Gravely imparts ‘Yes, I can’ attitude to CCMS students

Even though young people today comprise the most technologically gifted generation, information readily available in cyberspace must be combined with staying in school and getting an education.

Those words summed up the advice Jack W. Gravely imparted to Charles City Middle School students during the school’s black history program last Thursday.

Gravely, the former state director for Virginia’s NAACP, was keynote speaker for “Keeping the Dream Alive: Bridging the Gap Between the Past and the Present.” He opened his remarks to the students by drawing a comparison between getting an education and survival of the fittest on the African plains.

“The lion wakes up every morning knowing he must run faster than the fastest gazelle. The gazelle wakes up every morning knowing he must run faster than the fastest lion. If you wake up in Charles City County today, you better be running to get an education.”

He told the students they have more information and opportunities before them than what was afforded their parents and grandparents.

“Information is power, young folk. Education is power,” he said, adding they will most likely live longer than their parents and have the ability to go more places.

“Don’t tell me that because you’re from Charles City County you can’t go to the moon or you can’t go to Mars,” he said.

Black history, he noted, is not just about famous people from the past and their accomplishments. It also involves competency, integrity, commitment, and compassion.

“Competency is your ability to do things and do it well. Get all you can out of the classroom,” he said, sticking to his education theme.

“If you stay in school and get something in your head, you can be somebody,” he said.

“You must believe in yourself no matter where you come from and say ‘Yes, I can,’” he said, urging the students to stand and repeat those three words.

“Always believe ‘Yes, I can.’”