The danger of silence | Clint Smith | TED

Summary

In a powerful speech, a teacher reflects on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message about the consequences of silence. Emphasizing the importance of speaking out against discrimination and violence, the teacher shares their journey of challenging students to explore and break their silences through poetry. They highlight the significance of honesty and courage in addressing social issues and personal experiences. The teacher resolves to live every day using their voice to fight injustice, encouraging others to do the same, and creating a safe space for students to express their truths.

Takeaways

• 🗣️ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. emphasized the importance of addressing the silence of friends over the words of enemies.
• 📝 As a teacher, the speaker encourages students to explore and voice their silences through poetry.
• 🔍 The classroom culture focuses on four core principles: read critically, write consciously, speak clearly, and tell your truth.
• 🗯️ The speaker emphasizes the importance of telling one's truth and being honest about personal failures in speaking up.
• 🛑 The speaker shares a personal story about giving up speaking during Lent and realizing the value of using one's voice.
• 😔 The speaker recounts moments of silence in the face of injustice, like ignoring a bullied classmate and avoiding interaction with a homeless man.
• 💬 The speaker criticizes the societal tendency to remain silent in uncomfortable situations, equating silence with complicity.
• ⚖️ Silence is described as a consequence of fear and privilege, leading to the perpetuation of discrimination and violence.
• 📢 The speaker resolves to break the silence by actively engaging and speaking up in the face of injustice.
• 🙏 The final message encourages living with the courage to speak up, using one's voice as a tool for change and human connection.

Q & A

What message did Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. convey in his 1968 speech that the teacher internalized?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated that we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends, emphasizing the importance of speaking up against injustice.

How does the teacher challenge students to confront silence in their lives?

The teacher encourages students to explore the silences in their lives through poetry, working together to fill those spaces and understand that they don't have to be sources of shame.

What are the four core principles the teacher has posted on the classroom board?

The four core principles are: read critically, write consciously, speak clearly, and tell your truth.

Why did the teacher give up speaking during Lent?

The teacher believed that the most valuable thing to sacrifice was their own voice, not realizing that they had already been silent in many aspects of their life.

What personal failures did the teacher admit to their students?

The teacher admitted to failing to speak up when Christian was beaten up for being gay, ignoring a homeless man's need for affirmation, and biting their lip when a woman at a gala made a derogatory comment about their students.

How does the teacher describe the consequences of silence?

The teacher describes silence as the residue of fear, a manifestation of discrimination, violence, genocide, and war, and something that can endorse ignorance without words.

What does the teacher plan to do differently instead of giving something up during Lent?

Instead of giving something up, the teacher plans to live every day as if there were a microphone under their tongue, ready to speak up and use their voice.

What does the teacher believe about the power of speaking up?

The teacher believes that speaking up is powerful and necessary, as it can validate the existence of issues and help fight against injustice and ignorance.

How does the teacher plan to support Christian after his incident?

The teacher plans to tell Christian that he is a lion, a sanctuary of bravery and brilliance, acknowledging his courage and strength.

What does the teacher intend to do when encountering the homeless man again?

The teacher intends to ask the homeless man his name and how his day was, showing empathy and recognizing his humanity.

How does the teacher respond to the woman's comment about their students at the fundraising gala?

The teacher plans to correct the woman's misconception, informing her that their students are intelligent and knowledgeable, and that watching one episode of a TV show does not make her an expert on their lives.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Embracing Silence in the Classroom

The speaker, a teacher, begins by reflecting on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s words about the impact of silence, particularly the silence of friends during times of struggle. The teacher emphasizes the importance of recognizing and addressing silence in various forms of discrimination and violence. In the classroom, they encourage students to explore their own silences through poetry, aiming to create a safe environment where sharing personal experiences is encouraged. The teacher has four core principles posted in the classroom: read critically, write consciously, speak clearly, and tell your truth. The speaker acknowledges the need to live by these principles themselves, sharing personal experiences of failing to speak up in the past.

Keywords

💡Silence

Silence in the video is portrayed as a harmful and passive response to injustice and suffering. It is defined as the absence of speech or sound, but contextually, it represents inaction and complicity in the face of discrimination, violence, and other societal wrongs. The speaker highlights how silence contributes to perpetuating these issues, using examples like the Rwandan genocide and Hurricane Katrina to illustrate its destructive power.

💡Fear

Fear is described as a paralyzing force that prevents individuals from speaking out against injustice. It is the emotional response to threats or danger, often leading to silence and inaction. The speaker relates fear to personal experiences, such as the reluctance to confront prejudice or support those being marginalized, emphasizing its role in maintaining the status quo.

💡Voice

Voice symbolizes the power and responsibility to speak up against injustices. It is the medium through which individuals express their thoughts, opinions, and truths. The speaker's narrative stresses the importance of reclaiming one's voice to challenge societal issues, recounting personal anecdotes where they failed to do so and vowing to be more vocal in the future.

💡Truth

Truth refers to the act of being honest and authentic in one's speech and actions. It is a fundamental principle in the speaker's teaching philosophy, encouraging students to tell their own truths and confront uncomfortable realities. The speaker underscores the significance of truth-telling in fostering a supportive and inclusive classroom environment.

💡Discrimination

Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people. It is highlighted as one of the major consequences of silence. The speaker provides examples, such as the attack on a student for being gay and the derogatory remarks about their students, to illustrate how silence enables discriminatory behaviors to persist.

💡Sacrifice

Sacrifice in the script refers to giving up something valuable for a greater cause. The speaker discusses their personal experience of sacrificing their voice during Lent, using it as a metaphor for the larger, unintentional sacrifices people make by remaining silent. This concept is linked to the idea of giving up one's comfort to speak out against injustices.

