Obama headlines virtual commencement ceremony.

Former President Barack Obama headlined a virtual commencement ceremony Saturday afternoon for graduates of the 74 historically black colleges and universities across the United States, delivering a powerful meditation on the way systemic racism infects the health and safety of black Americans — and calling on those watching to use their educations to fight it.

Obama touched on the major headlines of this moment, including the government’s response to the novel coronavirus, the way the pandemic has hit black people especially hard and the fatal shooting of a 25year-old black jogger named Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia by two white men.

“You’re being asked to find your way in the world in the middle of a devastating pandemic and terrible recession. The timing is not ideal,” Obama said. “And let’s be honest. A disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country. We see it in the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our communities, just as we see it when a black man goes for a jog, and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn’t submit to their questioning.”

“Injustice like this isn’t new,” Obama continued. “What is new is that so much of your generation has woken up to the fact that the status quo needs fixing; that the old ways of doing things don’t work; that it doesn’t matter how much money you make if everyone around you is hungry and sick; and that our society and democracy only works when we think not just about ourselves, but about each other.”

The speech capped off a twohour live-streamed event called “Show Me Your Walk, HBCU

Edition,” which included appearances from HBCU alumni, actors and actresses, NBA players and owners, corporate CEOs and artists. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif, a Howard University graduate, made an appearance. Comedian Kevin Hart hosted. COMMON, Steve Harvey, Gary Clark Jr. and Debbie Allen also made appearances.

But the main event was Obama’s commencement address, which was streamed on YouTube and social media by the event’s sponsor, Chase Bank, in partnership with Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the United Negro College Fund, the National Association for Equal Opportunity, the National Basketball Association, Paul Quinn College, Howard University and JPMorgan Chase’s Advancing Black Pathways Initiative.

In his message, Obama opened with a nod to the lessthan-ideal circumstances under which the class of 2020 finished off their college education. Restrictions on large gatherings and mandates of physical distancing forced schools and universities across the country to shut down in-person classes earlier this spring and transition to online learning.

Obama said the HBCU graduates had still “earned this moment,” even if they spent the second half of the semester on “Zoom University.”

He also paid homage to the spirit of HBCU celebrations, which the livestreamed event tried to replicate with a roll call from school officials, short speeches from senior students and musical performances.

Obama said that now more than ever, HBCU graduates have the tools they need to seize their power to make change. Obama called on the 2020 class to be “bold” and have a “vision that isn’t clouded by cynicism or fear.”

“No generation has been better positioned to be warriors for justice and remake the world,” Obama said.