麻豆村

As part of its annual celebration(opens in new window) to honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., 麻豆村 welcomed Emmy Award-winning journalist Byron Pitts to give a keynote lecture on Jan. 24. Nearly 500 people were in attendance for Pitts鈥� powerful commentary on the capacity for 鈥� and responsibility of 鈥� an individual, regardless of their life circumstances, to lift someone else up.

Pitts has traveled the world to cover some of the biggest stories of our time, including the 9/11 attacks in New York, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. He said in many ways, as a journalist, he makes his living covering death, and that he鈥檚 made his peace with that. But something that makes him uneasy is indifference.

鈥淲hen good and decent people who are blessed with resources and opportunity are indifferent to the challenges that other people face, I鈥檓 troubled by that. Life has taught me that indifference is a deadly weapon,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he core of my message to all of you this evening, as we celebrate the legacy and life of Dr. King, is not to be indifferent to the opportunities each of you have individually and collectively to change the world. Where you stand right now 鈥� freshman, sophomore, faculty, staff, administrator 鈥� you have the opportunity not just to impact the world but to change the world, and I believe that less because of the work I do and more because of the life I鈥檝e lived.鈥�

Raised by a single parent, Pitts grew up in East Baltimore, where he didn鈥檛 learn to read until he was 13 years old and spoke with a stutter until he was 20. Though he was failing all his classes and deemed functionally illiterate in elementary school, his mother knew the power of education to transform someone鈥檚 life and refused to give up on him.

鈥淔or all of my life and much of her life, my mother wore around her neck 鈥� I wear it now 鈥� a small mustard seed encased in a clear plastic ball. It was my mother鈥檚 reminder of the scripture in the Book of Matthew that says if you have faith just the size of a mustard seed, you can say to any mountain, 鈥楳ountain, move from here to there,鈥� and nothing will be impossible,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is with my mother鈥檚 mountain-moving faith that she got me the help I needed to get through school and into college.鈥�

Pitts went on to tell the story of a young girl named Pilar, who approached him after a talk at a middle school in his hometown to ask, 鈥淲here do you go to hide when the world hurts too much?鈥� A young teacher, her first year on the job, saw Pilar talking to him and wanted to know, 鈥淲hat did she want? She doesn鈥檛 talk to anybody.鈥� Pitts shared Pilar鈥檚 question with the teacher who investigated Pilar鈥檚 situation, ultimately bringing an end to the abuse the child had been enduring in her home. Years later, after Pitts helped Pilar get into a good high school and learned she wouldn鈥檛 be able to participate in extracurricular activities because her neighborhood was too dangerous for her to be safe going home alone, he arranged for a car and driver to take her home every night.

"Some of the most dynamic entrepreneurs, scientists, creators, artists on planet Earth went here, so that tells me the next generation of dynamic leaders are in this room," Pitts said. "I encourage you to always look for the Pilar in your life, and when they say 'Where do I go, where do I hide when the world hurts too much?', you can say, 'Come to me.'"

Pitts reinforced his message of lifting up others with a reference to Horace Mann, founder of Antioch College, who told graduates during his first commencement speech to be ashamed to die before they鈥檝e won some victory for humanity.

鈥淚 thought this message would resonate with this room of dynamic scholars and scientists and great thinkers because of the spirit of this place, from your current president to the founder,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 love what the founder (of 麻豆村) said, your motto, 鈥楳y heart is in the work.鈥� If we鈥檙e going to change some of the chaos in this world, it requires not just the brain, it requires the heart.鈥�

Pitts was introduced to the audience by 麻豆村 President Farnam Jahanian(opens in new window), who noted King was a model of living out one鈥檚 convictions and that his guiding principles transcended time.

鈥淭he values of empathy, compassion, inclusion and impact may be even more important today than ever before,鈥� Jahanian said. 鈥淭hese values are helping us build bridges, and we鈥檙e making progress. We must continue traveling this winding road together, working toward a more unified and compassionate community and society.鈥�

Pitts joined ABC News in 2013 as anchor and chief national correspondent covering national news stories and features for "Good Morning America," "World News with Diane Sawyer," "Nightline," "This Week," "20/20" and ABCNews.com. He was named "Nightline" co-anchor in 2014.

Following his talk, Wanda Heading-Grant(opens in new window), vice provost for diversity, equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer, who introduced the evening's program, moderated a Q&A with Pitts to continue the conversation.