1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:08,950 William Mary Law School is the first 3 00:00:08,950 --> 00:00:11,350 law school in the United States , and 4 00:00:11,350 --> 00:00:13,610 it's part of William and Mary , one of 5 00:00:13,610 --> 00:00:16,350 the oldest universities in the country . 6 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,300 E was selected as the first black dean 7 00:00:20,310 --> 00:00:22,477 of this law school , and they've never 8 00:00:22,477 --> 00:00:24,699 had an African American servas , a dean 9 00:00:24,699 --> 00:00:26,366 of any of the schools at this 10 00:00:26,366 --> 00:00:28,532 university . I was raised by my father 11 00:00:28,532 --> 00:00:31,020 and my my grandfather , uh , to put 12 00:00:31,030 --> 00:00:33,740 excellence first , and it's about doing 13 00:00:33,740 --> 00:00:36,500 your best . So when I accomplish things , 14 00:00:36,510 --> 00:00:38,950 the focus that I want there to be , 15 00:00:38,950 --> 00:00:41,061 that this was an accomplishment based 16 00:00:41,061 --> 00:00:44,320 on merit . That's a sign of progress 17 00:00:44,330 --> 00:00:47,370 when you have instances like myself and 18 00:00:47,370 --> 00:00:50,140 others who breaking through barriers 19 00:00:50,150 --> 00:00:52,261 that gives people hope that there has 20 00:00:52,261 --> 00:00:54,428 been changed . We're a country where a 21 00:00:54,428 --> 00:00:56,539 significant part of our population is 22 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,600 descendants of formerly enslaved people , 23 00:00:59,610 --> 00:01:01,666 including myself . That's part of my 24 00:01:01,666 --> 00:01:05,250 legacy . William and Mary was 25 00:01:05,260 --> 00:01:08,740 started in Williamsburg , which was 26 00:01:08,750 --> 00:01:11,220 founded in slavery , not too far from 27 00:01:11,220 --> 00:01:13,553 Jamestown , where the first slaves , uh , 28 00:01:13,553 --> 00:01:15,620 came to the United States . You have 29 00:01:15,630 --> 00:01:18,850 this university that had slave labor 30 00:01:20,940 --> 00:01:24,070 they never contemplated to have one of 31 00:01:24,070 --> 00:01:26,380 the descendants of the slaves become a 32 00:01:26,380 --> 00:01:28,550 leader of this institution . That's 33 00:01:28,550 --> 00:01:30,606 always been attention for me when we 34 00:01:30,606 --> 00:01:32,740 have an institution like William and 35 00:01:32,740 --> 00:01:35,640 Mary selecting a black dean for the 36 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:39,190 first time alongside a situation where 37 00:01:39,190 --> 00:01:42,630 you have numerous members of the black 38 00:01:42,630 --> 00:01:46,110 community suffering in many ways we've 39 00:01:46,110 --> 00:01:49,840 come so far , but we have so far to 40 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:51,951 go . They've definitely been a lot of 41 00:01:51,951 --> 00:01:55,720 highs and lows in 2020 . It's been the 42 00:01:55,730 --> 00:01:57,900 Rockets year I know I've lived in . 43 00:01:58,020 --> 00:01:59,964 It's heart wrenching , sometimes a 44 00:01:59,964 --> 00:02:02,580 black parent having to explain . How 45 00:02:02,580 --> 00:02:06,450 can this be ? I listen to 46 00:02:06,450 --> 00:02:08,561 my grandfather tell me the stories of 47 00:02:08,561 --> 00:02:11,020 what he went through , my father or my 48 00:02:11,020 --> 00:02:12,853 mother , both of them grew up in 49 00:02:12,853 --> 00:02:15,076 segregation , and they had to deal with 50 00:02:15,076 --> 00:02:17,242 indignities and disrespect that I just 51 00:02:17,242 --> 00:02:19,300 I just couldn't imagine . You can't 52 00:02:19,300 --> 00:02:22,560 deny that there has been progress , so 53 00:02:22,570 --> 00:02:25,280 I always like to start with . There has 54 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,910 been great progress . My grandfather 55 00:02:27,910 --> 00:02:30,650 