Oprah Winfrey and others to deliver 2020 commencement address on Facebook
The media mogul will be joined by Simone Biles, Lil Nas X and more during the virtual commencement ceremony.
Oprah Winfrey has been tapped by Facebook to deliver a special commencement address to the graduates of 2020.
The media mogul will speak to the students virtually at the #Graduation2020: Facebook and Instagram Celebrate the Class of 2020 event on May 15. Winfrey will be joined by a slew of Hollywood A-listers, including Simone Biles, Lil Nas X, Jennifer Garner and Miley Cyrus, who will performing her single, The Climb.
The graduation ceremony, which will air on Facebook Watch, will highlight high schools and colleges from each state by name and will include photos and videos of the students, many of whom had their graduations cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
READ MORE: Graduation season falls victim to coronavirus pandemic
Schools nationwide, including University of Michigan, West Texas A&M, Grambling State, the Savannah College of Art and Design, UC Irvine, Howard University and the University of Pennsylvania, have to had to alter graduation plans in response to stay-at-home orders issued by state governors.
Graduates participate in Howard University’s 146th commencement exercises on May 10, 2014 in Washington, D.C. Honored at the convocation were entrepreneur and philanthropist Sean “Diddy” Combs, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, Chairman and CEO of PespiCo Indra K. Nooyi, professor of surgery Dr. Clive Callender, and jazz legend Benny Golson. (Photo by Allison Shelley/Getty Images for DKC)
Winfrey previously spoke out about the impact the pandemic is having on the Black community in appearance on the TODAY show on April 14.
“We need to understand for ourselves: This is so serious. It’s taking us out,” the former talk show host said. “It’s not only ravaging our community, but people who have preexisting conditions, which I think people didn’t hear that.”
READ MORE: Barack Obama asked to be national graduation speaker for 2020 class
Special moments from Winfrey’s address will be shared on the official @instagram account on Instagram, and on influencers’ social media accounts. The celebration begins on Monday, May 11, with the release of daily programming that highlights quintessential senior experiences, including “most likely” votes and senior skip day.
After the ceremony, graduates will be able to host virtual graduation parties via Facebook, and will have access to a virtual graduation hub, custom filters, messenger room celebrations and more.
#Graduation2020: Facebook and Instagram Celebrate the Class of 2020 will be broadcast on May 15 at 11am PT/2pm ET.
