????亞特蘭大是一個種族隔離盛行的城市。除學校外，設于公共場所的自動飲水器、圖書館、衛(wèi)生間和公共交通——甚至是公園，也不對黑人開放。黑人屬于二等公民，被剝奪了應有的權利、機遇和尊重。

????我畢業(yè)那年，亞特蘭大的學校系統(tǒng)對白人學生的支出是對黑人學生支出的兩倍：每名白人學生支出為158美元，而每名黑人學生支出只有74美元。

????十年級之前，我就讀的高中根本沒有禮堂或體育館。化學實驗室只有一盞本生燈。1951年我上十五年級時，我使用的幾何課本是1935年白人學生用過后扔掉的舊書，破爛不堪。

????盡管如此，我們有一位非常了不起的校長，不斷指引和激勵著我們。我們的老師盡心盡職，在向我們傳授知識的同時，也給我們鼓勵。學校接受家庭教師協(xié)會（PTA）的嚴格監(jiān)管，我的母親則擔任著PTA的主席。

????雖然存在著諸多不平等現(xiàn)象，但我們當中還是涌現(xiàn)出了很多成功人士。令我們驕傲和自豪的校友包括黑人運動領袖馬丁?路德?金、身價數百萬美元的企業(yè)家赫爾曼?J?羅素、紐約尼克斯隊（New York Knicks）隊員沃爾特?弗雷澤、以及兩次擔任亞特蘭大市長的梅那德?杰克遜。

????但是，他們都屬于特例。黑人被看作是一個命運失敗的群體。黑人種族蔑視制度（Jim Crow system）讓我們處于貧困潦倒的境地，也使社會對我們的期望值再次降低。但是，我和我的同學們克服了這些障礙。

????而你們需要面臨不同的問題：高期望值。你們2012年從菲爾德斯頓畢業(yè)時，社會期望你們走向成功，成為社會的領袖。

????另外，你們還要面臨著其他的問題，包括責任、機遇、領導力和服務。你們或許會問自己：我該怎么做才能不辜負這些期望呢？

????你們整裝待發(fā)之前，我想給你們提出三點基本建議。希望我的建議能照亮你們前進的道路，幫助你們順利度過生命中將會遭遇的困境，面對人生的成敗得失。

????首先，要始終保持誠信。它是指內心始終堅持正確的思想和行動。誠信是人的生命中唯一能夠無可爭議、完全擁有的東西，它無拘無束，永遠不會被抵押。我們可以損失金錢，被解雇；遺產可以揮霍殆盡；企業(yè)可以破產；家庭和汽車可以被收回。但是，任何人都無法奪走一個人的誠信。

????塞繆爾?約翰遜曾經寫道：“沒有知識的誠信軟弱無用，缺乏誠信的知識則危險而可怕?！?/p>

????第二點是我在小學時學到的。“己所不欲，勿施于人”——這也是印在可口可樂公司（Coca-Cola Company）送給我們的尺子上的一句標語。這句樸實、簡單和明了的忠告說盡了待人接物之道。請牢記這句簡單的話語，我保證，它會幫你做出生命中最艱難的倫理選擇。

????Atlanta was a thoroughly segregated city. Not just schools, but drinking fountains, libraries, restrooms, public transportation--even parks. Black people were second-class citizens, denied rights, opportunities, and respect.

????The year I graduated, the city's school system spent twice as much on white students as on black students: $158 per white student compared to $74 per black student.

????My high school did not have an auditorium or a gymnasium until I was in the tenth grade. The chemistry lab had one Bunsen burner. My eleventh grade geometry textbook in 1951 was a tattered cast-off used by white students in 1935.

????Despite those conditions, we had a remarkable principal who instructed and inspired us. We had dedicated teachers who educated and encouraged us. We had a vigilant PTA, of which my mother was president.

????And despite the disparities, we had some significant success stories. Among our proud alumni are Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.;Herman J. Russell, who became a multimillion-dollar businessman; Walt Frazier, who played for the New York Knicks, and Maynard Jackson, twice the mayor of Atlanta.

????But they were the exceptions. As a group, we were expected to fail in life. Society's low expectations were reinforced by the Jim Crow system designed to keep us down and out. But my classmates and I overcame these burdens.

????You bear a different burden: the burden of high expectations. Graduating from Fieldston in 2012, you are expected to succeed. You are expected to become leaders in our society.

????The burden of responsibility...of opportunity...of leadership...of service. You might rightly wonder to yourself: How can I possibly live up to these expectations?

????I would suggest you take three fundamentals to pack in your suitcase for life. They will help light your path as you proceed through life's twisted corners and broken fields, its inevitable triumphs and defeats.

????The first fundamental is to keep your integrity. I am talking about the inner conviction to think right, act right and do right. Integrity is the only thing in life you own unequivocally--unfettered and unmortgaged. You can lose your money. You can be pink-slipped from your job. Your inheritance can be spent down to zero. Your business can go bankrupt. Your homes and automobiles can be repossessed. But no one can take away your integrity.

????Samuel Johnson wrote: "Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful."

????The second fundamental, I first learned in elementary school. It was emblazoned on the rulers given to us by the Coca-Cola Company (KO). "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." A plain, simple, straightforward injunction for treating people right. Take that simple saying with you, and i promise it will see you through life's most difficult ethical choices.