Early in the speech he acknowledged his “favorite Rattler,” who
is his wife Genae Angelique Crump, a Ph.D. alumna of FAMU. He also recognized
his former law partner, FAMU alumnus Daryl Parks, who he called one of his best
friends.
Crump spoke on the topic of “Where You Stand,” borrowing
from the King quote that said: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he
stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of
challenge and controversy.”
He went on to cite numerous examples of the ongoing need to
stand for what’s right. Crump mentioned the segregated cemetery and low number
of black city employees Camilla, Ga. (where 70 percent of the residents are
black), police beating of Ulysses Wilkerson in Troy, Ala., and negative
comments that U.S. President Donald Trump made about African countries and
Haiti.
Crump added that FAMUans played big roles in fighting beside
him while he was representing the parents of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year unarmed
black teenager who was shot dead by a self-declared neighborhood watchman in
Sanford, Fla. back in 2012.
After the acquittal of George Zimmerman, Martin’s killer,
the Dream Defenders led by former FAMU Study Body President Phillip Agnew
launched “Takeover Tuesday” in Gov. Rick Scott’s office. The group called “for
the repeal of Florida’s Stand Your Ground self-defense law, an end to racial profiling
and the abolition of so-called ‘school-to-prison’ education policies.” Their
protest continued for 31 days.
Crump, assisted by Parks, later helped Martin’s parents secure
a wrongful death settlement from the homeowners’ association that represented
the subdivision in which their son was fatally shot.
“FAMU, you are our leaders,” Crump said. “You are the people
who will save us. You are the best and the brightest that we have to offer.”