On Wednesday, May 11, students at Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford learned some important life-lessons about wisdom, community, and good-heartedness from Deacon Art Miller, the recently-retired director of the Office for Black Catholic Ministries for the Archdiocese of Hartford. Miller spoke candidly about his own past, working in the civil rights movement, and explained to students the difference between unearned and earned advantages and disadvantages, that is, the circumstances we are born into and in life, as opposed to the experiences we have that emanate from the choices we make moving forward.

At one point in his talk, Miller pulled out a $100 bill and asked students, “Does this have value?” They agreed that it did. He tore it in two, crumbled it up, threw it to the floor and stepped on it. “If I were to cover this bill with every prejudicial slur for race, religion, and every foul word we call each other, would it lose its value?” he asked. The students agreed it would not. Then he told the students, “There will be people in your life who will tear you apart, step on you and call you names. They cannot take away your value because they didn’t give you that value in the first place.”

He responded to the question “What’s the most important thing you tell children?” — posed by fifth-grader Lilian Ehrlich — with three simple words: “You are valuable.”

Deacon Miller left the students at the West Hartford day school with the understanding that we all come into the world with the same value; it’s how we choose to use our value that makes a difference.