Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Wellesley Commencement Address (2015)

Delivered at Wellesley College in 2015, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's address dismantles the stifling expectations routinely placed upon women. Adichie targets the insidious demand to be universally likable, arguing that prioritizing pleasantness forces people to silence their convictions and hide their true beliefs. Instead, she urges graduates to embrace righteous anger, question established orthodoxies, and aim higher than simply navigating patriarchal systems effectively. Her speech blends wry humor with moral intensity, reminding listeners that privilege must never insulate them from injustice, and that true progress requires dismantling broken assumptions rather than quietly adapting to them.