Historically Black colleges and universities will hold 2021 commencement ceremonies this month. Here’s a list of the schools and guest speakers.
Howard University – Saturday, May 8 with guest speaker Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of Equal Justice Initiative. Actor Michael B. Jordan starred in “Just Mercy,” which focused on Stevenson’s work to revamp the criminal justice system. For more information, go to https://commencement.howard.edu.
University of District of Columbia – Saturday, May 8 with the keynote address by Stefanie Tompkins, director of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of Arlington, Virginia. She helps identify breakthroughs in technology for national security. To watch the commencement, go to www.udc.edu/commencement.
Morgan State University in Baltimore – May 14 ceremonies for 2020 graduates and master’s and doctoral degrees; May 15 for undergraduates. Keynote speaker with Michael V. Drake, president of the University of California that oversees 10 campuses, five medical centers and three affiliated labs with more than 280,000 students. Drake also co-authored six books. For more information, go to https://news.morgan.edu/commencement-2021.
Bowie State University – May 21 with guest speaker Stacey Abrams, former Georgia state representative, 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate and author. Abrams established “Fair Fight Action” to combat voter suppression and credited in voter turnout in Georgia in last year’s presidential election. For more information and to view the ceremony, go to www.bowiestate.edu/bulldog-connection/commencement.