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Bakari Sellers, Angela Rye and Roland Martin making the rounds at HBCU graduations
Diverse group of speakers to encourage ’19 graduates
If you follow any historically black colleges or universities (HBCUs) on social media, chances are your feeds are full of caps and gowns. Graduation season is upon us and will last through the end of May.
Congratulations AAMU graduates and families. pic.twitter.com/NwWB9VFj0A
— Alabama A&M University (@aamuedu) May 4, 2019
Today I graduated from THE ILLUSTRIOUS Norfolk State University with a B.S. in Optical Engineering w/ a minor in Mathematics 🤓 I suffered from crippling depression and anxiety #ButGod told me that he made me for this! PERIODT 🎓✨#LLJJ🕊 pic.twitter.com/XALN8XCy5U
— Yonca 👽 (@hotgirlhoneyb) May 5, 2019
One of the highlights of graduation season is the list of commencement speeches. Students want star power, authenticity and inspiration. Several celebrities are making the rounds this year, including Girls Trip star Regina Hall, who will speak at Dillard University on May 11. Dillard president Walter Kimbrough said the school worked with students to find a speaker. When the decision to go with Hall was announced, the student reaction was positive.
“People are really excited when we announced Regina Hall, particularly because she just had Little that came out last month, and then she’ll be in Shaft later this month,” said Kimbrough. “So we have her in between two big movies. And she’s doing the Showtime series, Black Monday. … We look for someone with new insight and a new perspective to share with our graduates.”
Florida A&M University (FAMU) featured three speakers, including rapper and actor Common. He received an honorary doctorate and gave a commencement address to students on May 3.
Lamman Rucker — an actor best known for his work in the TV series Greenleaf, House of Payne and the film Why Did I Get Married? — spoke at Lane College on April 25. He’ll be at LeMoyne-Owen College on May 11.
Congratulations to @Common who received an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from @FAMU_1887, where he attended college in the early '90s! He gave the commencement speech for the Class of 2019 and left… https://t.co/TZ3KZ2Z8cW
— SoulBounce (@SoulBounce) May 7, 2019
Several schools decided to go with politicians. Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke was the keynote speaker for graduation at Paul Quinn College.
'Progress will not sustain itself,' Beto O'Rourke tells graduates of Dallas' Paul Quinn College – Dallas Video https://t.co/sMmGVluwIL pic.twitter.com/iTbgFxeszr
— Dallas Informer (@Dallasinformer) May 5, 2019
Sen. Cory Booker will speak to students at South Carolina State University on May 10. Former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum also spoke at FAMU on May 3. He will be at Clark Atlanta University on May 20.
The Spring 2019 Tougaloo College commencement is now underway! Commencement speaker @staceyabrams is also here. pic.twitter.com/d4wG4TZclG
— Lanaya Lewis (@LanayaLewis) May 5, 2019
Some speakers will keynote more than one graduation. Political commentator Bakari Sellers, tapped to speak at three different schools, has made the commencement speaker list every year since 2017. He spoke at Paine College on May 5. He’s scheduled to speak at Lincoln University in Missouri on May 11 and again at the University of the Virgin Islands on May 16 and 17.
Television journalist Roland Martin and political commentator Angela Rye are also HBCU commencement veterans. Martin was at Virginia University of Lynchburg on May 4 and will speak at Bowie State on May 17. Rye spoke at Wiley College on May 5. She’ll be at Texas Southern University on May 18. Author Michael Eric Dyson spoke at Tennessee State on May 4 and will be at Prairie View A&M on May 11.
However, the Rev. Al Sharpton gets the speaker MVP award. He also spoke at Tennessee State on May 4, and then again at Voorhees College that same day. The following day, he spoke at Fisk University.
Fisk University 2019 Commencement Address. Congratulations to all the graduates, well done. pic.twitter.com/xwiTe2wsEy
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) May 6, 2019
TSU President Dr. Glenda Glover and civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton during a press conference before the 2019 Graduate Commencement ceremony. #excellenceisourhabit #teamtsu #bigbluerising @TheRevAl @tsugradschool pic.twitter.com/7zHYIlWgqW
— Tennessee State Univ (@TSUedu) May 3, 2019
Below is the list of commencement speakers.
