Issa Rae
Writer, actor, and producer
Issa Rae, a Stanford alumna, addresses the class of 2021 by reflecting on how the community she built at Stanford shaped her creative career. Using the lyrics of the song "Wipe Me Down" as a framework, she recounts her journey from disappointing her father by majoring in African-American studies to creating student theatrical productions, a web series, and eventually her HBO show "Insecure." She urges graduates to approach opportunities with confidence, value and support their community, and claim the success they have earned.
“you're exactly where you're supposed to be.”
Key moments
- 01 Recalling her own graduation and choosing to pursue writing over the career her father wanted
- 02 Building confidence at Stanford by creating multicultural theater and the web series 'Dorm Diaries'
- 03 Crediting Stanford classmates and community for helping produce 'Awkward Black Girl' and 'Insecure'
- 04 Advising graduates to enter life as VIPs, support their community, and claim their earned success
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Issa Rae at Stanford, 2021
A commencement address about belonging, creative self-making, community, and generosity.
Speech arc
- 01Wacky Walk
Opening move
- 02VIP belonging
Speech beat
- 03Stanford theater
Speech beat
- 04Dorm Diaries
Speech beat
- 05Make space
Speech beat
- 06Audience proof
Speech beat
- 07Community
Speech beat
- 08Show up
Final charge
Belonging: Claim the room
Rae uses Stanford memory and cultural voice to make belonging active: if the room is not ready for you, make space anyway.
Voice
Authenticity becomes part of the message, not decoration.
VIP
Belonging is treated as a stance, not permission handed down.
Home
The Farm becomes a place where identity can be practiced publicly.
Rae uses Stanford memory and cultural voice to make belonging active: if the room is not ready for you, make space anyway.
Making: Build the missing space
Her early creative work turns absence into production: stories exist because someone decides the audience is real.
Theater
Multicultural performance becomes a training ground.
Web stories
Dorm-room creativity becomes a path into culture.
Audience
Industry doubt is answered by community response.
Her early creative work turns absence into production: stories exist because someone decides the audience is real.
Community: The people prove the work
The speech highlights friends, collaborators, and Stanford networks as the support structure that lets creative risks survive.
Support
Community is both audience and infrastructure.
Collaboration
People make space for one another by showing up.
Legacy
Culture changes when networks keep amplifying new voices.
The speech highlights friends, collaborators, and Stanford networks as the support structure that lets creative risks survive.
• Key takeaways •
Make space for yourself
Connects to belonging.
Trust the audience
Connects to creativity.
Community is infrastructure
Connects to community.
Authenticity has power
Connects to authenticity.
Show up for others
Connects to generosity.
Closing charge
Rae frames service and generosity as part of the graduate charge: contribute even when your own reserves feel low.
Give even when tired
Fuel
An empty tank does not erase responsibility to others.
Presence
Showing up is a form of care.
Charge
Build community, then use it to widen the room.
Rae frames service and generosity as part of the graduate charge: contribute even when your own reserves feel low.
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Transcript
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