Despite the many hardships that graduating classes of 2021 all across the country have had to endure, finishing school in the midst of a pandemic, high school officials in at least two states couldn’t resist blemishing what should be a moment of celebration with some tired, racist antics — including…
Tag: Graduation
Wilberforce University, Nation’s Oldest HBCU, Surprises Graduates by Forgiving Student Loan Debt During Graduation Ceremony
A total of 166 graduates of Wilberforce University got the graduation gift of a lifetime earlier this week. During the school’s graduation ceremony, University President Elfred Anthony Pinkard announced that the school would be forgiving all student loan debt owed by the graduates. Minyvonne Burke of NBC News reported that…
Pharrell Offers Guaranteed Internships to High School Graduates in Harlem: Video
Producer and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams was the graduation speaker at The Promise Academy, a Harlem Children’s Zone high school led by Geoffrey Canada and Anne Williams-Isom. As a well-earned gift to the graduating class of 114 seniors (all of whom are going to college) Pharrell told the students on June…
Morehouse Commencement Speaker Robert F. Smith to Pay Off Student Loans of 2019 Grads
Morehouse College’s Class of 2019 received an extraordinary surprise on Sunday morning that will positively affect their future. During graduation exercises at the all-male historically Black college located in Atlanta, billionaire technology investor and philanthropist Robert F. Smith, who received an honorary doctorate, told the almost 400 graduates that he’s…
Archived: Graduating While Black: Students Manhandled on Stage at University of Florida Commencement Ceremony
During the University of Florida’s (UF) commencement ceremony, a white university graduation marshal decided to stop Black students from celebrating their diplomas with “strolling.” He physically forced them off stage. At the pinnacle of their college careers, Black graduates were reminded that racism exists at the university. “Strolling” is a…
Archived: Principal Says Devil Made Her Say Racist Comment at Graduation
By Sheryl Estrada TNT Academy Principal Nancy Gordeuk, who made racist comments during the school’s graduation ceremony Friday night, said the devil prompted her hateful remarks. Rather than admitting she needs to confront her racist sentiments toward Blacks, she sought penance by apologizing. At the ceremony, Gordeuk, the founder of…