Edward Lee's Speech: Employ, Empower Black America

The speech is called “Educate, Employ, Empower Black America” and was held in the Wicomico Room at GUC on November 14th at 7pm. Speaking was Edward Lee, the Worcester County NAACP President. He is a graduate of Cheyney University and served as a chair of the University’s Board of Directors. Also, Lee was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force. The main topic of the speech was youth education and the future for Black America. The central idea of the speech was well communicated. Lee spoke with a great passion for young African-Americans. His audience was well suited for this speech. Every person in the room showed interest in the guidance he was giving. Lee talked about his experiences in college and the things he had to go through to get where he is today. He also talked about his mentor, Malcolm X, and how he was an enormous impact in the NAACP President’s life. As Lee brought up new ideas in his speech, he would support it by giving an example from his own life. He did not use visuals. There was a flier handed out when you walked in but Lee did not reference it at all. In the very beginning, before Mr. Lee had begun speaking, he came around to everyone in the audience to shake their hands and introduce himself. This set a comfortable atmosphere for people to ask questions and spark a conversation with him. After he came over to shake my hand, he seemed much less intimidating.
The speech was organized by each step a young person can take that can change the future of America. In order, the steps were getting an education, making changes, and developing skills to succeed. While listening to his speech and his support for each step, it was realized he had the last two steps out of order. Despite that minor faux pas, he did not lose interest from his audience. It was clearly sectioned and he spent an equal amount of time talking about each idea. He started off by talking about his personal relationship with Malcolm X. When he talked about his day at a museum with the civil rights activist when he was a boy, the whole right side of the room stopped writing, texting, and talking and immediately gave him their undivided attention. The themes of education and the future of America were well maintained throughout the speech. At times, he would get off track from his notes, start adlibbing but then stop himself and go back to what he had previously written. At the end, the speaker summed up all of the points he made and re-emphasized the theme. Before the summary, he was still expanding on one of the ideas and it seemed like he cut off what he was going to say and then quickly concluded. Edward Lee expressed passion and determination for this topic.
He brought up the many accomplishments of African-Americans in the United States. He spent a lot of time referencing President Barrack Obama and the recent election. Personal involvement and interest was certainly indicated by the speaker by bringing up relevant past experiences throughout the entire lecture. His sentences were clear but if he felt as though they were not, Lee would go back and explain what he meant. His diction also expressed passion and seriousness because he occasionally used
profanity. The speaker’s voice was well projected. The people sitting in the last row could hear him perfectly without a microphone. He sometimes paused randomly, thought to himself, and then brought up a different topic. It seemed as if he paused because he was heading in a direction he did not mean to go in. Lee was genuine in his speech. He showed confidence and enthusiasm. He stood upright at the podium at all times. He utilized his notes but then would get somewhat distracted from them because of the flow of people’s questions. Lee addressed every question he was asked to answer by UAS with detail. Students also asked many questions and were mentally and verbally involved in his speech. Lee established good eye contact with the students and turned his speech into a conversation. To make himself even more relatable to the audience, he moved the podium two to three feet closer to us compared to where it had originally been standing. Throughout the entirety of the lecture, Lee stayed on topic, gave support for his ideas, ` established a relationship with his audience, and taught them how influential it can be to make a difference. Overall, Edward Lee gave an excellent speech on how the importance of education and how young African-Americans can impact the future of this country.