The most powerful words of wisdom from 2026 Black commencement speakers

The Class of 2026 is getting ready to take everything they learned during their time at university and step out into the real world. While graduation is an exciting time for all students, the transitional phase can also be incredibly daunting, and a good word of encouragement can go a long way. Therefore, who better to motivate young, eager graduates than icons across the political, entertainment and sports industries? 

From Queen Latifah to Magic Johnson, Black commencement speakers have been taking the stage at university graduations and giving the alumni incredible words of advice that will inspire you, too.

Queen Latifah

On May 8, Queen Latifah graced the stage at North Carolina A&T State University and gave a very powerful speech about building her entertainment career in her 20s and continuously believing in herself even when the odds didn’t seem in her favor.

“You have to believe in yourself more than anyone else does and sometimes you may have to go it alone. You can’t always bring along people unless they believe with you,” she said. “Sometimes there’s just no way to make it to where you want to be unless you have the courage to stand alone. You have to have the bravery to step forward by yourself and go into a lane that no one else has driven.”

Colman Domingo

Colman Domingo received an honorary degree and delivered a commencement speech at Temple University on May 6. His address emphasized the importance of persevering in life because, while the world might be tough, it is important to make your mark on it.

“Graduates, the world you’re stepping into is complicated. I will not lie to you. It is loud. It is sometimes unkind. But it is also waiting, waiting for your particular voice, your particular vision, your particular brand of courage,” he said. “Because courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is showing up any fucking way.”

Sterling K. Brown

Over the weekend, on May 16, actor Sterling K. Brown spoke to graduates at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and shared some much-needed tips to “make life a little bit more manageable.” Among tips like making sure to get all eight hours of sleep and exercising consistently throughout the week, Brown told the graduates that failure is an important part of life.

“Failure is a necessary part of the process. If you’re not falling from time to time, then baby, you’re not jumping high enough,” he said. “Fall and then pick yourself back up and do that one more time again. Nothing in life is certain. Anything of enduring personal value requires a leap of faith.”

Magic Johnson

Addressing graduates at Tuskegee University on May 9, NBA legend and businessman Magic Johnson got down from the stage to stand on the same level as the alumni and provided them with advice that will help them take off in their future careers and stand out in a competitive world.

“You gone have to be strong. You have to be the best that they’ve ever seen walk through their doors. That means first to work, last to leave. That means you gone work harder than anybody else at your job,” he said. “You may have to pivot. And if you have to pivot to something outside your major, make sure you do that just to get in. See, sometimes we have to be uncomfortable to get comfortable.”

Chris Paul

On Sunday, May 17, NBA star Chris Paul was the commencement speaker at Morehouse College and gave a speech on the importance of perseverance and working with what has been handed to you.

“You might not be the best on day one, day 10, day 50, even, but I guarantee you this: you’ll get better and better if you just keep stacking days. Keep stacking days,” he said. “One of the most important things you can do in life is just to always show up. Through heartbreak, rejection, failure, grief, whatever it is, just always find a way to show up. Remember, you don’t always get credit for the battles you fight privately, but your presence as Morehouse men proves that you have more than enough to keep moving forward.”

Ray Lewis

NFL star Ray Lewis graced the stage at North Carolina Central University on May 9 and gave an impassioned address about the importance of building your identity so that the life you want to live begins to act in accordance with the person you’ve decided you want to be.

“Learn to sit in discomfort. Protect your focus. Show up anyway because identity is not built in comfort; it’s built in repetition over and over and over again until you figure out,” he said. “But let me give you something real. The wrong will break you. The right people will pray with you and build you. So be careful who you walk with because your environment will shape your identity. You show me your crowd, I’ll show you your future.”

Dr. Symone Sanders-Townsend

At Spelman College, political commentator Symone Sanders-Townsend received an honorary doctorate and told her Spelman sisters that even though the world is a scary place right now, it is important they continue to pave the way to a better future for the next generation.

“I’m not gonna stand on this stage and tell you that the country is fine; the country is not fine. We are not okay. We are in a hard moment in America right now, and pretending otherwise would frankly be an insult to your intelligence and to your future,” she said. “The question stands: what do you do when the conditions are not in your favor? You build anyway.”