2021 Black Baccalaureate

The Black Baccalaureate is about honoring our youth and instilling a sense of cultural pride in those who have fulfilled this pivotal stage in their development. 

The Black Baccalaureate welcomes graduating Black students from post-secondary institutions, high schools, and alternative schools in the Portland Metro area. We also recognize students who earned their GED.

Honoring our youth is an important way to strengthen our communities, and reclaim the village concept.

The Black Baccalaureate is not intended to replace a student’s school commencement, rather it provides an additional acknowledgment that speaks to the unique experiences and accomplishments of Black students.

This community event is a time of reflection, celebration, and dedication. We appreciate the teachers and school officials who helped their students reach this stepping stone. However, it is Black community members that have given birth, loved, supported, and prayed for them when their environment tells them that they aren’t good enough or smart enough. Hence, it is the Black community to which many students return as committed and competent individuals, ready to pick up the torch of leadership and reach back as they climb.

Honoring our youth is an important way to strengthen our communities, and reclaim the village concept by bringing us all back together in a very exciting way and saying "We're here for you, we support you, we believe in you.”