--- title: Linda Sarsour CUNY Commencement Address: Read Transcript description: Linda Sarsour gave the commencement address at the City University of New York School of Public Health on Thursday. Here's what she said canonical: https://time.com/4802373/linda-sarsour-cuny-commencement-address-transcript/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-02T18:09:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T05:13:43.991Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Linda Sarsour Gives CUNY Commencement Speech: 'Commit to Never Being Bystanders' og:description: Read the full transcript of her remarks og:url: https://time.com/4802373/linda-sarsour-cuny-commencement-address-transcript/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cb4c00ff8466366/6988cff48fd2ee9fd4357552/linda-sarsour-cuny-commencement-transcript.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2832 og:image:height: 1593 og:image:alt: US-CUNY-GRADUATE-SCHOOL-LINDA-SARSOUR-politics og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Linda Sarsour Gives CUNY Commencement Speech: 'Commit to Never Being Bystanders' twitter:description: Read the full transcript of her remarks twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cb4c00ff8466366/6988cff48fd2ee9fd4357552/linda-sarsour-cuny-commencement-transcript.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Linda Sarsour Gives CUNY Commencement Speech: 'Commit to Never Being Bystanders' > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jun 2, 2017 6:09 PM UTC  Linda Sarsour, co-organizer of the National Women's March, raises her fist as she walks to the stage to deliver the keynote address at the CUNY School of Public Health commencement ceremony on June 1, 2017 at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Linda Sarsour, co-organizer of the National Women's March, raises her fist as she walks to the stage to deliver the keynote address at the CUNY School of Public Health commencement ceremony on June 1, 2017 at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jun 2, 2017 6:09 PM UTC Muslim-American activist [Linda Sarsour](http://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4742711/tamika-mallory-bob-bland-carmen-perez-linda-sarsour/) delivered the [commencement address](http://time.com/4799958/linda-sarsour-cuny-commencement/) at the City University of New York School of Public Health on Thursday, urging graduates not to be bystanders in the face of injustice. “We in this room together must commit to never being bystanders to poverty, lack of jobs and healthcare, sexism, violence, discrimination, racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and homophobia,” Sarsour, one of the lead organizers of the [Women’s March on Washington](http://time.com/4649891/protest-donald-trump/), told graduates. “We will stand up, we will speak truth to power no matter the consequences, we will demand change, we will center those most directly impacted because they, we, who are closest to the pain are also closest to the solution.” Sarsour’s selection as commencement speaker [drew criticism](http://time.com/4799958/linda-sarsour-cuny-commencement/) from some right-wing speakers who accused her of holding anti-Semitic views because of her statements on Middle Eastern politics, prompting some calls for the speech to be canceled. Sarsour adamantly denied the accusations, and more than 130 Jewish leaders [signed an open letter](https://medium.com/@jewsagainstattacks/jewishleadersstatement-81242a369300) defending her on Thursday. Read the full transcript of her speech at Harlem’s Apollo Theater: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4802373/linda-sarsour-cuny-commencement-address-transcript/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4802373/linda-sarsour-cuny-commencement-address-transcript/"},"headline":"Linda Sarsour Gives CUNY Commencement Speech: 'Commit to Never Being Bystanders'","datePublished":"2017-06-02T18:09:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:13:43.991Z","description":"\"We will speak truth to power no matter the consequences\"","url":"https://time.com/4802373/linda-sarsour-cuny-commencement-address-transcript/","keywords":["Education","College","New York","Commencement","graduation","transcript","transcripts","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cb4c00ff8466366/6988cff48fd2ee9fd4357552/linda-sarsour-cuny-commencement-transcript.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cb4c00ff8466366/6988cff48fd2ee9fd4357552/linda-sarsour-cuny-commencement-transcript.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-CUNY-GRADUATE-SCHOOL-LINDA-SARSOUR-politics","caption":"US-CUNY-GRADUATE-SCHOOL-LINDA-SARSOUR-politics","creditText":"Timothy A. 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