Black Harvard Students Get Black-Only Graduation Ceremony

Harvard University will be doing something very different this year. Graduate Black Harvard students get a black-only graduation ceremony. This tradition is being expanded to where next year it will include undergraduate students as well.

This ceremony will feature 125 black students. They raised $25,000 themselves to cover the expenses for the ceremony. Along with this ceremony, these students will also participate in the regular graduation ceremony.

Black Harvard Students Get Black-Only Graduation Ceremony

This ceremony is scheduled to happen May 23. It was first reported by The Root. The ceremony intends to “acknowledge the struggles and resilience that black students have had to possess in order to thrive in higher education," specifically when in a primarily white environment, such as Harvard.

Per Conservative Tribune:

“This is an opportunity to celebrate Harvard’s black excellence and black brilliance,” said Michael Huggins, soon to graduate with a master’s in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. “It’s an event where we can see each other and our parents and family can see us as a collective, whole group. A community.”

“This is not about segregation,” Huggins added. “It’s about fellowship and building a community. This is a chance to reaffirm for each other that we enter the work world with a network of supporters standing with us. We are all partners.”

The funny thing about this ceremony is that they claim it is not segregation. When actually, this type of situation literally is the definition of segregation. Merriam-Webster defines segregation: (T)he separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by enforced or voluntary residence in a restricted area, by barriers to social intercourse, by separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means."

Having a black-only graduation ceremony would fit this definition to the letter of the law.

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