Queen Latifah will travel to North Carolina A&T in May to deliver the commencement address to nearly 2,000 undergraduate students.
Queen Latifah will travel to North Carolina A&T this May to inspire nearly two thousand undergraduates to take to the stage.
The legendary performer, producer and cultural icon will deliver the keynote address at two baccalaureate ceremonies at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro on Saturday, May 9, addressing students from six different colleges across the university.
This is not her first commencement speaker role, and her track record shows she has built a reputation for making genuine connections with graduates.
Back in 2004, Queen Latifah became one of the first hip-hop artists to speak at Delaware State University’s commencement ceremony, setting a precedent throughout her career.
She has since returned to the stage several times, including at Rutgers-Newark in 2018 and at Strayer University that same year, where she told graduates to “never stop growing.”
Her message has always been about resilience, authenticity and the importance of staying true to yourself no matter how far you climb.
The woman who took the A&T stage has won every accolade imaginable.
In 2006, she became the first hip-hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a résumé that spans music, film and television that few artists can achieve.
She has received seven Grammy nominations, including a 1994 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, an Academy Award nomination for her performance in “Chicago” and a 2024 National Medal of Arts from the U.S. government.
She was honored at the Kennedy Center in 2023 and is currently an executive producer and star of CBS’s reboot of “The Equalizer,” which ran for five seasons and became the highest-rated scripted series upon its 2021 premiere.
Her film and television work spans decades, from the ’90s’ Living Single to more recent projects such as voicing the woolly mammoth Ellie in Ice Age: Boiling Point, released February 5, 2027.
The ceremony will be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person, and nearly 350 graduate students will also participate in separate ceremonies on Friday, May 8, according to North Carolina A&T.
Her presence at A&T represents more than just a celebrity appearance.
It’s a statement about the value of celebrating Black excellence in education, something Latifah has championed throughout her career.
