you will -- you are well on your way to becoming part of what w.e.b. deboyce called the talented tenth. i've heard about this my entire life, the talented ten. the men and women he believed would emerge as the leaders of the black people. imagine if he were here today beholding the sight i am privileged to see from this podium. he would be proud and pleased beyond all belief. deboyce would be proud, too, of the great strides that black america has made in the past century. some of us have gained great political power and amassed great economic wealth. we have suck seeded in every facet of american life -- sports and the arts, government, religion, business, academia, the military. we even have a black president. yet the work of the talented tenth is far from done. as we sit here, there are more black men in prison than there are in college. more than 80% of black and hispanic children cannot read or do math at grade level. you can add to the list of disparities that lead to an unmistakable conclusion. as my friend and mentor vernon jordan likes to say, you can