Harris congratulates HBCU graduates in video message for graduation season

WASHINGTON (AP) — Graduating students at historically Black colleges and universities across the country are receiving well wishes via a video greeting from a prominent fellow alumna: Vice President Kamala Harris.

“As a proud HBCU graduate, I know firsthand the value of attending an institution like yours,” the vice president says in a congratulatory video that has already been met with shock and applause during graduation ceremonies.

The surprise video, which has debuted at a handful of HBCU commencement ceremonies in the past week, will appear at around half of all HBCUs in the country, according to the White House.

“You leave here having been taught that you can do and be anything. And that you have a duty be excellent. To work to uplift the condition of all people. And to fight to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms,” Harris says in the pre-recorded message.

Harris is the first HBCU graduate elected to the vice presidency and has been embraced by the tight-knit communities that surround many of those historic schools since her time in national politics. Last year, she included HBCUs in a nationwide tour to rally young voters to “fight for fundamental freedoms and rights.”

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