HBCU Tennessee State University recently announced Oprah Winfrey as a keynote speaker at their upcoming 2023 Spring Commencement ceremony.
The media mogul will address over 800 students that are on track to graduate this semester. Joining Winfrey, Congressman Bennie G. Thompson will also speak at the commencement ceremony celebrations. The congressman is now onto his 15th term in the House of Representatives; throughout his career, he’s represented the Second Congressional District in Mississippi, where he was born.
The two keynote speakers are set to give speeches throughout the course of two days. While Congressman Thompson will speak at the indoor ceremony scheduled for May 5 at the Gentry Center Complex, Winfrey will speak at the official commencement ceremony. On May 6, Winfrey will give her speech to the TSU graduates at the Hale Stadium.
“Commencement is always a special time for our students and their families, as it marks a major milestone in our students’ lives and a sign of success for them,” said Glenda Glover, the TSU President, per a statement released by Tennessee State University. “To have Ms. Winfrey as our speaker will be a life changing moment for graduates and the University.”
“Ms. Winfrey and Congressman Thompson are trailblazers, history makers and HBCU graduates, adding to the excitement and anticipation for both commencement ceremonies,” she added.
Winfrey is an alumnus of Tennessee State University, otherwise known more simply as TSU, herself. The media mogul graduated from the HBCU in 1987 after enrolling at TSU in 1971.
Entering the school on a full scholarship, Winfrey studied communications. As she was one-credit shy of graduating, she took up her first job co-anchoring the six o’clock news at WJZ-TV in Baltimore. She eventually returned to hand in her final term paper in 1986, earning her degree at TSU when she was already building her career.
Throughout her career, Winfrey has broken barriers as a media leader, philanthropist, actress and producer. Her award-winning talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” is known as one of the highest-rated TV talk shows in history.
Winfrey expanded her work in the media, founding the Oprah Winfrey Network and her own lifestyle magazine brand. With her success, she became the first Black female billionaire in the U.S. In 2018, Winfrey was also honored for her work in the media, becoming the first Black woman to receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for her contributions.
Winfrey is also notable for her philanthropy. Throughout the years, she’s donated over $400 million to students, including those at TSU. For her activism in both Africa and the U.S., she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.