was a first in his field , being the 56 00:02:30,650 --> 00:02:32,650 first African American professor at 57 00:02:32,650 --> 00:02:36,040 Notre Dame . My father was the first 58 00:02:36,050 --> 00:02:38,380 African American federal judge in the 59 00:02:38,380 --> 00:02:41,020 state of Virginia , and both of those 60 00:02:41,020 --> 00:02:42,964 things were achieved through their 61 00:02:42,964 --> 00:02:46,170 merit and their hard work , and I've 62 00:02:46,170 --> 00:02:49,060 done the same thing . Benjamin is 63 00:02:49,070 --> 00:02:52,950 absolutely the epitome of his ancestors 64 00:02:52,950 --> 00:02:56,670 dreams . He's the perfect person for 65 00:02:56,670 --> 00:02:59,850 this position , and then he's a black 66 00:02:59,860 --> 00:03:03,070 man . He's excellent at everything he 67 00:03:03,070 --> 00:03:05,600 does . He's not gonna do anything 68 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,380 halfway . Pretty good . His best . He's 69 00:03:09,380 --> 00:03:11,491 gonna do the best . We say it all the 70 00:03:11,491 --> 00:03:14,160 time to the kids . You do your best . 71 00:03:14,540 --> 00:03:17,140 We expect excellence because you come 72 00:03:17,140 --> 00:03:19,900 from excellence . You owe it to your 73 00:03:19,900 --> 00:03:23,030 ancestors . I have a long legacy of 74 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,760 Army service . I'm 1/4 generation 75 00:03:26,140 --> 00:03:29,860 person who has served in the Army . My 76 00:03:29,860 --> 00:03:33,250 great grandfather was in the Army 77 00:03:33,250 --> 00:03:36,010 during World War One . His son , my 78 00:03:36,010 --> 00:03:39,410 grandfather , was in the Army and 79 00:03:39,410 --> 00:03:42,040 fought in World War two . Then my 80 00:03:42,050 --> 00:03:45,330 father , he was in the Army and he was 81 00:03:45,330 --> 00:03:47,441 in the JAG corps . This commitment to 82 00:03:47,441 --> 00:03:49,630 selfless services , how I was raised 83 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,150 and the examples that I had around me 84 00:03:53,140 --> 00:03:55,470 for the Army Reserve . I worked for the 85 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:57,591 government Appellate Division . As an 86 00:03:57,591 --> 00:04:00,040 appellate attorney , I represent the 87 00:04:00,050 --> 00:04:03,280 Army in criminal appeals . The motto of 88 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,560 the Jack cores soldiers first lawyers 89 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,360 Always . What's great about the reserve 90 00:04:09,140 --> 00:04:12,020 is that it augments the operational 91 00:04:12,030 --> 00:04:15,060 army with people who are bringing 92 00:04:15,060 --> 00:04:18,480 experience from outside of the military 93 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:20,591 and from their civilian jobs and from 94 00:04:20,591 --> 00:04:24,290 all walks of life in 2015 is when I 95 00:04:24,290 --> 00:04:26,630 swore in , I was dramatically over the 96 00:04:26,630 --> 00:04:30,160 weight and had to spend time exercising . 97 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,216 Took me about a year and a half , 18 98 00:04:32,216 --> 00:04:34,271 months . Thio lose the weight and to 99 00:04:34,271 --> 00:04:37,350 get in shape , I had Thio go through 100 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:40,510 the direct commission course , the vast 101 00:04:40,510 --> 00:04:42,621 majority . These people were 24 or 25 102 00:04:42,621 --> 00:04:44,660 years old . They had just graduated 103 00:04:44,660 --> 00:04:46,910 from law school . And you know this ? 