Biden to give speech at Howard commencement

President Joe Biden will deliver the keynote address at Howard University’s 155th Commencement Ceremony on May 13, according to CNN.

The White House reportedly confirmed Saturday that Biden would also deliver a keynote speech at the United States Air Force Academy’s commencement in June.

As theGrio previously reported, Biden has pushed for funding for the country’s 100 plus HBCU’s during his presidency. In 2021, Biden gave a speech at HBCU South Carolina State University’s fall commencement ceremony and lauded similar schools.

“The reason I got elected in 1972 was because of an HBCU called Delaware State University.  They organized for me,” Biden said during the speech to applause. “So, folks, you’re inheriting an incredible tradition graduating from this university.”

In addition to being the alma mater of Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation’s first Black vice president and Biden’s running mate, Howard University is a key hub of Black history.

The school is the alma mater of the first Black Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall and the first black Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ralph Bunche, served as a professor and the founding leader of the political science department at the school.

In 2016, then-president Barack Obama delivered the keynote address at Howard University’s commencement ceremony.

“The generations of men and women who walked through this yard helped reform our government, cure disease, grow a black middle class, advance civil rights, shape our culture. The seeds of change – for all Americans – were sown here,” Obama said.

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