Speeches / page 14

Ruth Bader Ginsburg
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Remarks on the Value of Diversity - July 17, 2009
July 17, 2009
Excerpt of Justice Ginsburg's keynote speech at the 2009 graduation ceremony at Sciences Po (Paris Institute of Political Studies). Members of the faculty, graduating students and their families, and friends of Sciences Po, I am glad to speak at this celebration. I have read of Sciences Po’s initiative to achieve excellence in diversity, made a priority by President Descoings. Through that initiative, talented students from all quarters of French society are drawn to this great school. The design is to deepen the complexion and life experiences of the student body […]
Ursula K. Le Guin
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
A Left-Handed Commencement Address - May 22, 1983
May 22, 1983
I want to thank the Mills College Class of ’83 for offering me a rare chance: to speak aloud in public in the language of women. I know there are men graduating, and I don’t mean to exclude them, far from it. There is a Greek tragedy where the Greek says to the foreigner, “If you don’t understand Greek, please signify by nodding.” Anyhow, commencements are usually operated under the unspoken agreement that everybody graduating is either male or ought to be. That’s why we are all wearing these twelfth-century […]
Kathy Hochul
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Commencement Address at University at Albany - May 14, 2022
May 15, 2022
Good morning graduates, are we fired up today or what? Oh, I can feel the energy. What an exciting day for you. And first of all, to your parents, you can finally put away the checkbooks, the money is yours. You don't have to send it off to this institution. Go have a good time, go to Disney World, whatever you're going to do once these kids are gone. So, to parents and family members, you've also been on this journey, and you inspired in your children and your loved […]
Angela Davis
Speeches
Speech delivered at the Embassy Auditorium, June 9, 1972
June 9, 1972
It's really a wonderful feeling to be back among the people. [applause, cheers] To be back among all of you who fought so long and so hard, among all of you who actually achieved my freedom. And I really wish you could have been there in the courtroom at the moment when those three "not guilty" verdicts were pronounced, because that victory was just as much yours as it was mine. ["Right on!" applause] And as we laughed and cried, these were expressions of our joy as we witnessed what […]
Harriet Tubman
Speeches
"Rooted Here" - August 2, 1859
August 2, 1859
. . . of a man who sowed onions and garlic on his land to increase his dairy productions; but he soon found the butter was strong and would not sell, and so he concluded to sow clover instead. But he soon found the wind had blown the onions and garlic all over his field. Just so, the white people had got the nigger here to do their drudgery, and now they were trying to root ‘em out and send ‘em back to Africa. But they can’t do it; we’re […]
Katie Britt
Speeches
Republican Response to the State of the Union Address - March 7, 2024
March 7, 2024
Good evening, America. My name is Katie Britt, and I have the honor of serving the people of the great state of Alabama in the United States Senate. However, that’s not the job that matters most. I’m a proud wife and mom of two school-aged kids. My daughter, Bennett, and my son, Ridgeway, are why I ran for the Senate. I am worried about their future – and the future of children in every corner of our nation. That’s why I invited you into our home tonight. Like so many […]
Kelly Ayotte
Speeches
Speech at Woodbury School's Veterans Day Program - Nov. 3, 2023
November 3, 2023
Well, Principal, I really appreciate being here and I love the new gym. So congratulations to everyone from Salem, Superintendent Palmer, all your hard work. This is a beautiful facility. And it's amazing that you have your your family here and your grandfather. Thank you for what you've done for us. And as I look around this room, I really appreciate everyone who's here, Senator Hasson Senator Morse. Our Adjutant General, General Mikolaities, this is a wonderful ceremony. And it's always so special to be here at Woodbury school. But […]
Nikki Haley
categories: Campaign Speech, Speeches
Caucus Night Remarks - Jan. 15, 2024
January 15, 2024
You can’t do it unless you have a faith and God is so good. I want to say to my husband who is deployed, who I know may or may not be watching this right now. Michael, I love you. And what keeps me going is I know we sleep under the same stars. So I to say to Rena, and Josh, and Nalin, I am so proud of you. The best job I will always have is being your mom. I want to thank my parents who are at […]
Kyrsten Sinema
Speeches
Announcing Retirement from the U.S. Senate - March 5, 2024
March 5, 2024
In 2017, I warned we were approaching a crossroads. Our democracy was weakened by government dysfunction and the constant pull to the extremes by both political parties. I promised I would do my best to fix it, to protect and defend our constitution, to listen to others without judging, to focus on what unites us, and to make Americans lives better through listening, understanding, and compromise. We delivered tangible results that make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous. Yet, despite modernizing our infrastructure, ensuring clean water, delivering good jobs and […]
Jeannette Rankin
Speeches
"Woman Suffrage" - Jan. 10, 1918
January 10, 1918
Mr. Speaker, we are facing today a question of political evolution. International circumstances have forced this question to an issue. Our country is in a state of war. The Nation has had a terrible shock. The result has been a sudden change in our national consciousness. The things we have for years been taking for granted are suddenly assuming a new significance for us. We as a Nation were born in a land of unparalleled resources, of vast acreage of fertile soil, of minerals, of coal, oil, gas, of timber, […]