Black Graduation

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Friday, May 19, 2023 | 4:00pm - 5:30pm | Person Theatre 

Black Graduation celebrates the brilliance and unapologetic Blackness that is represented within SSU's Black student population. We honor the accomplishments of graduating students who identify within the African Diaspora by highlighting the common experience. The ceremony also pays tribute to graduating students' families and the communities that contributed to their success.

PROGRAM AGENDA

Student Processional

Welcome and Land Acknowledgment from Emcee

Tramaine Austin-Dillon, Manager, HUB Cultural Center

Libation Ceremony

Nubian Café Collective

Greetings from Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA)

Gerald L. Jones, J.D., Vice President for Student Affairs

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Dirk Tolson III, Senator of Government Affairs, Associated Students (AS)

Black Graduation Student Speaker

Amanda Luckett, Black Student Union (BSU) Co-President

History and Significance of the Kente Cloth

Jerlena Griffin-Desta, Ph.D.,Chief of Staff to the President/Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Diversity

Presentation of 2023 Black Graduates

Manza B.J. Atkinson, Ph.D., Professor, Chemistry Patrick Johnson, Ph.D., Professor, American Multicultural Studies (AMCS)

Keynotes Address

Kim Hester-Williams, Ph.D., Professor, English and American Multicultural Studies (AMCS)

Spoken Word

Porsche Veu, The Poetic Activist

2023 BSU D.R.E. Award

Olivia Blades, BSU Representative

Special thanks: Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, The HUB Cultural Center, SSU Alumni Association, Campus Prints, Conference & Event Services, Red Rose Catering, Sonoma County MLK Birthday Celebration Committee, Everett and Jones Barbeque