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Home » Steve Harvey’s Speech at 2016 ASU Spring Commencement (Transcript)

Steve Harvey’s Speech at 2016 ASU Spring Commencement (Transcript)

Here is the full transcript of television host and film producer Steve Harvey’s speech at 2016 Alabama State’s commencement.

Listen to the audio version here:

TRANSCRIPT:

I’m Dr. Harvey now, deal with it. Wow, first of all, let me say something. How honored I am to be asked to come here to speak on such an important occasion. You know, I didn’t spend the bulk of my career.

I’m in a joke telling business, peel the skin back on this banana. I’m in a joke telling business. God done changed me over the years. I found out I was a little bit more than jokes. Y’all did too. So now, I’m a doctor.

Now, one thing about me, if you ask me to come talk, I ain’t got no paper. I ain’t got no notes. I only talk from my heart. I come to say something today that they don’t teach in college. I’m going to tell you something that they can’t give you at this school. But don’t feel shorted because you got a great education.

What I come to tell you ain’t taught at no school. You can’t get it up in Tuscaloosa. You can’t give it up at Harvard. You can’t get this that I’m going to tell you at MIT. Because I’m going to tell you flat out the whole funky truth about how to get from the back to the front, how to come from the bottom to the top. I’m going to teach it to you today.

Appreciations

Now, listen. I want to thank Dr. Boyd. I want to thank Chairman Baker. Because I know they’ve been on my side the whole time. Me getting these bars today, it wasn’t a unanimous decision. I’m cool with that. I’m all right with that. I understand. You know, my team had to come down here and kind of get into a debate about why I should get.

I didn’t ask for this. But let me tell you to whoever back here didn’t vote, let me just tell you that it’s all right, that I understand. Because, see, this is just a moment of what I come to tell you about.

Grace

See, my life ain’t covered. My life is smothered with grace. That’s all I am. That’s all I am. I’m going to tell you a story about me, and I’m going to use myself as an example all this whole time I’m talking. Because you need to hear from me, about me.

But what I want you all out there to do is see some of you in me. I ain’t telling you nothing. I’m going to tell you the bread. You ain’t got to believe nothing about me. You can Google me. I got net worth. I got all that. You ain’t got to believe now. Piece of it.

But I’m going to tell you how it can happen for you. Now, what people don’t understand when they try not to give me something is what grace really is. And, see, grace ain’t passed out by y’all. Y’all don’t own now piece of it. Y’all don’t divvy it out. Y’all can’t succeed.

You hear old people say it all the time. What God got for you, can’t nobody what? So what are we talking about?

Justice, Mercy and Grace

So now, let me explain to you something I learned. Justice is when you get what you deserve. Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve. But grace is different, though. Grace is when you get what you don’t deserve. And I’m all right with that.

I might not have done nothing to get these bars. But it ain’t up to you, though. See, this is some more God giving me some more that I probably didn’t deserve. But grace is above all else that you ever asked for or imagined. That’s what grace is. My life full of grace.

You better go get yourself some. I’m going to tell you something. You can’t buy grace. It ain’t for sale. If I could take all the money I have and thank you, Jesus, I got some money. I would take all of it if I could and buy grace with it. But you can’t. It’s free. So I’m not fitting to give this class in front of me a speech.

I’m fitting to give you a lesson. I’m just fitting to give you one more before you get out of here. Let me say this to all y’all out here.

Congratulations

Man, you did it. Yeah, you did. You did it. You did the doggone thing. You did it in spite of the haters, in spite of the naysayers. You done set up in here and messed around and got yourself something that such a small percentage of people do.

You done messed around and got yourself a college degree. Want to do it? Want to do it? Hey, hey, hey, hey. All right. Here it is. I do my best talking when I’m walking around with a microphone. This is what God gives me. I don’t do good behind the podium. Ain’t how I made my money. I’m a stand-up. This is what I’m doing.

So here it is. Congratulations to y’all from the bottom of my heart. What you did is so over the top, so off the chain, so utterly amazing. Don’t you play it short. You done done something, man. You done done something that so many people never do. I ain’t got one. You graduating from college. I ain’t do that.

I ain’t graduate from college. I got no formal education. But look at me, though. I’m finna teach you something now. I’m finna show you something. See, now a large part of this speech is going to be done using improper grammar. Because I don’t have that either. I ain’t never really talked that good. It ain’t really my thing.

Speaking Properly

If you in here and you’re well-spoken, I commend you. And you’re going to need that. In a lot of places you’re going, you can’t be a doctor and talk like this here.