Spencer Paysinger has already been many things in his life, including a Super Bowl-winning linebacker, a writer and producer of the hit television series "All-American," and local-business entrepreneur. But as he explained during his keynote speech at MIT's 51st annual event celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Paysinger would prefer to think about his journey in additional terms: whether he has been able to serve others along the way.
"As I stand up here today talking about Dr. King's mission, Dr. King's dream, why we're all here today, to me it all leans back into community," Paysinger said. "I want to be judged by what I have done for others."
Being able to reach out to others, in good times and bad, was a theme of the annual event, which took place in MIT's Walker Memorial (Building 50), on Thursday. As Paysinger noted, his own career is marked by being a "team player" and finding reward in shared endeavors.
"For me, I'm at my best when I have people on the right and on the left of me attempting to reach the same dream," Paysinger said. "We can have different ideologies, we can come from different backgrounds, of race, socioeconomic backgrounds. … At the end of the day it comes back to the mindset we need to have. It's rooted in community, it's rooted in togetherness."
The event featured an array of talks delivered by students, campus leaders, and guests, along with musical interludes, and drew hundreds from the MIT community.
In opening remarks, MIT President Sally A. Kornbluth praised Paysinger, saying his "perseverance and tenacity are a fantastic example to us all."
Kornbluth also spoke about the values, and value, of MIT itself. American universities and colleges, she noted, have long "been a point of national pride and a source of international envy. … They and we have always been valued as centers of excellence creativity, innovation, and an infinitely renewable source of leadership."
Moving forward, Kornbluth noted, the MIT community will continue to pursue excellence and provide mutual respect for others.
"MIT is in the talent business," Kornbluth said. "Our success, and living up to our great mission, depends on our ability to attract extraordinarily talented people and to create a community in which everyone earns a place here to do their very best work. … Everyone at MIT is here because they deserve to be here. Every staff member, every faculty member, every postdoc, every student, every one of us. Every one of us is a full member of this community, and every member of our community is valued as a human being, and valued for what they contribute to our mission."
Paysinger lauded the array of speakers as well as the friendly atmosphere at the event, where attendees sat around luncheon tables, talking and getting to know each other before and after the slate of talks.
"You guys actively and literally in 45 minutes have changed my view of what MIT is," Paysinger said.
In his NFL career, Paysinger was a linebacker who played with the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, and Carolina Panthers, from 2011 through 2017, appearing in 94 regular-season games and five playoff games. He saw action in Super Bowl XLVI, when the Giants beat the New England Patriots, 22-17, something he joked about a few times for his Massachusetts audience. Paysinger's former New York Giants teammate, fellow linebacker Mark Herzlich, was also in attendance on Thursday.
Paysinger grew up in South Central Los Angeles, long perceived from the outside as a place of danger and deprivation. And while he experienced those things, Paysinger said, his home neighborhood also had its "all-American" side, as kids raced bikes down the block and grew to know each other. Paysinger attended Beverly Hills High School, starring as a wide receiver, then signed with the University of Oregon, where he converted to linebacker. Oregon and Paysinger reached college football's national championship game in his senior season, 2010.
In his talk, Paysinger emphasized the twists and turns of his journey through football, from changing positions on the field to changing teams. He noted that, in sports as in life, moving beyond our comfort zone can help us thrive in the long run.
"I was scared, I wasn't sure of myself, when my coaches decided to make that change for me," Paysinger said. However, he added, "I knew that [from] leaning into the uncomfortableness of the moment, the other side could be greater for me."
The NFL soon beckoned, along with a Super Bowl ring. But Paysinger received a jolt beyond the boundaries of sports in 2015, when his former Giants teammate and close friend Tyler Sash died suddently at age 27. Among other things, Paysinger began thinking about life after football more systematically and began his screenwriting efforts in earnest, even as his football career was still ongoing.
"All-American," now entering its 7th season on the CW Network, is loosely based on his own background, capturing the dynamics of his experiences as a player and team member. It has become one of the longest-running sports-based shows on television. Paysinger is also an entrepreneur who founded Hilltop Kitchen and Coffee, a chain of eateries in underserved areas around Los Angeles, and has helped develop other local businesses as well.
And while every new venture is a fresh challenge, Paysinger said, we can often accomplish more than we realize: "I'm not coming from a mindset of deciding whether I can or can't do something, but if I want to or not."
Sophomore Michael Ewing provided welcoming remarks and introduced Paysinger. He read aloud a quote from King chosen as a central motif of this year's celebration: "We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience."
For his own part, Ewing said, "When I read these words, I think of a society that aspires to improve its circumstances, address existing issues, and create a more positive and just environment for all." At MIT, Ewing added, there is "a community where students, professors, and others come together to achieve at the highest levels, united by a shared desire to learn and grow. … The process of collaborating, disagreeing, building with others who are different - this is the key to growth and development."
The annual MLK Celebration featured further reflections from students, including second-year undergraduate Siddhu Pachipala, a political science and economics double-major. Pachipala began his remarks by recounting a social media exchange he once had with a congressional account, the tenor of which he soon regretted.
"Looking back, I think it was a missed opportunity," Pachipala said. "Why was my first instinct … to turn it into a battle? … We train ourselves to believe that if we're not scoring hits, we're losing, and gestures of decency are traps, that an extended hand must be slapped away. Martin Luther King Jr. took politics to be something more substantial. He had a serious vision of justice, one we've gathered today to honor. But he knew that justice had a prerequisite: friendship."
Elshareef Kabbashi, a graduate student in architecture, offered additional remarks, noting that "Dr. King's dream was never confined to a single movement, nation, or moment in history," but rather aimed at creating "human dignity everywhere."
E. Denise Simmons, mayor of the City of Cambridge, also spoke, and lauded "the entire MIT community for keeping this tradition alive for 51 years." She added: "It's Dr. King's wisdom, his courage, his moral clarity, that helped light the path forward. And I ask each of you to continue to shine that light."
The luncheon included the presentation of the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Awards Recipients, given this year to Cordelia Price '78, SM '80; Pouya Alimagham; Ciarra Ortiz; Sahal Ahmed; William Gibbs; and Maxine Samuels.
On a day full of thoughts about King and his vision, Paysinger underscored the salience of community by highlighting another of his favorite King passages: "Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
