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Dr. Claud Evans, a veterinarian and a member of the board of regents for Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma A&M, was the featured speaker at this year’s inaugural Celebration of Diversity sponsored by UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences on Feb. 21 as part of Black History Month. His theme was the uncommon man:
“We have an obligation to get the message across to children that it’s all right to be successful, it’s all right to be different, it’s all right to be smart, it’s all right to be uncommon.”
“You can read headstones in a cemetery and they all list the name and date of birth and death. The names and dates are different but the dash is the same. It marks the period of time between birth and death. It separates the achievers from non-achievers. What we do with our lives makes us common or uncommon.”
“The unsung heroes of the agricultural revolution in this country are the slaves. They provided labor for food and fiber that made this country strong. Many slaves made inventions or processes that helped. Slaves invented the seed planter and cotton planter, horse shoes, lawn mower, riding saddle, grain binder, planter and fertilizer distributor and cotton chopper. The greatest single benefit to Southern agriculture came from the mind, heart and hand of George Washington Carver, born a slave.”
“I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon if I can.” |
