Not one drop of my self-worth depends on your acceptance of me.
Robert F. Smith
Morehouse College Commencement 2019, 2019
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Smith quoted Quincy Jones and Ray Charles while delivering his fourth rule: 'Always know that you are enough.' He told the story of being at Kraft General Foods as a young engineer, half the age of everyone in the room and making a third of their salary, yet leading five of the six most important strategic initiatives. That moment taught him a lesson about self-worth. He told the Morehouse men: 'There is no room on this earth you can't enter without your head held high. You will encounter people who will want to make you feel like you don't belong. But when you respect your own body of work, that's all the respect you need.' The quote landed with particular power given Smith's detailed recounting of eight generations of systemic injustice faced by Black Americans — from denied land grants to voter suppression.