| School | Date | Speaker |
| Alabama A & M | May 3 | John O. Hudson III |
| Alabama State | May 3 | State Rep. Lataisha Jackson and Brandon Hurst |
| Albany State | May 11 | Valerie Montgomery Rice |
| Alcorn State | May 4 | Leo Denault |
| Allen | May 11 | Joey Jackson |
| American Baptist | May 16 | Harold M. Love Jr. |
| Arkansas Baptist | May 4 | Major J. Baisden |
| Benedict | May 11 | Bobby J. Donaldson |
| Bennett | May 4 | Kwanza Jones |
| Bethune-Cookman | May 11 | Benjamin Crump and Johanna LeBlanc |
| Bishop State Community | May 21 | Josh Duplintis |
| Bluefield State | May 11 | Dr. William Robertson |
| Bowie State | May 17 | Roland Martin |
| Central State | May 4 | Rev. William J. Barber II |
| Cheyney of Pennsylvania | May 11 | Susan L. Taylor |
| Claflin | May 11 | University president Henry N. Tisdale |
| Clark Atlanta | May 20 | Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum |
| Clinton | May 4 | Nina Turner |
| Coahoma Community | May 11 | Tenn. State and Alpha Kappa Alpha president Glenda Baskin Glover |
| Coppin State | May 22 | Robert L. Wallace |
| Delaware State | May 11 | U.S. Rep. Alma Adams |
| Denmark Technical | May 3 | Barnwell (S.C.) Mayor Marcus Rivera |
| Dillard | May 11 | Regina Hall |
| Edward Waters | May 11 | Ibram X. Kendi |
| Elizabeth City State | May 11 | Tyrone Poole |
| Fayetteville State | May 11 | N.C. Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and Mayor Mitch Colvin |
| Fisk | May 5 | Al Sharpton |
| Florida A&M | May 3 | Norma Ely-Jones |
| Florida Memorial | May 11 | Col. (Retired) Norma Ely-Jones |
| Fort Valley State | May 11 | Rodney D. Bullard |
| Gadsden State Community | May 9 | Dakota Heathcock, Eden Snyder and Ivy McCurley |
| Grambling State | May 10 | Marc Morial |
| H Councill Trenholm State Technical | May 10 | Porcia Bradford Love |
| Hampton | May 12 | Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams |
| Harris-Stowe State | May 11 | TBA |
| Howard | May 11 | Kasim Reed |
| Huston-Tillotson | May 11 | Michele Thornton Ghee |
| Interdenominational Theological Center | May 11 | Rev. Judge Penny Brown Reynolds |
| J.F. Drake State Community and Technical | May 9 | Markeeva Morgan |
| Jackson State | May 4 | Brig. Gen. Robert Crear |
| Jarvis Christian | May 4 | Donna Brazile |
| Johnson C. Smi | May 19 | Ralph H. Groce III |
| Kentucky State | May 9 | Rev. Gwendolyn Boyd |
| Lane | April 25 | Lamman Rucker |
| Langston | May 18 | Dave Hollister |
| Lawson State Community – Birmingham Campus | May 10 | Quinton T. Ross Jr. |
| Le Moyne-Owen | May 11 | Lamman Rucker |
| Lincoln – Missouri | May 11 | Bakari Sellers |
| Lincoln of Pennsylvania | May 5 | U.S. Rep. John Lewis |
| Livingstone | May 4 | Roslyn M. Brock |
| Meharry Medical | May 18 | Stanley M. Bergman |
| Miles | May 4 | Richard Arrington |
| Mississippi Valley State | May 4 | Victor McTeer |
| Morehouse | May 19 | Robert F. Smith |
| Morehouse school of Medicine | May 18 | Patrice Harris |
| Morgan State | May 18 | U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings |
| Morris | May 4 | Lt. Gen. Bruce T. Crawford |
| Morris Brown | May 18 | Dominique Wilkins |
| Norfolk State | May 4 | Yamiche Alcindor |
| North Carolina A & T State | May 11 | Willie A. Deese and Marshall M. Williams |
| North Carolina Central | May 11 | N.C. Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and Rev. William J. Barber II |
| Oakwood | May 11 | Darryl M. Bell |
| Paine | May 5 | Bakari Sellers |
| Paul Quinn | May 4 | Beto O’Rourke |
| Philander Smi | May 5 | Sophia A. Nelson |
| Prairie View A & M | May 11 | Michael Eric Dyson |
| Rust | April 28 | Rep. Bennie G. Thompson |
| Saint Augustine’s | May 11 | G.K. Butterfield |
| Savannah State | May 11 | University president Cheryl Davenport Dozier |
| Selma | June 28 | Jimmy Nunn |
| Shaw | May 11 | Everette Taylor |
| Shelton State Community | May 10 | Kelvin Redd |
| Shorter | May 11 | Bobby Acklin |
| Simmons – Kentucky | May 19 | James Railey |
| South Carolina State | May 10 | Sen. Cory Booker |
| Southern and A & M | May 10 | Omar J. Dorsey |
| Southern at New Orleans | May 11 | Carmen J. Walters |
| Southern at Shreveport | May 20 | Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins |
| Southwestern Christian | May 11 | Jeremy Flowers |
| Spelman | May 19 | Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms |
| St. Philip’s | May 10 | Marc Cross |
| Stillman | May 4 | Lyn Stanfield |
| Talladega | May 5 | Essye B. Miller |
| Tennessee State | May 4 | Al Sharpton and Michael Eric Dyson |
| Texas | May 4 | Cynthia Marshall |
| Texas Southern | May 18 | Angela Rye |
| Tougaloo | May 5 | Stacey Abrams |
| Tuskegee | May 11 | Harold Davis |
| University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | May 11 | Gwendolyn Boyd |
| University of Maryland Eastern Shore | May 24 | John B. King Jr |
| University of the District of Columbia | May 11 | Maxine Waters |
| University of the Virgin Islands | May 16–17 | Bakari Sellers |
| Virginia State | May 19 | Jennifer McLean and Lucy McBath |
| Virginia Union | May 11 | Danny Glover |
| Virginia of Lynchburg | May 4 | Roland Martin |
| Voorhees | May 4 | Al Sharpton |
| West Virginia State | May 11 | Rev. Ronald English |
| Wilberforce | May 4 | Michael Lomax |
| Wiley | May 5 | Angela Rye |
| Winston-Salem State | May 10 | Kwanza Jones |
| Xavier of Louisiana | May 11 | Pierre Johnson, Maxime Madhere and Joseph Semien |