Clark Atlanta University held its annual spring graduation ceremonies at Panther Field on May 18. Tucked away in the HBCU haven where Clark Atlanta, Morehouse, Spellman, and Morris Brown share a section of Atlanta real estate thousands gathered in rain-threatening conditions to witness the conferring of degrees marking the end of the successful matriculation of one of the nation’s most storied HBCUs.
Clark Atlanta University pulls out all stops for graduation
CAU’s graduation ceremony was as elaborate as any in America, HBCU or otherwise. Panther Stadium was transformed with a full stage, sound, lighting, and hundreds of yards of red carpet for all participating in the ceremony to walk upon. The full-fledged media production included multiple cameras, two big LED screens, a giant jib camera, and a drone injected into the video elements.
The marching in of the administration, faculty, alumni, and graduates was as prestigious a ceremony as they come. Walking behind banners of the various colleges and schools of CAU, the entrance of all participants was fit for royalty. The weather predictions revealed a high possibility of rain, but the event was blessed not to see a single drop.
Kyle Anderson was the first college graduate on either side of his family. On May 18th, he attained his B.S. in Psychology from Clark Atlanta University. In the same class was Nyeja Warner, who attained her second HBCU degree while gracing the stage to accept her Master’s in Business Administration. While both walked across the same stage within minutes of each other, their journeys could not have been more different.
Anderson’s tenure was groundbreaking in his lineage
Anderson hails from Trenton, New Jersey. His mother, Kellie Baker, said he was destined to migrate to CAU. “He has always been conscious of who he was and though he does not come from a family of college graduates, he was focused early on going to an HBCU. He wanted that culture. He only applied to HBCUs and chose Clark Atlanta.” Baker said.
Anderson’s uncanny understanding of what his graduation means was on full display at a graduation party reminiscent of a family reunion. Nearly a hundred family and friends traveled from New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, and other areas converged to celebrate the milestone graduation.
The importance of his graduation was not lost on him. “I understand the magnitude. To see my family and friends all come together just to celebrate me and what I have accomplished these last 22 years has been amazing. These last two days have been amazing,” Anderson said.
Family members gave tributes to Anderson at the celebration, including his estranged father. His grandmother, Linda Baker, spoke of the family pride brought about by the graduation. “You are the first member of our family to graduate college. You have indeed broken a generational curse,” she said.
Warner was expected to attend college from birth
Warner hails from Atlanta, Georgia. However, when it came time for college she chose to go South to Florida A&M University. While at FAMU, she attained her B.S. in Public Relations in 2017. With two parents that had attended Howard University, it was expected that she keep the family tradition going.
Warner is ecstatic to be able to claim two HBCUs as her alma mater. “My parents went to Howard University and I was intent on going there. I was accepted at Howard and the finances were just not adding up. My father encouraged me to apply to FAMU. I was accepted immediately and before I knew it, I was in orientation. I had a great opportunity at FAMU,” Warner said.
In college, she would expand her horizons. She was a member of the FAMU cheerleader squad. Warner was a part of the FAMU team that won the final MEAC Cheerleading Conference championship in 2016. While in school, she also participated in a campus dance team called the Diamond Dancers. She also interned in FAMU Athletics and was a star intern. She would escalate to one of the student leaders in the department and would often manage other interns for the sports information department.
After graduating from fellow HBCU Florida A&M University, Warner interned at the National Football League Players Association, the union for the NFL. It was a 10-month internship in Washington, D.C. It expanded her desire to work in the sports field. That internship is a coveted one and one of the hardest in the country to attain.
“When I was selecting a graduate school, I looked at schools that had sports and entertainment as part of their MBA programs. The program at CAU fit perfectly to what I was looking for and I am so glad I chose to be a Panther,” Warner said.
Her pension for being involved moved her to intern in the athletic department at CAU. She gravitated to sports information and when she arrived, CAU was without a director for the department. Warner would step in the role of graduate assistant for athletics and hold down many of the roles of the sports information director until CAU was able to fill the role. Her experience in the area happened to be just right for the situation and bridge the gap for CAU.
Two different paths garner the same results
Two graduates who walked across the stage on the same day, have stories as different as the edges of the galaxy. What is the common thread is their desire to be among people who look like them and understand their struggles. All the while elevating their intelligence. This is the essence of why HBCUs are important, though those who have no understanding question this very notion.
“I‘ve always said I wanted all of my secondary education from HBCU institutions because those are the places made specifically for us. They mold us and prepare us differently. We don’t have to feel out of place in preparation for being in the real world,” Warner concluded.
“It was amazing to be around your class of young black people and inspire each other that we can do anything. We can spark a change in this world and it’s right there for us to conquer,” Anderson said.
Black delivers stellar commencement address
So many times at college commencements, the audience is ready to get past the address and get to the handing out of degrees. That was not the case Saturday. Daniel Black, Ph.D. lit up the arena with an offering that was part sermon, part motivational speaking, part affirmation, part hip-hop acknowledgment, but full HBCU.
From the moment Clark Atlanta President Dr. George French introduced Black as a speaker, in the words of Drake it went “0 to 100 real quick.”
“Here they come y’all, here they come! Here they come y’all, here they come! Here they come y’all, here they come! Doctors, lawyers, writers, business owners, teachers, healers, rappers, preachers… Here they come y’all, here they come!”
Black’s opening brought thunderous applause as he continued to name the fields of possibility for the new CAU graduates. There wasn’t a dull moment in his oration. Standing ovations, shouts of joy, shouts for the Lord, and shouts of affirmation littered the speech. It was as electric a delivery of a commencement address as possible.
The goal of a commencement address is to give the graduates some words of advice and encouragement as they move forward. Black knocked it out of the park. He did everything from injecting the ancestral relevance of their graduation to comparing them to being better thank Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s diss feud to injecting some Bossman Dlow into his vernacular. He even worked in the most popular rap lyrics from the No.1 song in the country saying “There are other schools around, but they not like us.”