Mama We Made It!: Our favorite Black graduation moments (2018 edition)

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This year a University of Florida graduation usher made headlines after he was caught repeatedly grabbing Black students who were celebrating with traditional sorority and fraternity strolls, and forcefully shoving them off stage for their bad behavior.

And by “bad behavior” we mean having the nerve to joyously celebrate a milestone achievement during a ceremony literally meant to do just that.

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Pretty soon #GraduatingWhileBlack and #BlackExcellence became trending hashtags and in a show of of pride (and masterful pettiness) students all over the country started sharing their own moments of Black joy.

Except now, the ushers know to keep their hands to themselves.

Below is a round up of our favorite Black graduation moments from the Class of 2018. Sifting through the extensive list of worthy entries was deeply inspiring, so when you’re done reading this, feel free to add your own testimony in the comments section.

We need more opportunities to highlight our wins as much as our adversities.

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Clark Atlanta University throwing shade at predominantly white universities (PWIs)

“Tired of PWIs fining you or not letting you step or shimmy when you graduate? come to #CAU… #HBCU,” the university’s Twitter account posted. No doubt in reference to the University of Florida incident.

The “Strength in numbers” two step

In this clip not only are the graduates celebrating, it’s also clear they had several rehearsals to coordinate a blackety black two-step with the 90’s classic “Love Like This (Remix)” by Faith Evans and Fat Man Scoop.

Just the sound of that song evokes images of summer barbecues and potato salad minus the raisins. And they weren’t the only grads pulling out their dancing shoes to shimmy for the ‘gram.

How can you not enjoy watching these clips?

Well played fam!

https://twitter.com/youngsinick/status/999616035341807616

Black Barbie gets her diploma

Everyone from Ava DuVernay to Serena Williams knows that you know you’ve made it when you get a Barbie doll made in your honor. And this year Mattel decided to acknowledge all the women walking across the stage this year by releasing a signature Graduation Day doll.

Considering the statistics that show Black women are the most college educated group in the country though, we think the Black Graduation Day Barbie deserves an extra special shout out.

https://twitter.com/ASBB___/status/993939817015730176

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Brothers at the head of the class 

While we are big advocates of HBCUs, we also recognize that change also has to take place from within the Ivy towers. This year, a lot of young Black men at the top of their classes have been admitted to Harvard University and we salute these brothers as they start this new chapter.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the image of black boys that usually makes the news but we see them and think they deserve their moment to shine. Let’s just hope none of their overzealous classmates call the police if they catch them taking a nap like they do over at Yale.

We all know how that goes.

https://twitter.com/edfrm121/status/997577818744684544

Drake’s ‘Nice For What?” Graduating Angels

A group of UVA law graduates turned their big day into an amazingly well produced viral video, highlighting the power of education in these politically divisive and socially precarious times.

The shameless displays of both excellence and black joy co-existing as Drizzy’s remake of Lauryn Hill’s classic ‘Ex-Factor’ plays in the background is peak #BlackGirlMagic.

We almost shed a tear watching this.

https://twitter.com/kris10griffith/status/998657485010546689

Unstoppable single parents

Having a child can side-track a student’s future and completely derail their plans. But this year there was a wave of proud student parents sharing their stories to let us all know that just because it’s difficult – that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

We see you! And so do your children who are learning first hand that a little discipline and a lot of vision can make miracles happen.

https://twitter.com/jsmith_374747/status/999363237815742464

Breaking the cycle

Speaking of parents, is there any greater feelings than making your family proud? Shout out to all the students who became the first person in their families to graduate and are doing their part to close the “achievement gap”.

We all deserve a slice of that elusive American Dream.

And while the system may still be rigged against us in a lot of ways, as the Greek poet Dinos Christianopoulos’ once famously wrote, “They tried to bury us, not knowing we were seeds.”

https://twitter.com/omeezy_/status/994369518976847873

Bae Watch

And then there are the romantic graduation moments that just made us go “awwww!” because they show that #BlackLove isn’t only real, but also supportive and forward thinking.

Extra special shout out to all the graduates who used love as fuel rather than a distraction. Keep lifting each other up!

You are a true representation of #RelationshipGoals

Follow writer Blue Telusma on Instagram at @bluecentric