Black Harvard students, alumni, and faculty came together to keep the culture alive, despite pressure from the Trump administration.

The robes were pressed, the stoles were draped, and the celebration went on — even if Harvard University tried to shut it down.

Despite the school’s decision to strip support from all identity-based graduations, the Harvard Black Graduation still happened — and it was powerful. Held off-campus and organized by a collective of Black students, alumni, and faculty, the ceremony drew more than 500 people to honor the Class of 2025 in community and in defiance.

The pride was palpable. A now-viral TikTok from @barbie.reaa showed Black Harvard graduates beaming in their regalia, with the statement attributing its success to Black Harvard Alumni, students, and faculty who made it happen.

In MassLive, the Harvard Crimson, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and keynote speaker, addressed her disappointment over the predicament.

“You deserved better than the capitulation of those in power here that would force you, with very little notice, to hold this graduation off campus and with no university support,” said Hannah-Jones.

As the saying goes, though: the show must go on.

Harvard Pulled Out, So the People Stepped In

According to WBUR, Harvard announced in late April that it would no longer provide funding, staffing, or space for any of its affinity group graduation ceremonies — including events for Black, Latinx, LGBTQ+, disabled, Muslim, Indigenous, veteran, and first-generation graduates. 

The Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging was rebranded as the Office of Community and Campus Life, and with that came a full shutdown of institutional support for cultural commencement events.

But where the institution stepped back, the community stepped in.

“We’re in such a tight, tight, tight time frame to turn around a graduation,” said Barika Edwards, a Kennedy School student who helped plan the Black Graduation, via WBUR.

Still, they pulled it off. The stoles may not have said “Harvard” this year, but they were still earned.

The Trump Effect

The change didn’t come out of nowhere. According to WBUR, the Trump administration applied pressure on Harvard through the U.S. Department of Education, which warned the university that affinity graduations — described by officials as promoting “segregation by race” — could risk billions in federal funding and even its tax-exempt status. 

The warning came in a February letter, and by April, Harvard had quietly caved. Since then, the school filed a lawsuit and claimed to be standing up for its “core values,” but students weren’t convinced.

“Everyone was getting different information in different ways from different people,” said Taylor Holloway to WBUR, who helped organize the graduation ceremony for disabled students, also speaking to WBUR, “At a certain point, I was ready to give up.”

How unfortunate for this to be the sentiment precluding pomp and circumstance.

They Celebrated Anyway

Not just the Black community. According to MassLive, at least eight other affinity groups—including Latino, LGBTQ+, Pan-Asian, Arab, first-generation, low-income, and veteran students—also moved forward with their own off-campus events. 

Many relied on crowdfunding, alumni donations, and personal sacrifice.

“They had to rally… but the fact that it had to happen on their own and they didn’t have the university’s support really makes a difference,” said Gabriel Rodriguez, speaking about his brother’s Latino graduation effort, which raised $15,000, to MassLive.

Heritage is a core value of individuality among students who attend Harvard, which traditionally wasn’t inclusive.

“We are Asian American and Harvard graduates. That’s something to be proud of,” added Jared Shum, who helped coordinate the Pan-Asian event, via WBUR.

Congratulations to all 2025 graduates who made it through!

The Culture Built the Table — Not the Institution

Harvard may have walked away, but these students didn’t wait for validation. From Black excellence to first-gen pride, queer joy to cultural heritage, every affinity group showed up, stood tall, and celebrated anyway. 

They built their own tables, pulled up extra chairs, and reminded the world that belonging isn’t granted by institutions — it’s claimed in community.

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