Harris congratulates HBCU graduates in video message for graduation season
WASHINGTON — Graduating students at historically Black colleges and universities across the country are receiving well wishes via a video greeting from a prominent fellow alumna: Vice President Kamala Harris.
“As a proud HBCU graduate, I know firsthand the value of attending an institution like yours,” the vice president says in a congratulatory video that has already been met with shock and applause during graduation ceremonies.
The surprise video, which has debuted at a handful of HBCU commencement ceremonies in the past week, will appear at around half of all HBCUS in the country, according to the White House.
“You leave here having been taught that you can do and be anything. And that you have a duty be excellent. To work to uplift the condition of all people. And to fight to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms,” Harris says in the pre-recorded message.
Harris is the first HBCU graduate elected to the vice presidency and has been embraced by the tightknit communities that surround many of those historic schools since her time in national politics. Last year, she included HBCUS in a nationwide tour to rally young voters to “fight for fundamental freedoms and rights.”
“We were ecstatic to get the message,” said Quinton Ross, president of Alabama State University, which aired the video during graduation ceremonies earlier this month. “Everyone was
excited when her face came on the screen to give that message.”
The Biden administration has allotted a record $7 billion in funding for HBCUS, an investment that the Biden campaign has highlighted in its outreach to Black voters.
Harris’ message to graduates comes as the White House faces intense criticism and protests on many college campuses from young voters over its handling of the Israel-hamas war. Students are also dissatisfied with the state of education domestically, as many universities grapple with increased scrutiny on DEI programs from conservative activists and lawmakers and the fallout of the Supreme Court’s ruling that ended affirmative action.
But Harris’ commencement message does not broach those hot-button issues; Instead, she strikes a note of celebration for students’ academic achievements.
“We need your voice and we need your leadership,” Harris says in the video.