Dr. Yvonne Thornton, the first Black woman in the United States to be board-certified in high-risk obstetrics, delivered the commencement address at Tuskegee University in 2003. Speaking to graduates at a historically Black university with a complex legacy — both the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiment and the heroic Tuskegee Airmen — Thornton offered this forceful declaration about the power of excellence as a weapon against systemic barriers. Thornton's authority on this subject was undeniable. As one of six daughters of a ditchdigger and a cleaning woman, she had risen from the projects to deliver over 5,400 babies in her career. Her family's story, chronicled in her memoir The Ditchdigger's Daughters, was a testament to the idea that relentless preparation and refusal to accept mediocrity could overcome even the most entrenched prejudice.