💡Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. The speaker emphasizes the need for empathy in addressing the silences that surround us. Examples include engaging with the homeless man and recognizing the humanity in others. The speaker's call to ask about the homeless man's day demonstrates the practical application of empathy.

💡Injustice

Injustice refers to the lack of fairness or equity in society. It encompasses various forms of discrimination, violence, and inequality. The video script addresses multiple instances of injustice, such as the physical assault of a student and the systemic issues highlighted by events like Katrina. The speaker urges breaking the silence to combat these injustices.

💡Conscience

Conscience is the inner sense of what is right and wrong that guides a person's actions. The speaker reflects on their struggle to be their own conscience, recognizing the importance of standing up for what is right despite personal fears. This self-awareness and moral reflection are key to understanding the broader message of the video about taking responsibility.

💡Education

Education is portrayed as a means to empower individuals to challenge silence and speak their truths. The speaker, as a teacher, uses poetry and core principles to help students explore and express their experiences. This concept underscores the role of educators in fostering critical thinking and encouraging students to engage with difficult social issues.

Highlights

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. quote on the importance of remembering the silence of friends over the words of enemies.

The teacher reflects on the consequences of silence in the form of discrimination, violence, genocide, and war.

Encourages students to explore the silences in their lives through poetry, working to fill and understand those spaces.

Four core principles posted in the classroom: read critically, write consciously, speak clearly, tell your truth.

The teacher shares a personal story about giving up speaking during Lent, realizing they had already sacrificed their voice.

Admits to failing to speak up against ignorance and discrimination in the past, including not defending a gay classmate.

Emphasizes the importance of using one's voice to challenge ignorance and support those in need.

Reflects on the impact of silence in various tragic events like the Rwandan genocide and Hurricane Katrina.

States that silence is the residue of fear and that it allows ignorance and injustice to persist.

The teacher resolves to live every day as if there were a microphone under their tongue, ready to speak up.

Plans to engage with marginalized individuals, like the homeless man, by asking their name and showing humanity.

Commits to correcting misconceptions about their students, challenging stereotypes with evidence of their intelligence.

Expresses the belief that one doesn't need a soapbox to make a difference, only their voice.

Highlights the importance of telling one's truth, both for the teacher and the students.

Concludes with a powerful message about the value of speaking up and using one's voice to create change.

Transcripts

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,

in a 1968 speech where he reflects upon the Civil Rights Movement,

states, "In the end,

we will remember not the words of our enemies

but the silence of our friends."

As a teacher, I've internalized this message.

Every day, all around us,

we see the consequences of silence

manifest themselves in the form of discrimination,

violence, genocide and war.

In the classroom, I challenge my students

to explore the silences in their own lives

through poetry.

We work together to fill those spaces,

to recognize them, to name them,

to understand that they don't have to be sources of shame.

In an effort to create a culture within my classroom

where students feel safe sharing the intimacies

of their own silences,

I have four core principles posted on the board

that sits in the front of my class,

which every student signs at the beginning of the year:

read critically, write consciously,

speak clearly, tell your truth.

And I find myself thinking a lot about that last point,

tell your truth.

And I realized that

if I was going to ask my students to speak up,

I was going to have to tell my truth

and be honest with them about the times

where I failed to do so.

So I tell them that growing up,

as a kid in a Catholic family in New Orleans,

during Lent I was always taught

that the most meaningful thing one could do

was to give something up,

sacrifice something you typically indulge in

to prove to God you understand his sanctity.

I've given up soda, McDonald's, French fries,

French kisses, and everything in between.

But one year, I gave up speaking.

I figured the most valuable thing I could sacrifice

was my own voice, but it was like I hadn't realized

that I had given that up a long time ago.

I spent so much of my life

telling people the things they wanted to hear

instead of the things they needed to,

told myself I wasn't meant to be anyone's conscience

because I still had to figure out being my own,

so sometimes I just wouldn't say anything,

appeasing ignorance with my silence,

unaware that validation doesn't need words

to endorse its existence.

When Christian was beat up for being gay,

I put my hands in my pocket

and walked with my head down as if I didn't even notice.

I couldn't use my locker for weeks because the bolt on the lock

reminded me of the one I had put on my lips

when the homeless man on the corner

looked at me with eyes up merely searching

for an affirmation that he was worth seeing.

I was more concerned with touching the screen on my Apple

than actually feeding him one.

When the woman at the fundraising gala

said "I'm so proud of you.

It must be so hard teaching those poor, unintelligent kids,"

I bit my lip, because apparently we needed her money

more than my students needed their dignity.

We spend so much time

listening to the things people are saying

that we rarely pay attention to the things they don't.

Silence is the residue of fear.

It is feeling your flaws

gut-wrench guillotine your tongue.

It is the air retreating from your chest

because it doesn't feel safe in your lungs.

Silence is Rwandan genocide. Silence is Katrina.

It is what you hear when there aren't enough body bags left.

It is the sound after the noose is already tied.

It is charring. It is chains. It is privilege. It is pain.

There is no time to pick your battles

when your battles have already picked you.

I will not let silence wrap itself around my indecision.

I will tell Christian that he is a lion,

a sanctuary of bravery and brilliance.

I will ask that homeless man what his name is

and how his day was, because sometimes

all people want to be is human.

I will tell that woman that my students can talk about

transcendentalism like their last name was Thoreau,

and just because you watched one episode of "The Wire"

doesn't mean you know anything about my kids.

So this year,

instead of giving something up,

I will live every day as if there were a microphone

tucked under my tongue,

a stage on the underside of my inhibition.

Because who has to have a soapbox

when all you've ever needed is your voice?

Thank you.

(Applause)