Black Graduates Celebrate Success, Defy Stereotypes at Graduation Season

Once tassels have been turned from the right to the left, the caps tossed into the air, and the valedictorian has delivered their most moving, standing ovation-worthy speech, you know it is officially graduate season. This is the time of the year hallmarked by celebrating our loved ones for their academic achievements before they move on to their next big accomplishments. 

Whether post-grads are looking to explore further collegiate routes, including graduate school or a new career, it is magical to watch our community be celebrated. For those graduates who found collegiate homes in a Historically Black College and/or University, graduation season can mean more than a “goodbye;” it welcomes them into a vibrant and enriching alumni community.

In today’s very political and sometimes discouraging environment, it’s essential to see positive examples of successful Black graduates making large strides in their post-graduate careers. As our Black graduates process this season with honor cords brightly displayed and their heads held high, let us not forget to support them in their endeavors after receiving their formal education. 

Whether it be a quick stroll to commemorate a graduate joining a National Pan-Hellenic sorority or fraternity during their time on campus, noting the carefully- practiced steps across the stage sure to make the audience smile, or simply hearing the graduates’ families cheering them on, almost nothing beats the feeling of watching our graduates wrapping their hands around their diplomas.

The importance of Black graduation season is in the fact that soon-to-be Black professionals are crossing the stage of institutions where the professors, deans, presidents, and successful alumni, etc., look exactly like the students. The older faces of alumni serve as a reminder that even in the face of adversity, there is still an American Dream for our young Black people to strive for in this country. 

Let’s Talk Stats

It is not a secret that the statistics of Black and Brown students graduating from high school, let alone attending institutions of higher education, are considerably lower compared to their white counterparts. According to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) only 57% of Black students have the access necessary to math and science courses that are mandatory for college readiness, while 71% of white students have access to these courses. 

The UNCF also wrote that 45.9% of Black students take six years to complete their studies at four-year institutions. Black men are staggering with a low 40% completing their collegiate studies. 

 These burdens stem from the fact that college is becoming increasingly unaffordable, especially for those from low-income backgrounds. Somehow, students have to balance school, part-time jobs, internships, sports, and even the possibility of crossing into one of the highly esteemed and selective D9 sororities or fraternities. But, thankfully, HBCUs have lessened this financial burden.

Students have reported that attending HBCUs has long helped ease the burden of financials as it pertains to institutions. Despite HBCUs only making up 3% of the United States institutions, they are responsible for producing 20% of the nation’s graduates.

Those Damn Stereotypes

In most stereotypes that resonate deeply with white conservative beliefs, Black people have few career paths that end in white-collar professions.  Conservatives like Bill O’Reilly believe that Black people, regardless of their level of collegiate study, rarely amount to anything more than common criminals. 

However, as with most stereotypes, that is not the case. In fact, it is particularly ludicrous in our present, as we watch many of those same conservatives now struggle mightily to simply strive for basic competence. Something that has proven to be increasingly elusive for them as their constant lies and excuses continue to turn off the American Public.

Currently, today, Black women are amongst the most educated demographic in America. Outranking White women, Asian Women, and Latino women altogether. According to ThoughtCo, more than 50% of Black women have achieved post-secondary degrees despite only 12.7% making up the population.

This all occurs in the midst of Black women being labeled as dramatic, loud, angry, etc. by literally every other demographic in the world. So, in true reflection, it seems as though the stereotypes are just that. Stereotypes.

Happiness, Joy and Success

Being Black in America, especially now, has proven to be a long laundry list of unkept promises with a sprinkling of stupidity, and a handful of even more racism. From the threat of losing funding for HBCUs to the fact that Black governmental workers are losing their jobs due to “woke ideologues,” we as Black people need something to look forward to. And graduation season has that covered.

From XULA, to Morehouse, to Wiley, to Howard, to Paul Quinn College, the graduates have been proving that Black people are not the DEI hires white conservatives would like to believe. These graduates are students who have graduated with honors, who beat the odds of adversity, and did it all while proving that they, too, deserve a seat at the table because they earned it. 

These students have built legacies and not merely because they went to an HBCU but because they did the work. They utilized their resources, they talked to professionals, they networked, and they showed up not only for themselves but for the people who were behind them, cheering them on every step of the way. We all know that no matter where their degree of choice takes them, they are going to be successful. And, sure, there may be failures, but there will be someone to catch them when they fall.

So to see these young Black men and women cross the stage with bright smiles, and in the spectacular clothing, is a testament to not only them but also how the Black community will find joy even when everything else is trying to bring them to tears.