Obamas, Beyonce lead YouTube event
Taylor Swift, Chris Martin and Katy Perry also join in for virtual graduation ceremony
Former US President Barack Obama said in a commencement speech that the nationwide protests following the recent deaths of unarmed black women and men including George Floyd were fuelled from “decades worth of anguish, frustration, over unequal treatment and a failure to perform police practices.”
Obama along with his wife, Michelle, delivered speeches during YouTube’s Dear Class of 2020 virtual ceremony. The duo, along with a wide-ranging, star-studded line-up including Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Tom Brady, offered inspirational messages in hopes of uplifting new graduates.
The former president told graduates that the coronavirus shined a light on a plethora of America’s ongoing issues.
“As scary and uncertain these times may be, they are also a wake-up call. And they’re an incredible opportunity for your generation,” he said.
Beyonce delivered a stirring 10-minute speech to graduates. She spoke about the recent protests as well as shared her secrets to success and the importance of ownership.
“You are achieving things your parents and grandparents never could imagine for themselves,” she said. “You are the answer to a generation of prayers.”
Beyonce advised graduates to believe in themselves as she did when the singer started her own company a decade ago.
The four-hour ceremony was filmed over the last several weeks, but Lady Gaga decided to re-record her message. Her initial speech touched on the effect Covid-19 had on this year’s graduating class, but she wanted to speak more on the Floyd’s death, the Black Lives Matter movement and racism in America.
“Change will happen, and it will be for the better,” she said.