There is something so special about graduation season. Whether it’s seeing little ones with balloons or middle school students in what looks like their Sunday best, or high school students with their satin caps and gowns in varying bright colors, or college grads in full regalia with tassels representing a myriad of honor societies and organizations they joined during their college years. I love seeing parents and grandparents gleaming with pride at witnessing a new generation supersede them into a new world of academic pursuit.
Graduations were always a big deal in my family. My father always said, “A good education is the one thing I can give you that no one can ever take away.” So many families see education as a tool to uplift not just a family, but an entire community and even a race. I love how on graduation day, people take time to really acknowledge all of the work and sacrifice that went into making a dream a reality. I wish we would celebrate the hard work much more along the journey and not just at the destination, I think it would help some people see this sometimes arduous task as a series of several small wins and not just one large successful moment.
We have a tradition in my family where the parents toast the graduate first, then family and friends, and the siblings are the last to say their words of love, wisdom, and congratulations. I have always loved this tradition. I think siblings can sometimes see the highs and lows of school and academic pursuits in ways that parents and other family members cannot, and therefore their words hold a special weight as we toast the graduates.
As our education systems are under attack from pre-K all the way through graduate programs, the idea of education is now more important than ever. We may have taken for granted the opportunity to attend a public elementary, middle, or high school or receive a grant or financial aid to attend college. Those ideals are currently under attack and the current administration in Washington, DC is threatening to defund and erase so many ladders of opportunity for school children across the country. We cannot let this happen.
As we think about our future, we must make sure our elected officials know that education is one of the many policy issues that cannot be on the chopping block. I want to continue to see a diverse group of young men and women each May and June in their caps and gowns surrounded by beaming family and friends. I want to continue the possibility of an endless future once someone has accomplished a hard earned goal. Let’s be sure to congratulate our graduates and continue to fight for their futures.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of book “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream” and is co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.