Chris Singleton: We didn’t Choose, We were born

Throughout the year, Cape Henry brings in speakers to bring new ideas and views to the community. Some speak on their personal growth and others on their struggles. Recently Chris Singleton came to speak to our community on both of those things. He spoke on his life of professional baseball and family, but also on the murder of his mother. 

Chris Singleton’s mother was an Emanuel AME victim, her life taken in a hate crime shooting. For Chris, this has been the most traumatic and life-changing event in his life, but it did not stop him from living. In an interview with Post and Courier Singleton shared that, “People say, you get thrown in the water and you sink or swim,” Singleton said. “Well, I’m swimming right now”. Not only has he taken on the role of guardian for his two younger siblings, but he also became a father to a beautiful son. To Chris, living life after tragedy is especially hard but necessary. He spoke about how much love he knew his son would have gotten from his mother and how she is looking over him while he grows up. 

Singleton also has put his professional baseball career on hold to focus more on not only his family but his career in spreading his message of “love not hate”. Senior, Olivia Tucker, shared that, “It takes a really strong person to rise above such an extreme level of hatred because that type is instilled so deep inside of someone”, and that “our school can learn so much from him and his ideas because his speech hit so many other points than just racism, it was a universally amazing speech”. Which is all entirely true. Singleton may have been based on his experience with racism, but his message can coincide with anything. Senior Sarah Blais also made a statement about this topic. She shared that “What stood out most what that his message reached everyone in the room in a different way, which is something not everyone can do”.

Chirs Singleton has been one of the best speakers that the Cape Henry community has had. Junior Phoebe More shared that, “this was one of the best speakers our community has had and I hope our school brings more inspirational and understandable speakers like him”. Hopefully, everyone in our community can learn from his speech and make our school a better place to be.