0:00:01.260,0:00:07.607
At 7:45 a.m., I open the doors to a building

0:00:07.607,0:00:12.515
dedicated to building, yet only breaks me down.

0:00:12.515,0:00:16.725
I march down hallways cleaned up after me every day

0:00:16.725,0:00:19.922
by regular janitors,

0:00:19.922,0:00:24.094
but I never have the decency to honor their names.

0:00:24.094,0:00:27.262
Lockers left open like teenage boys' mouths

0:00:27.262,0:00:29.813
when teenage girls wear clothes that covers

0:00:29.813,0:00:34.652
their insecurities but exposes everything else.

0:00:34.652,0:00:38.470
Masculinity mimicked by men who grew up with no fathers,

0:00:38.470,0:00:42.312
camouflage worn by bullies who are dangerously armed

0:00:42.312,0:00:43.671
but need hugs.

0:00:43.671,0:00:46.939
Teachers paid less than what it costs them to be here.

0:00:46.939,0:00:50.605
Oceans of adolescents come here to receive lessons

0:00:50.605,0:00:52.874
but never learn to swim,

0:00:52.874,0:00:55.016
part like the Red Sea when the bell rings.

0:00:55.016,0:00:57.794
This is a training ground.

0:00:57.794,0:01:00.101
My high school is Chicago,

0:01:00.101,0:01:03.362
diverse and segregated on purpose.

0:01:03.362,0:01:06.875
Social lines are barbed wire.

0:01:06.875,0:01:12.131
Labels like "Regulars" and "Honors" resonate.

0:01:12.131,0:01:16.515
I am an Honors but go home with Regular students

0:01:16.515,0:01:19.883
who are soldiers in territory that owns them.

0:01:19.883,0:01:23.537
This is a training ground to sort out the Regulars

0:01:23.537,0:01:25.795
from the Honors, a reoccurring cycle

0:01:25.795,0:01:29.581
built to recycle the trash of this system.

0:01:29.581,0:01:32.575
Trained at a young age to capitalize,

0:01:32.575,0:01:35.579
letters taught now that capitalism raises you

0:01:35.579,0:01:38.428
but you have to step on someone else to get there.

0:01:38.428,0:01:41.621
This is a training ground where one group

0:01:41.621,0:01:44.528
is taught to lead and the other is made to follow.

0:01:44.528,0:01:47.163
No wonder so many of my people spit bars,

0:01:47.163,0:01:50.027
because the truth is hard to swallow.

0:01:50.027,0:01:54.296
The need for degrees has left so many people frozen.

0:01:54.296,0:01:56.436
Homework is stressful,

0:01:56.436,0:01:59.036
but when you go home every day and your home is work,

0:01:59.036,0:02:01.013
you don't want to pick up any assignments.

0:02:01.013,0:02:02.987
Reading textbooks is stressful,

0:02:02.987,0:02:05.243
but reading does not matter when you feel

0:02:05.243,0:02:07.299
your story is already written,

0:02:07.299,0:02:09.375
either dead or getting booked.

0:02:09.375,0:02:12.200
Taking tests is stressful,

0:02:12.200,0:02:14.788
but bubbling in a Scantron does not stop

0:02:14.788,0:02:16.979
bullets from bursting.

0:02:16.979,0:02:21.564
I hear education systems are failing,

0:02:21.564,0:02:24.106
but I believe they're succeeding at what they're built to do --

0:02:24.106,0:02:26.244
to train you, to keep you on track,

0:02:26.244,0:02:29.550
to track down an American dream that has failed

0:02:29.550,0:02:33.484
so many of us all.

0:02:33.508,0:02:40.770
(Applause)