Could 19, 2025
Morris Brown leaders highlighted that the funds from Jakes could not have come at a greater time as HBCUs are labeled as being financially beneath assault.
Morris Brown School obtained an enormous shock from Pastor T.D. Jakes, throughout its 2025 graduation ceremony after he introduced a donation of $100,000, Atlanta Information First reported.
The Potter’s Home chief made the pledge in direction of the tip of his shifting speech geared towards resilience, legacy, and management, securing cost for greater than 150 workforce certification exams that can assist college students with credentials in high-demand fields. “The shock announcement underscores a key theme from his graduation tackle: That legacy is just not what we inherit however what we make investments ahead,” a Potter’s Home consultant stated in an announcement.
The HBCU’s graduation ceremony, held on Could 17, befell at Atlanta’s Saint Philip A.M.E. Church, the place 58 college students crossed the stage from faculty college students to college students of the actual world. In accordance with 11 Alive, the donation was made via the T.D. Jakes Basis as Jakes drew a correlation between the commencement and Morris Brown’s legendary comeback. “This present is just not about what we’ve inherited, however what we make investments ahead,” Jakes stated, who walked away with an honorary diploma.
Morris Brown, residence of the Wolverines, has overcome mass adversities, bouncing again from shedding accreditation to opening their doorways to college students of colleges like Limestone College, which introduced its closure in Could 2025. The faculty made nationwide headlines in 2022 for changing into the primary HBCU to regain accreditation after 20 years.
As firms like Chick-fil-A have made enormous donations prior to now, Morris Brown leaders highlighted that the funds from Jakes couldn’t have come at a greater time, as HBCUs are labeled as being financially beneath assault. However Jakes inspired graduates to proceed the battle, not only for their alma mater, however for the local weather of the world. “You’ve come too far to not rise up. Battle till you construct your corporation or firm, discover a treatment for most cancers, franchise your self, or get in your ft,” Jakes stated.
Atlanta-based HBCUs have been busy in mid-Could, with various Black celebrities giving graduation speeches, concerning totally different subjects. Civil rights advocate and former presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West spoke to Morehouse School grads, specializing in “non secular wickedness in excessive locations” whereas Academy Award-nominated Actress Taraji P. Henson touched on Spelman School graduates leaning on their circles “for sisterhood” whereas surviving in a political and social world “the place Black girls have been exhausted of their ongoing efforts.”
RELATED CONTENT: T.D. Jakes Companions With The Largest Black-Owned Actual Property Developer In Miami For Reasonably priced Housing Undertaking