by Virginia Union University
Virginia Union University (VUU) will hold its 123rd Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 7, at 10:00 AM on Hovey Field with individual school celebrations taking place on campus at 1:00 PM. This year, American activist, Tamika Mallory will deliver the commencement address.
“Among our value propositions here at the university, we aim to develop students who are socially responsible and ethically and ethnically conscious,” said Dr. Hakim J. Lucas, President and CEO of VUU. “We are excited to have Tamika Mallory speak to our graduating students, as her experience in activism speaks directly to our goals for the future leaders of America.”
Mallory, a groundbreaking, award-winning social justice leader and movement strategist, made history when she helped spearhead the largest, single-day demonstration, the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, where she served as one of its four national co-chairs.
As the most sought after, influential activist of her generation, Mallory served as the youngest ever Executive Director of the National Action Network and was instrumental in the creation of the New York City’s Crisis Management System, an official gun violence prevention program that awards nearly $27 million to violence prevention organizations annually. Most recently, she co-founded Until Freedom, an intersectional social justice organization that serves as a clearing house for organizers, activists, movement attorneys, artists, celebrities, and formerly incarcerated individuals. Mallory, alongside “Raptivist” Mysonne Linen, co-hosts the newly launched “Street Politicians” podcast on iHeart Radio’s Black Effect Network.
Mallory has been honored as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People and was featured on Fortune’s list of the World’s Greatest Leaders. The title of her forthcoming book, STATE OF EMERGENCY, is birthed from the urgent declaration she made in the opening of her speech during the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis. Mallory, who will also receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, is one of four Honorary Degree recipients to be recognized during the commencement exercises.
The university will also award United States Representative A. Donald McEachin with an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree, American journalist Michael Paul Williams with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters and Reverend Gina Marcia Stewart with an Honorary Doctor of Divinity.
