsletters
• Ask Me Anything
• Virtual Events
• Wine Offers
• Betting Sites
• Casino Sites

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in

Oscars 2022: From Frances McDormand to Halle Berry, eight of the best feminists speeches

As we gear up for the 94th annual academy awards, sabrina barr looks at the best feminist speeches from hollywood’s night of nights.

Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features

Get the independent women email for free.

E ntertainment awards shows have become renowned for highlighting political and social change as of late, with winners using their time on stage to raise awareness of important issues such as greater representation in film and gender equality.

The impact of Time’s Up was honoured at the 2018 Oscars , as numerous attendees wore special pins and badges to show support for the anti-sexual harassment and abuse movement.

Several significant feminist moments also occurred at the 2019 Golden Globes , including empowering speeches given by actors Glenn Close and Regina King on the subjects of women finding personal fulfilment and gender equality in film.

From Patricia Arquette to Sandra Bullock, here are eight of the best feminist speeches to have been delivered at the Oscars.

Frances McDormand pays tribute to all women working in the film industry (2018)

When Frances McDormand won the Best Actress Oscar in 2018 for her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri , the actor used her moment on stage to champion all women working in the film industry.

After expressing her gratitude towards writer and director Martin McDonagh, her sister Dorothy McDormand, her husband Joel Coen and their son Pedro McDormand Coen, McDormand then called for every female Academy Award nominee in the room to rise to their feet.

“And now I want to get some perspective. If I may be so honoured to have all the female nominees in every category stand with me in this room tonight, the actors – Meryl, if you do it, everybody else will, c’mon – the filmmakers, the producers, the directors, the writers, the cinematographer, the composers, the songwriters, the designers. C’mon!” she said.

“Okay, look around everybody. Look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed.”

McDormand ended her speech by urging for greater representation in Hollywood by using the term “ inclusion rider ”, which is when a cast and crew is contractually required to hire a diverse workforce.

Patricia Arquette demands equal pay in America (2015)

Patricia Arquette’s Best Supporting Actress win at the 2015 Academy Awards for her role in Boyhood was a long time coming, having filmed the coming-of-age drama over 12 years.

After thanking all the individuals involved in the film’s production in her speech, Arquette then proceeded to passionately discuss the need for equal pay in America.

“To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights,” the actor said.

“It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America.”

Arquette’s speech received rapturous applause, with stars including Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez captured on camera cheering in response.

Halle Berry makes history as first black woman to win Oscar for Best Actress (2002)

One of the most memorable Oscars moments of all time came in the form of Halle Berry’s 2002 acceptance speech, which she delivered after being awarded Best Actress for her performance in Monster’s Ball .

The enormity of the occasion wasn’t lost on Berry, whose sheer astonishment was apparent the second her name was read aloud by Russell Crowe.

As of 2018, Berry remains the only woman of African-American descent to have won the accolade.

The actor dedicated her award to all women of colour who may follow in her footsteps by making history.

“This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll,” Berry said.

“It’s for the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox. And it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of colour that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened. Thank you. I’m so honoured. I’m so honoured.”

Cate Blanchett highlights profits of female-led films (2014)

As Cate Blanchett stood on stage in 2014 to receive her Best Actress Oscar for her role in Blue Jasmine , she acknowledged the power that female-led films can have on cinemagoers.

After thanking the audiences who went to see the film, which depicts Blanchett as a Manhattan socialite going through financial difficulties, the actor expressed her appreciation for “those of us in the industry who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films with women at the centre are niche experiences. They are not.”

“Audiences want to see them and, in fact, they earn money,” she added, to resounding cheers from the star-studded audience. “The world is round, people.”

Sandra Bullock pays homage to the selfless mothers of the world (2010)

Last year marked a decade since the release of 2009 biographical drama The Blind Side .

The following year, Sandra Bullock won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy in the film, a woman who adopted a boy living in poverty and supported him as he embarked on a career in American football.

Bullock used her time on stage to express her appreciation for all mothers who care for children and young people regardless of their background, including Tuohy, who was sitting in the audience.

