By Hamil R. Harris
From playing the slave, Kunta Kinte, in Roots to playing a crew member on the Enterprise in
Star Trek, LeVar Burton is an Emmy award-winning actor who was keynote speaker at Howard University’s 157th Annual Commencement.
But, before speaking, Burton couldn’t resist singing a few lines from the inspirational theme song from PBS’s hit children’s program, “Reading Rainbow”, which he hosted for 23 years and also produced:
“Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high. Take a look, it’s in a book, a reading rainbow,” sang Burton as he fought back tearful emotions during the May 10th commencement.
From talking about how his mother pushed his passion for reading to how writer Alex Haley, and actors Louis Gossett, and Cicely Tyson groomed him in Roots, Burton offered many lessons to the
Howard University class of 2025, including the need to push for excellence in all things.
“In Erma Gene’s House you either read a book or were hit in the head with one,” said Burton referring to his mother.“Whether I was raking the yard or writing an essay nothing less than my best effort was required.”
He added, “As we know, our country is not interested in our excellence. However, these days some are not only interested in denying the existence of Black excellence but in dismantling the historical record.”
In one of the most compelling scenes in Roots – after Kunta Kinte was beaten until he uttered his slave name, Toby – Louis Gossett’s character “Chicken George,” tells Kunta Kinte, “There is going to be another day.”
Burton told the students that even though President Donald Trump has gutted many diversity programs and the future is uncertain, “that day has arrived. Whatever you do, do not allow fear to paralyze you.”
Such words of wisdom were given across the country as Burton and other HBCU speakers helped new graduates to clarify and set their courses in life. They included a trial lawyer who is now the first African-American speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. Another speaker was a woman who has gone from a homeless shelter to life as a multi-millionaire. Another was a little girl who went from being an orphan to a three-star general in the Army and yet another woman who went from being an electrical engineer to becoming an Astronaut on a space shuttle.
At North Carolina A&T, Brad Holmes, general manager and executive vice-president of the Detroit Lions, was the speaker at the undergraduate commencement and NASA astronaut Joan Higginbotham was the speaker for the graduate school.
“Whatever path you choose it is going to be hard. Choose your hard. Marriage is hard. Divorce is hard. Choose your hard. Obesity is hard. Fitness is hard. Choose your hard,” Holmes said. “Whatever path you choose, choose your hard.”
At a time when President Donald Trump has abolished many Black History programs, Higginbotham, an electrical engineer, is only the third African-American woman to travel to space.
In fact, by the time she retired in 2007, she had logged 300 hours in space.
“Graduates, today is your launch day,” Higginbotham told the students at the North Carolina A&T Graduate School commencement where she outlined three keys to success. The first thing she said was “Preparation is Power,” because one can, “fake their way to excellence.”
The second point she made was to, “Never underestimate the power of your perspective.” And the third point from Higginbotham was to, “Say yes to the stretch.” She said they had many unsuccessful practice runs at NASA but on most mission days things went smoothly.
One of the common themes of HBCU commencement speakers was to encourage the graduates to show tenacity and to push harder at a time when President Trump and members of his administration continue to scrap diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
At Hampton University, the Honorable Don Scott, Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, delivered the Commencement Ceremony on May 11 where he focused on being successful after a setback.
Scott, the first Black Speaker of the Virginia House, told his own story of getting arrested while in college, but he turned his life around and became a successful trial lawyer.
“Tough times are not your enemy,” said Scott, who was raised by a single mother who kept the faith and stood by his side as he faced 10 years in prison while a student at Texas A&M.
Scott said he got back in school, graduated, and was accepted to law school. He became a trial lawyer, ran for the Virginia General Assembly, and for the first time in 400 years, the Democrats won control of the Virginia House of Delegates.
“Don’t tell me God can’t do it,” said Scott. He added that before he left office President Joe Biden gave him a presidential pardon 31 years after he was arrested.
“Expect the bumps in the road. Don’t ever forget where you come from. In 2014, I passed the Virginia Bar exam on the first try,” Scott said. “Always expect excellence!”
In 2015, Retired Army Lt. General Dr. Nadja West M.D. became the 44th surgeon general of the U.S. Army. She was the first Black person to be appointed to the position. Her promotion also made her the highest-ranking female graduate of the U.S. Military Academy.
“Take a few breaths. Use your eyes, and you will achieve something great, you will achieve a major milestone years in the making,” Dr. West told the 494 graduates at Baton Rouge University. “You have what it takes to get it done.”
As she spoke, West reflected on her graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point because she grew up as an “orphan with an uncertain future.” Now, moving forward, “an attitude of gratitude in all that you do.”
While West spoke at Southern University in Baton Rouge, U. S. Rep. Jasmine Crocket (D-Texas) was the commencement speaker at Southern University in New Orleans where about 150 people received degrees.
“They never wanted us to be educated,” Crocket said. This big pink eraser can’t erase what was written in blood. This school was created out of segregation. They banked on SUNO to fail.
Dr. Cornel West was the graduation speaker at Morehouse College in Atlanta where he told the class of 2025, “Neverbe afraid to let your voice. To do what God has called you to do?
“None of us have a monopoly on truth. I have one question. Do you have what it takes to be long-distance runners and not sprinters? Do you have a cause or just a brand?…We need Eagles and not just peacocks. Peacocks look good but they can’t fly. Class of 2025 are you ready to take on the world?”
Fawn Weaver, founder and CEO of the whiskey brand ‘Uncle Nearest’ was recognized by Forbes Magazine for creating a net worth of $480 million.
Weaver, who went from being a high school drop out to a multi-millionaire, was the 2025 commencement speaker at Florida A&M University and had plenty to say at a time when the school has just named a new president close to the state’s conservative Governor Ron DeSantis.
“When you see me leaving the stage early, somebody is sending a plane to bring me to their party,” Weaver said. “I sit in rooms with the most powerful people in the world. There were 100 people in Big Sky, Montana, they were all billionaires, and their number one question was: How do we find our purpose?”
“My father went from picking cotton to being a Motown hitmaker,” Weaver said. “You will be bombarded by people telling you what you cannot do.”
She concluded, “You are your only limitation, flees are in a jar right below the lid. When you take off the lid, they never jump higher. It’s not about gender or race. If God is for you, then who can be against you?”
