While in St. Louis, Missouri, Motivational speaker Eric Thomas spoke at Vashon High School. Thomas spoke at the school for free. His prices usually range from $50,000 and $100,000. Thomas got pretty fed up when students continued to talk over him. He then got upset telling them that he only experiences that type of disrespect from black children.
Before he was interrupted, he was telling the students a story about how he dropped out of school. He met a pastor who got him to change his life around and go back to school. Thomas says,
“When people love you, you don’t do them like dirt. When people care for you, don’t disrespect them. You ain’t got but a few people who care about you in this world. You got the nerve to act the fool when somebody cares about you? You’re talking when I’m talking. Do you know that if I go to a Jewish school, those kids are quiet. If I go to a white school, those kids are quiet. If I go to a Latino school, those kids are quiet. The only kids that disrespect me are black kids,” adding, “That’s it, my own, are the only ones who disrespect me.”
The camera then shows the same students who were joking and playing around during the speech super engaged in what Thomas was saying.
“What they don’t know is that you’re not even trying when you take a test. You didn’t give your best. They think you’re dumb. You ain’t dumb. We survived slavery, and you can’t pass a test? Come on! I ain’t stupid. You take everything from us and we still survive. You want to tell me that you don’t want to learn how to write? Have you lost your mind? We are survivors. That is all we do is survive.”