“I would like to thank what this film is about for me which are the mums that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they come from,” the actor said.

“Those mums and parents never get thanked.”

Bullock went on to also thank her own mother, Helga Mathilde Meyer, who passed away in 2000.

Emma Thompson thanks producer for questioning gender conventions (1996)

The 1995 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel 1811 Sense and Sensibility depicts several antiquated gender norms associated with women, such as the need to rely on men for economic stability.

Emma Thompson emphasised this fact in her acceptance speech for Best Adapted Screenplay, as she expressed her gratitude towards the film’s executive producer Sydney Pollack.

“[Thank you] to Sydney Pollack for asking all the right questions, like, ‘Why couldn’t these women go out and get a job?’ Why indeed’,” Thompson said, to the amusement of the audience.

Thompson also won the 1996 Academy Award for Best Actress in the film, becoming the first person to win an Oscar for both acting and writing.

Barbra Streisand announces Kathryn Bigelow as the first woman to win Best Director (2010)

In 1977, Lina Wertmüller became the first woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for Italian drama Seven Beauties .

However, it would be another 33 years until a female director walked away with the accolade.

In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the fourth woman to be nominated in the prestigious category and the first to come out on top, beating fellow nominees James Cameron, to whom she was previously married; Lee Daniels; Jason Reitman and Quentin Tarantino.

Before announcing the winner, presenter Streisand stressed the significance of the occasion.

“From among the five gifted nominees tonight, the winner could be – for the first time – a woman or it could be, also for the first time, an African American,” Streisand said.

As the singer opened the envelope and peered at the winner’s name, she paused dramatically, before saying: “Well the time has come,” a statement that prompted Bigelow to smile in nervous anticipation.

During her acceptance speech, Bigelow described her win as “the moment of a lifetime” before going on to dedicate her award to those serving in the military.

The film for which Bigelow won, war film The Hurt Locker , was nominated for nine Oscars in total and won six, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.

Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek and Annabella Sciorra praise the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements (2018)

During the 90th Academy Awards in 2018, the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements were at the forefront of the conversation.

Earlier that year, attendees at the Golden Globe Awards had followed a black dress code in solidarity with victims of sexual harassment and assault, an initiative led by the newly formed Time’s Up movement.

At the Oscars, actors Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek and Annabella Sciorra took to the stage to present a special presentation shining a spotlight on the Time’s Up movement and the importance of diversity in the film industry.

Judd said: “The changes we are witnessing are being driven by the powerful sound of new voices, of different voices, of our voices, joining together in a mighty chorus that is finally saying, ‘Time’s up’.”

Hayek then praised the “unstoppable spirits who kicked ass and broke through the biased perceptions against their gender, their race, and ethnicity to tell their stories”.

The trio’s speech received rapturous applause from the star-studded audience in the Dolby Theatre in California, US.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Best Oscar Speeches of 2022

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

This Action Epic With a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes Picks Up Where ‘Pachinko’ Leaves Off

I’m sorry but the kid at the start of 'a quiet place' deserved it, here’s why it took so long to make the ‘wicked’ movie.

The 2022 Academy Awards had a little of everything: comedy, drama, action – and that was during the live portion of the ceremony itself. It was a welcome return to a hosted event, the three and a half hours didn’t feel like three and a half hours, and, overall, it was one of the best Oscar telecasts in some time. There were a few quirks: playing ‘ Africa’ by Toto when Daniel Kaluuya and H.E.R. came out to present was an odd choice, to put it politely. However, as a celebration of film and the casts and crews of the year’s nominations, it succeeded, with acceptance speeches that were inspirational, joyful, and simply great. Here’s the best of the night.

