Music superstar and philanthropist Usher Raymond IV proudly repeated his newest title Monday: doctor.
The Atlanta-bred entertainer was awarded an honorary degree during Emory University’s College of Arts & Sciences graduation ceremony where he gave the commencement address.
During his 19-minute speech, Usher reflected on being put in remedial classes as a child because the educational system didn’t understand his potential.
“When I arrived in Atlanta I was given a very rude awakening,” he said. “Academically I was so far behind that I wasn’t able to keep up, and staff at the school I attended didn’t have the resources to help me.”
At the time, he said, being put in remedial classes “felt like a judgment on my ability.” But he was able to find success because of his passion.
“Before I could sing, before I could dance and before I was a doctor, I had passion,” Usher said, one of the many quips he made about his new honorary title. “The system didn’t know what to do with a student like me.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
That experience helped inspire him to create Usher’s New Look, a nonprofit that has supported over 55,000 under-resourced adolescents for more than 25 years. Its leadership academy is a four-year, 400-hour training program that has helped each of its students graduate high school and helped 98% of them go to college.
He called education a “fundamental right” that is being “minimized and in some places erased.” His nonprofit intends to “uplift youth and empower them to shape their future.”
Usher was not shy about his Atlanta ties. “I put on for my city,” he said as he first stepped to the microphone. And Emory President Gregory Fenves called him “a blessing to the great city of Atlanta which Usher has represented proudly on the world stage.
“For all his success, he has always made a point of giving back and lifting others every step of the way,” Fenves said in his introductory remarks.
Tickets for commencement were limited; seeing severe weather in the forecast, the school decided to move the ceremony from its quadrangle to a campus auditorium with limited seating. It was the second consecutive year commencement was held indoors. Last year, following a week of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus, it was moved to Gas South Arena in Duluth.
More than 5,500 students from 72 countries were awarded their degrees Monday. The youngest was 20. The oldest was an 86-year-old collecting his fourth degree from the university.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Students filed into the auditorium at 8 a.m. as the Atlanta Pipe Band, donned with bagpipes and kilts, led the processional. The band joined the Atlanta Symphony Brass Quintet to the left of the stage.
After the invocation and opening remarks, Usher encouraged each of the grads to be proud of their accomplishment, commending them for their commitment and dedication.
“In a world where credentials can feel overshadowed by clicks, followers and algorithms, does a diploma still matter?” he asked. “Yes, of course it does. But it’s not the paper that gives power. It’s you.”
In the building along with families of the grads, who braved the traffic to make the early morning ceremony, were Usher’s wife, mother and children. He thanked each of them for helping him achieve what he called a “historical moment” in his career. “I’m accepting it for every kid who’s ever been told your dream was too big, your neighborhood was overlooked or your voice was too quiet.”
Usher joked his kids were initially mad at him for making them wake up so early.
“But it was worth it,” Usher said. “Because I’m a doctor.”
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