15 Celebrities Who Graduated from Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Graduation season is in full swing and EBONY is highlighting some of entertainment’s biggest celebrities who graduated from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Household names like Oprah, Spike Lee and Toni Morrison, as well as musicians like 2 Chainz, K. Michelle and David Banner have earned degrees from some of the most well-known HBCUs.

Before becoming a talk show queen, Oprah honed her skills by studying communications at Tennessee State University. She received a full scholarship after winning a debate competition and graduated in 1976. She became the youngest and first black news anchor at WLAC-TV in Nashville, Tennessee– and the rest is history.

This movie star, who has appeared in more than 125 films, originally attended Morehouse College in Atlanta to study marine biology but changed his major to acting after joining a local drama group. Jackson’s wife, actress and producer LaTanya Richardson, also graduated from an HBCU, Spelman College in Atlanta. In his third year, Jackson was expelled from Morehouse for allegedly locking board members in a building for 48 hours to protest the school’s curriculum and bureaucracy, but graduated. His pulp Fiction Character Jules Winnfield would approve of this.

The actress who Rich Matriarch Cookie Lyon attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where she studied electrical engineering. Henson transferred to Howard University in Washington, DC, to study acting and graduated in 1995. To pay for her studies, she worked mornings as a secretary at the Pentagon and spent her evenings as a singing and dancing waitress on a cruise ship, the Spirit of Washington.

The renowned filmmaker attended private school in Brooklyn, New York, and then attended the private, all-boys HBCU Morehouse, where he made his first student film. Last hustle and bustle in Brooklyn, And graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication. lee also took film courses at Clark Atlanta University.

It’s no surprise that K. Michelle received a music scholarship to Florida A&M University. What is surprising, however, is that she yodeled during her audition. The singer took time off from school to give birth and care for her son, then returned to FAMU to complete her degree.

This Pulitzer Prize-winning author enrolled at Howard University in 1949, earning a bachelor’s degree in English in 1953 and a master’s degree in 1955. Morrison then studied at an Ivy League university, Cornell, and later taught for more than a decade at another, Princeton.

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Jackson attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to study music, graduating in 1979. He had a long music career, playing bass with a diverse group of musicians, including Bob Dylan, Journey, and Herbie Hancock., to name a few. Millennials may know Jackson as a former judge at the American Idol.

The Atlanta-born rapper, whose real name is Tauheed Epps, attended Alabama State University on a scholarship and played basketball for two years. He then transferred to Virginia State University but returned to Alabama State to finish college and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Years before she was linked to Donald Trump, the reality TV personality received her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Central State University in Ohio. She then earned a master’s degree from Howard University, where she also worked toward but did not complete a doctorate.

Rashad studied at Howard University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors in 1970. She was the first African-American actress to win a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, for her role as Lena Younger in A Raisins in the sun.

Rashad’s sister, actress and well-known choreographer and dancer Debbie Allen, also graduated from Howard University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in classical Greek literature, language and theater.

The comedian, actress and Emmy Award-winning author graduated from Hampton University in 1986., where she earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing. After college, Sykes worked for five years as a contract specialist at the National Security Agency before turning her attention to comedy full-time.

The Mississippi rapper, whose real name is Lavell William Crump, attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which also happens to be his mother’s alma mater. He was student body president and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He also attended the University of Maryland Eastern Shore to pursue a master’s degree in education, but left to focus on music.

Known as the “Reigning Queen of Gospel,” Adams attended Texas Southern University. She graduated in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and began a career in teaching, but gave that up to pursue singing full-time. She returned to her alma mater in 2017 to deliver a commencement address.

Before he became a well-known producer of films such as Girls trip, Ride along And Think like a manPacker studied electrical engineering at Florida A&M University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 1996. In 2015, Packer returned to FAMU as a keynote speaker.