Diggsâ speech â which he titled âDaveed Diggs Says Some Thingsâ â was by turns hilarious and grave. He spoke both from notes and off-the-cuff, delivering elements of his address in rap and demonstrating the literary and performance skills for which he is widely acclaimed. From a rap adaptation of a work of literature to a disturbing anecdote about a frightening stop by police officers, Diggs held the audienceâs rapt attention.
His address also included specific advice. Some serious, some quite playful â such as turning down offers of speaking engagements at prestigious institutions and immediately forgetting the content of his address. From the beginning, he had the graduates laughing as he wondered aloud how to properly address Brown President Christina Paxson.
He followed with a high-speed recitation of a rap adaptation of Jean Toomerâs âCaneâ that he wrote in 2003 while at Brown. Diggs went on to talk about self-doubt, a long period before starring in âHamiltonâ during which he felt unsuccessful, as well as the deep political divisions that characterize American civic life.
âYou were born into a time in our country that feels different than any I have ever known,â Diggs said, adding that he was grateful that the graduates would be the ones to confront the difficulties of the moment. âThese times in many ways defy explanation. But what these times really need are people who challenge all explanations. They never thought outside the box because they never accepted the premise that there was a box.â
âOur world desperately needs you now,â Diggs implored. âWe need your new ideas because our old ones have made a big mess of things. If youâre like I was, youâre a little nervous at this moment. You know that a lot of people sacrificed a lot to get you to this point and you feel like you owe them a great success story. But also, if youâre like I was, you have no idea what youâre going to do after tomorrow.â
Diggs, who said he felt like he was born two years and four months ago, when he began starring in âHamilton,â told the students: âMaybe you have a timeline in your head, some date by which youâre going to be successful⊠The work for you and us all in this is the day-to-day. Itâs the stitching together a nation divided. It is the honest effort to understand the circumstances of the people around us.â
In introducing Diggs, who will receive an honorary degree from Brown on Sunday, May 28, Paxson spoke of his âutter liberation.â
âIn his life and in his work, he occupies a creative space that is virtually free of boundaries â set by his own sense of limitation or by the categories imposed by others,â Paxson said.
-Â With advice from Daveed Diggs, Class of 2017 celebrates the Baccalaureate
And reminder that as of this morning, it is now Daveed Diggs, PhD.
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