104 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,270 It sounds great . I'm a 41 year old man 105 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:51,670 who's a tenured professor at University 106 00:04:51,670 --> 00:04:53,614 of Virginia . You've got all these 107 00:04:53,614 --> 00:04:55,614 young people running past you . You 108 00:04:55,614 --> 00:04:57,837 have to have that humility and I got it 109 00:04:57,837 --> 00:05:01,330 from the beginning . I'm 110 00:05:01,460 --> 00:05:05,380 more proud of how great a father he 111 00:05:05,380 --> 00:05:08,460 is , because you know , you're 112 00:05:11,140 --> 00:05:12,960 nine kids , 113 00:05:15,140 --> 00:05:16,807 but they all need to be loved 114 00:05:16,807 --> 00:05:18,696 differently . They all need to be 115 00:05:18,696 --> 00:05:20,751 appreciated differently . My primary 116 00:05:20,751 --> 00:05:23,790 responsibility is to provide for my 117 00:05:23,790 --> 00:05:26,340 Children and thio . Give them 118 00:05:26,350 --> 00:05:29,770 opportunities to give them a decent 119 00:05:29,770 --> 00:05:32,410 place to live , where they're not all 120 00:05:32,410 --> 00:05:34,521 nine of them . In one room where they 121 00:05:34,521 --> 00:05:36,700 have beds where they have warmth , 122 00:05:36,700 --> 00:05:40,420 where they have food my kids can look 123 00:05:40,420 --> 00:05:42,760 at my husband and see that they don't 124 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,700 have any boundaries . They don't have 125 00:05:45,700 --> 00:05:49,530 any glass ceilings above them . I love 126 00:05:49,530 --> 00:05:52,760 that my Children have an example right 127 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,570 in their own home of someone who has 128 00:05:56,570 --> 00:05:59,460 followed Thea American Dream Model , 129 00:06:00,140 --> 00:06:03,970 and they can do it . What is the 130 00:06:03,970 --> 00:06:06,750 meaning of life ? Why are we here if 131 00:06:06,750 --> 00:06:08,639 you're here and you're just doing 132 00:06:08,639 --> 00:06:11,160 things for yourself that z not what 133 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,382 it's about , I don't know any other way 134 00:06:13,382 --> 00:06:16,700 to do it . I'm also focused on trying 135 00:06:16,700 --> 00:06:18,756 to improve the lives of the students 136 00:06:18,756 --> 00:06:22,110 that I'm here to support and the 137 00:06:22,110 --> 00:06:23,943 faculty members that I'm here to 138 00:06:23,943 --> 00:06:26,054 support as well as an administrator . 139 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:28,880 Even as before , I became a dean as a 140 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:30,824 professor , trying to make sure my 141 00:06:30,824 --> 00:06:32,880 students were learning and going out 142 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:35,047 and getting fantastic jobs , trying to 143 00:06:35,047 --> 00:06:37,213 improve the legal system in a way that 144 00:06:37,213 --> 00:06:39,047 gave people who had their rights 145 00:06:39,047 --> 00:06:41,269 violated the ability to vindicate those 146 00:06:41,269 --> 00:06:43,324 rights through the judicial system , 147 00:06:43,324 --> 00:06:45,324 making sure the judicial system had 148 00:06:45,324 --> 00:06:47,380 rules that work for them , trying to 149 00:06:47,380 --> 00:06:49,491 serve the system and make it better . 150 00:06:49,491 --> 00:06:51,547 Service is always gonna be my little 151 00:06:51,547 --> 00:06:54,320 stuff , so that when someone comes back 152 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:56,598 and says , Well , did you do your best ? 153 00:06:56,598 --> 00:06:58,820 I did more than my best . I didn't just 154 00:06:58,820 --> 00:07:00,820 try to do it halfway or just get it 155 00:07:00,820 --> 00:07:02,820 done . For me , excellence is about 156 00:07:04,540 --> 00:07:07,280 performing whatever duties you have 157 00:07:07,290 --> 00:07:09,346 better than it's ever been done . So 158 00:07:09,346 --> 00:07:11,360 excellence is about activating the 159 00:07:11,370 --> 00:07:12,850 excellence of those around you .