Now go out and build a better world, graduates

To the Class of 2020, Congratulations! On behalf of your hometown, we could not be more proud of you. Graduating high school under normal circumstances is an extraordinary accomplishment. Chirlane and I remember watching our own kids walk across the stage to get their diplomas like it was yesterday.

It’s a remarkable and universal moment. But yours will be unlike any other.

You’ve had a senior year no class in history has ever experienced before.

I know not even in your wildest dreams did you picture high school ending this way. Zooming into classes. Missing your friends. Skipping rites of passage like prom. Dealing with even more uncertainty than usual around what comes next. Beyond the classroom, you’ve dealt with painful realities brought on by this pandemic. Parents who lost jobs. Families struggling to pay the bills. And hardest of all, some of you have lost loved ones to this horrible virus.

That’s more than you should have ever had to bear. It’s not fair.

And yet all over this city, you’re coming together in parking lots, on basketball courts, and yes, even in living rooms, to put on that cap and gown and to show that you are stronger than what’s been thrown at you.

You’ve probably heard the term “Greatest Generation.” It applied to my parents, people who grew up in the Depression, took part in the New Deal and fought in World War II. You’ve been tested more than any generation since. It has made you extraordinary. Here’s what I’ll tell you: We need that strength right now. The world and New York City are in the midst of being reborn.

We’re grappling with the inequality laid bare by coronavirus. We’re coming to grips with racism woven into the very fabric of our society. Behind it all the climate crisis looms, demanding action.

There has never been a moment of so much challenge, so much potential. This is a time crying out for change agents, for for leaders. And our city — your city — is at the center of it all.

You aren’t just our future. You’re our present. I see it when I look at the young people who led the peaceful protests of the past few weeks and demanded justice. You have the toughness every New Yorker is born with … and then some. You have the talent, resolve and education to make a difference. Always remember: You’re from the greatest city in the world, and you represent the best of it. I know I speak for your parents, friends, family and all New Yorkers when I say: We could not be more proud of you. You’re the best thing to come out of 2020. Now go out and build a better, fairer world.