Virginia Political Leaders To Keynote Speeches At Most Area 2026 HBCU Commencements

HAMPTON ROADS

Students graduating in May from all but two of Virginia’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) will hear speeches from some of the Commonwealth’s high profile political leaders during their upcoming Commencement activities.

Here are the commencement speakers who will address graduates at area HBCUs–listed in alphabetical order.

At Hampton University, Congressman Bobby Scott will deliver the keynote address on Friday May 8 at 10 a.m. at the Hampton Coliseum.

At Norfolk State University, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones will deliver the keynote address to nearly 600 graduates on May 9, at 9 .m., at William “Dick” Price Stadium.

At Virginia State University, Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones will deliver the keynote addresses at two graduation ceremonies on Saturday, May 16, at the VSU Multi-Purpose Center.

The governor will deliver the keynote address at Virginia State’s first commencement ceremony, which will begin with a processional at 1:30 p.m. The ceremony will celebrate graduates from the College of Education and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The attorney general will speak at Virginia State’s second ceremony at 5:30 pm. The second ceremony will celebrate graduates from the College of Agriculture, the College of Engineering and Technology, the College of Natural and Health Sciences, and the Reginald F. Lewis College of Business.

Both ceremonies will be held in the VSU Multi-Purpose Center.

In Richmond, at Virginia Union University,  a Morehouse professor and a Nigerian ambassador will deliver keynote speeches to 300 graduates on Saturday, May 9, at 1 p.m., and at 3 p.m.

The two keynote speakers are: Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., a former Morehouse dean and tenured professor.   The second keynote speaker is Ambassador Abubakar Jidda, consul general of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in New York.

Virginia Union will also award honorary doctorates to Virginia Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, 4th District), and the Rev. Dr. Boise Kimber, president of The National Baptist Convention, USA.

In Lynchburg, for the University of Lynchburg’s 2026 Commencement ceremonies, Dr. John Garrison Marks ’10, a historian and author of “Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory,” will be the keynote speaker

Undergraduate Commencement will be held at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 7, and the graduate ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 8. Marks will speak at the undergraduate and graduate ceremonies, both of which will be held on Shellenberger Field.

Marks graduated from Lynchburg in 2010 with bachelor’s degrees in history and Spanish and a minor in museum studies. He also was a Westover Honors Fellow. He has a master’s degree and PhD — both in history — from Rice University.