Morehouse Commencement Speaker, Dr. Robert Smith Vows to Pay off Graduating Class Student Loans

Recently, Morehouse College held its spring 2019 commencement ceremony and went viral on social media due to the encouraging and miracle-like comments made by the commencement speaker, billionaire Dr. Robert Smith. Smith is the chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a firm that invests in various data companies.

During his speech, Smith, a Morehouse Alumna, talked about seizing the American Dream, in addition to giving the graduates a few rules to live by. After discussing work ethic, passion, and entrepreneurship, he ended the speech with arguably the most potent words of 2019 so far.

“On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, we’re gonna put a little fuel in your bust…My family is making a grant to eliminate their (2019 Morehouse Graduates) student loans,” said Smith.

It takes a certain level of genuine generosity and financial stability to accomplish what Dr. Robert Smith pledged to do. It is unheard of for any graduating class to have all school-related financial debt paid off.

However, it was even more iconic for Morehouse College. In the viral video, viewers can see African American men celebrating, crying tears of joy and raising their hands to the sky after hearing the end of his speech.

Morehouse College is an entirely male Historically Black College or University. It is one of the most nationally renowned schools for black men, which is one of the reasons why Smith’s comments meant so much to the students. Many of the black men that graduated from Morehouse this past May already beat the naysayers that plotted on their downfall. A degree solidified their place in America as educated black men.

The great W.E.B. Du Bois once said that the “South believed an educated negro to be a dangerous negro.” The reason for that is because an educated black man has an identity, and nobody can take that degree away from him.

Thanks to Dr. Robert Smith, now all those successful black graduates can step into the job force with their degrees and zero student loans to pay back. He might have just given them one of the greatest gifts they could ever ask for.