Yo soy Lempira, perdido en un mundo llena de odio

I am… Lempira, lost in a world of hate

Caught within the norms society presses upon me

The battle I have fought against culture-destroying villains

Unity between various tribes of my native Honduras

And my attempts to lead a great nation into success

All fall to depths of the universe in vain

No amount of bloodshed equals to hate bestowed upon humanity itself

For blood drips for hate

And hate yearns to drop some more

My beautiful landscape of endless seas and coconut trees seem to be seized

By a common enemy, my own men

The battles we once fought to protect our land

Are now taken for granted as the only land you fight for is the block around your ‘hood

Mi Bella Honduras

When did you stop being that and turn into the murder capital of the world?

I was awakened from my slumber only to see the dreams I dreamt of

Slaughtered by the very people I wished it for

What makes you any better than the Spaniards who killed thousands of my brethren?

For now you are the very killer of your brethren

My people, when did we stop being a nation of white and blue

And become a nation of red rivers?

I am… Martin Luther King Jr.

It seems some of you may have forgotten my dream

The nation we strived to build

With equality for everyone

Justice being served

In the highest form and an overall safe environment

The first steps were taken

Many others including myself were the first to climb these steps

Paving the way for many to follow

But after years the steps became ever more silent

We believed this ladder no longer needed to be climbed

So you got comfortable

And as time passed by we believed racism had too

We became oblivious to the fact people still suffered

And made excuses for defending these racists

But it seems now more than ever it is time to make a stand

Because it’s one thing for your neighbor to hate you

But it’s even worse when it could be your police department, the government, and maybe

Even our next president

We need to wake up as a people

As a nation… it is time for our dreams to be awakened

And for steps to be taken

From Rodney King to Trayvon Martin

And so on

Never let them tell you that your life does not matter

Because the dream I had was not alone mine

But of everyone who lived during my time period

And all of you who stand before me today

We have a dream …

I am… not what or who you probably think I am

You are probably thinking just ‘cuz I’m up here I got enough credentials to strike fear

Oh look he’s smart, he’s giving a speech

Dude’s gotta have all A’s

At least probably going off to some nice college the way he’s dropping knowledge

Lighting this room up like it’s phosphorus

But honest and truthfully doubt I’m going straight into a university

Below average was the score I got on my SAT

But maybe he has something going for him for real

But the only thing I got going for me is court letters in the mail

Ever since I been on the Becca Bill

You see, that’s my deal

Who cares if I’m giving you a speech that can change your life

Because in their eyes I’ll always be that kid with a 2.2 GPA

The kid with mistakes engraved within his name

The kid proving Latino stereotypes and becoming a disgrace

Just another stat in their dropout rates

The kid who doesn’t bother showing up anyway

Missing more than 200 days since the day he became a freshman

It’s deeper than racism nowadays

You’re judged by what you wear the style of your hair

The way you speak everything from your head to your feet

So you see I might not ever have a 4.0

But I do have a 4 point soul

Because I believe that we should not be judged by our skin color,

What we decide to do with our lives, our grades, attendance

The amount of times we’ve done something productive in our lives

The mistakes we’ve made, what we can bring to the plate

What we decided to wear, how we decide to look

And how we decide to feel

‘cuz at the end of the day

If you are happy then nothing can ever get in your way

I want to tell you that your skin color does not define what type of person you are

That your grades do not define your true intelligence

That anything that anyone has to say about you doesn’t matter

Because what really matters is who you really are

I want you to see life not with your eyes but with your soul

With compassion, and ever so striving to reach the next level

Wherever it may be

I am not telling you to drop out,

I am not telling you to stop working hard

I am telling you to keep fighting the good fight

Because success is only a reflection of your true might

In no way am I trying to disrespect those with amazing credentials

I just want you to remember to live life to its fullest potential

Be proud of who you are

And what you look like

My great ancestor, chief of the Lencas, Lempira

I only hope to bring change to this world

As you did with our Honduras, wherever it may be

I shall succeed

I might not be the best in the eyes of society

But I will bring peace and prosperity

I will unite these lands and the people of the world

Thank you for waking me up, Martin Luther King Jr

The most influential person who has ever set foot in the United States

I promise along with the rest of the students at TJ

Along with the rest of the kids of our generation

To continue your footsteps

We believe in your dream

As you once believed in a life

Where we could all live happily

Your death has not been in vain

For the world still remembers your name

And the lessons that came with it

We will keep climbing the ladder

And shouting out Black Lives Matter!

One day of celebration is not enough to honor you entirely

But now we know

It is not by the color of your skin

Nor the mistakes you’ve made

That anybody should be entitled to any opinion over you

Live life and keep on dreaming

What matters most is how you see yourself

And who you truly are inside

I hope today has inspired you to find out who you are

‘cus you’re damn right

I am Christopher Hernandez