LeVar Burton To Speak At HBCU Commencement
The 'Reading Rainbow' host will also receive an honorary degree from Howard University.
LeVar Burton speaks at the ceremony posthumously honoring Carl Weathers with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 29, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images.
LeVar Burton has been announced as the commencement speaker at Howard University. According to ESSENCE, the actor andformer Reading Rainbow host will give the keynote address for the HBCU’s 157th Commencement Ceremony, to be held on Saturday, May 10, 2025, on The Yard.
Reading RainbowRootsStar TrekThe Next Generation,“LeVar Burton is one of the world’s most prolific and impactful artists, with a decades-long career that includes roles as an actor, director, producer, author and podcaster,” reads a press release from the university.
Howard U. shared the news on Instagram.
Alongside Burton, other honorary degree recipients include: Dr. Emery Neal Brown, a leader in neuroscience; The Honorable Barbara Lee, longtime Congresswoman and advocate for underserved communities; Lilian Seenoi-Barr, Northern Ireland’s first Black mayor; and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey.
Fans famously clamored for Burton to be tapped as the new host of the hit game show Jeopardy! after the death of longtime host Alex Trebek in 2021.
“What I found out is that it wasn’t the thing that I wanted after all," Burton said at the time. "I’m thinking, well, it does kind of make sense. Let me see what I can do, so we’re trying to figure out what the right game show for LeVar Burton would be."
