I am a faculty member at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham. Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ) was the commencement speaker this year. His father was an alum of NCCU. Sen. Booker gave an amazing address that touched on racial inequality, the role of the community in raising children, and both his and his father’s upbringing. The speech was incredibly sincere and powerful. The speech may have been well worn but it was appropriate with his connections to NCCU.
We had approximately 800 undergraduates partaking in commencement. After the first dozen or so students walked across the stage to receive their degrees, he got up and started shaking all of their hands. He shook all of the rest of their hands and spent 5-10 seconds with each student. He gave a lot of hugs. NCCU is a Historically Black College (HBCU). I saw a lot of wonder and awe as the students’ were able to shake hands with one of the few black senators ever elected. Sen. Booker is definitely a class act.
In the video below, Sen. Booker is difficult to see but is easy to hear. Enjoy.