RELATED: 10 Great Actors Who Have Never Been Nominated For An Oscar

Opening Monologue: Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall

After the success of a no-host format in 2020, and the lackluster no-host format of 2021, 2022 opted for not one but three hosts: Amy Schumer , Wanda Sykes , and Regina Hall . And it worked. Their opening monologue was practically flawless: truly witty, playful digs at the honored films, and thinly veiled shots at the industry (and a great one at Florida). The best quips: “This year the Academy hired three women to host, because it’s cheaper than one man.”; how tough Covid has been on people, with Timothee Chalamet looking particularly rough (cue shot of J.K. Simmons ); "This is kind of sad. You know what's in the in memoriam package this year? The Golden Globes."; “After years of Hollywood ignoring women’s stories, we finally got a movie about the Williams sisters’... dad.”

Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

The first award of the evening would present one of the best speeches of the night. Ariana DeBose was inspirational, a proudly queer woman of color expressing her gratitude for finding a home in the arts. You believed her when she said that dreams do come true in America.

Best Cinematography: Greig Fraser (Dune)

It wasn't stirring, but it was genuine, and sweet. Greig Fraser started by expressing his appreciation that the award was early in the show, so he could "get out and get to the bar." A promise to his mum that he'd return her call, and a thank you to his wife and kids for letting him play in sand dunes with his friends for six months.

Best Animated Feature: Byron Howard, Jared Bush, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer (Encanto)

Acknowledging the diversity of the characters in their film, and how all people could find someone they could relate to, was nice, and true. What set this speech apart, though, was how all four people respected each other enough to give equal time for them to thank their families, when most group winners have one or two that speak for everyone.

Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur (CODA)

A historical win, a moment that was special before Troy Kotsur even got onstage, with attendees waving their hands, the ASL equivalent of clapping, a moving show of respect. Kotsur then owned his moment. Overcome at first, he collected himself, and delivered a speech that was funny (a recount of a trip to the White House where he claimed Marlee Matlin wouldn't allow him to teach the President dirty words in ASL, and a call for Popeye sailors to eat their spinach) and moving (talking about how his dad was his hero).

Best Costume Design: Jenny Beavan (Cruella)

The best word here is humble . Jenny Beavan was thankful, gave a shout-out to the makeup and hair design team, calling them an invaluable part of the costume design process, and shared, "I think Emma Thompson hyperventilating over some of her fittings with joy was one of the highlights of my career." She then left the stage with the instantly quotable, "The great thing about a film like Cruella is that it does give a bit of fun and joy in these terrible times."

Best Adapted Screenplay: Sian Heder (CODA)

The first great self-deprecating shot at their choice in fashion for the evening: "I'm so glad I dressed as a disco ball." Sian Heder 's speech painted her as real, truly emotional and deeply humbled.

Best Film Editing: Joe Walker (Dune)

The speech was instantly relatable for anyone raising a teenager. Joe Walker 's deliver of, “You may not know, that ‘Oscar nominated,’ in the words of a skilled 17-year-old, can be used as an insult.” was one of the funniest and eerily most accurate statements of the night.

Best Original Song: Billie Eilish/Finneas O'Connell (No Time To Die)

Was it a great speech? No, but it was so refreshing to hear unpolished and real reactions from the brother and sister duo. Giggly, multiple "OMG"'s, Billie and Finneas were fun to watch, and the "we love you as parents, and as real people too" was endearingly sweet and funny.

Best Director Introduction: Kevin Costner

Jane Campion 's win was historic, but it would be the introduction speech by Kevin Costner that would be most memorable. Costner was riveting. He had the auditorium, and the viewing public, silenced as he delivered the tale of the impact that films, and those that directed them, had on him as a young man, and how that respect stayed with him. It was an actor elevating what he was given into something more than a traditional segue into, "and the winner is."

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)

Jessica Chastain delivered a powerful speech herself. What started as the typical thanks to cast, crew, and family, Chastain would double-down on Smith's call to be loving with a call to rise above hate and division, to help those feeling suicidal, those feeling cast aside because of their sexuality or gender. Her message to those hopeless and alone that "you are unconditionally loved, and loved for the uniqueness of being you" could have been trite, a bumper sticker philosophy, but instead it came across as personal, passionate, and sincere.

• Movie Features
• Academy Awards