Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to give several live commencement speeches to 2020 graduates, the first one being Saturday.
With the coronavirus taking away graduation ceremonies for many Americans, Lebron James and XQ Institute have created "Graduate Together: High School class of 2020 Commencement ," a one hour virtual ceremony for all graduates.
This event will be filled with speeches from musicians, athletes, actors, and, of course, former President Obama. Beginning at 7 p.m. central time, the event will air on NBC as well as ABC, CBS, and FOX.
Obama is scheduled to give one of the addresses during the event. However, this is not the only time Obama will give a commencement speech.
Prior to Graduate Together, Obama will give a speech to over 27,000 graduates from 78 historically black colleges and universities. This event is called “Show Me Your Walk H.B.C.U. Edition,” and will be streamed on the social media platforms of its corporate sponsor, JPMorgan Chase, beginning at 1 p.m. central time.
The former president is also scheduled to give a live speech on YouTube on June 6. This time though, Obama will be joined by his wife Michelle.
Graduating is a big achievement no matter what, but with all that the Class of 2020 has dealt with to get across the finish line, I think they’ve earned a little celebration. I hope you’ll all join me in honoring them at 2PM ET and 8PM ET. pic.twitter.com/dBK5nll7w8
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 16, 2020
According to the New York Times, these events were among dozens of requests the Obamas received from around the world to address graduates whose in-person ceremonies had been canceled.
In a tweet, Obama wrote this about the addresses: "I’ve always loved joining commencements––the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice. Even if we can’t get together in person this year, Michelle and I are excited to celebrate the nationwide Class of 2020 and recognize this milestone with you and your loved ones."
This story was originally published by Julia Marshall at WTMJ.
