I'm up here to say thank you to God for giving me this ability for blessing me for shaping me for chastising me for teaching me for punishing me for allowing me to be a vessel and touch people around the world I want to thank AFI Cicely Tyson ed zwix likely call Franklin Allen near up my mother she's 95 years old now he's something else she's tough everything ends is because I'm your mother that's why shut up still still the other day yes I'm your mother that's why I shut up through my father who taught me
by example how to be a gentle man the most important person in my life 40 years 40 years of sacrifice 40 years of forgiveness she taught me about faith spirituality love real love unwavering love in spite of myself I would not be alive without pauletta Washington I wouldn't be alive small minds discuss other people gossip good Minds discuss events great minds discuss ideas I was Eleanor Roosevelt that was also Paul that his father and my father-in-law he was a great man he taught me so much about what being a man really is I want to
end the night with a short video that we recorded a Paulette his father 30 years ago that my son Malcolm gave me an AFI graduate just a short 30-second video and this is what paul-etta's father had to say 30 years ago we were put here for a reason God created man and God intends for us to love o mankind and by being in a loving mood caring for one another that's our purpose for life we should care for one another and we should love one another in this Twitter tweet meme mean world that we've created
for our children the least we can do is consider what we've done and think about the young people the future and individually collectively do the best we can to try and turn this thing around I blame no one I look in the mirror on the other side of it what an opportunity we have because tomorrow's the first day of the rest of our lives so what an opportunity we have to practice what he preached goodnight [Applause]
