ST. LOUIS, Mo. – A motivational speaker visiting a St. Louis high school didn’t appreciate a group of black students talking during the event, and used the opportunity to get real about the problems plaguing urban education.

Eric Thomas came to Vashon High School, one of the lowest performing in the district, on Feb. 22 to speak to students about the struggles he went through to become successful, and to help raise fund for a student trip to Costa Rica, Pix 11 reports.

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Thomas, known as “ET, The Hip Hop Preacher,” was in the middle of a segment about love and asked students to raise their hands if there was someone they really loved.

But when a group of students ignored his presentation and continued to talk with each other instead, Thomas took the opportunity to illustrate what he believes is a root cause of academic failure among black students – a lack of respect, Fox 2 reports.

“You’re talking when I’m talking. Do you know that if I go to a Jewish school, them kids are quiet. If I go to a white school, them kids quiet. If I go to a Latino school, they quiet. The only kids that disrespect me is black kids. That’s it, my own, are the only ones who disrespect me,” Thomas said.

“I work in any other school and they’re like, ET, we’re taking notes,” he said. “I come home, you talking. You’re capping jokes. You think something is funny. Look how we’re living. Ain’t nothing funny. Ain’t nothing funny y’all.”

Thomas explained why the disrespectful students should reconsider their attitude on life, and learn to take advantage of the few resources available to struggling black students to improve their circumstances.

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A video of the speech, posted to YouTube by Thomas on March 11, contends 70 percent of the district’s students read below grade level. The “Nothing Funny” video has since gone viral with more than 120,000 views.

“Listen to me very closely. They pay me $50,000 to $100,000 when I speak to corporate America. I go to a basketball program and they pay me good. I ain’t getting a dime here. I’m here because I love you, but I’ll be darned if I come here for free and you disrespect me. I ain’t 20 years old. I ain’t 19 years old. I’m a grown man. I’m here because I love you. I’m here because I love ya’ll, they ain’t paid me a dime,” Thomas said.

“As a matter of fact, I came to use my influence to raise money so a group of kids can go to Costa Rica. I’m not here to get nothing, I’m here to give you something. I’m not here to take nothing from you. I’m here to give you something.”

He continued, from Pix 11:

And listen to me closely, when people love you, you don’t do them like dirt. When people care for them, you don’t disrespect them. You ain’t got but a few people who care about you in this world. Didn’t you hear what I just said? If you’re in the wrong place, you’re going to get shot and killed. Ain’t nobody going to go to jail for it. Ain’t nobody going to go to jail for it. Ain’t nobody gonna do no time for it. So the few people who you do have that care, you can’t treat them like garbage.

You can’t disrespect the people that’s trying to look out for you, cause you ain’t got a whole bunch of, you ain’t got a lot of dudes, look me up! You ain’t got a lot of dudes that do what I do that’s coming to your school. No disrespect, the dude’s you listening to, you listening my man and jamming to his album, he ain’t coming here. And I just heard we had a rapper here last night. How many schools did he go to? How many elementary schools? He came and took your money, but he didn’t invest nothing back into you.