U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock to speak at Albany State Spring Commencement
File Photo: Lucille Lannigan
From staff reports
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ALBANY — United States senator, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, will serve as the commencement speaker at Albany State University’s Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony, which will take place at 10 a.m. May 4 in the Albany Civic Center.
Warnock was raised in public housing in Savannah and is the 11th of 12 children born to pastors Jonathan and Verlene Warnock, who, the senator said, instilled a sense of service in him at a very young age.
A product of good public policy, Warnock is a Head Start and Upward Bound alumnus and was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s teachings to matriculate to Atlanta’s historic Morehouse College — using Pell Grants and low-interest student loans to become the first in his family to graduate from college. Following his graduation from Morehouse, he went on to receive a doctorate at the renowned Union Theological Seminary.
Since 2005, Warnock has served as senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the former pulpit of his hero, King. He is the youngest pastor selected to serve in that leadership role at the historic church. Additionally, Warnock has long believed his ministry of service does not stop at the church doors, and as a pastor and long-time social justice advocate, he has worked to expand health care access, safeguard nutrition benefits, protect democracy and end mass incarceration.
Elected as Georgia’s first black senator in 2021, Warnock has carried his service and advocacy into that role, where he has helped successfully pass legislation to create jobs, address the maternal mortality crisis and cap insulin costs for seniors at $35 a month. Warnock also was a lead negotiator of the only voting rights legislation to secure the support of the full Senate Democratic caucus.
The father of two young children and an ardent champion for education, Warnock has actively worked in the Senate to bolster K-12 and higher education in Georgia and across the country. The senator introduced legislation, the HEADWAY Act, to expand access to early learning, and helped pass the American Rescue Plan, which made significant investments in the nation’s K-12 schools.
On the higher education front, Warnock has successfully secured hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for Georgia’s HBCUs, and more than $7 billion in total for HBCU campuses across the country. The senator also has championed meaningful student debt cancellation and successfully pushed the Biden administration to provide $138 billion and counting in student debt cancellation for approximately 4 million Americans to date.
Additionally, Warnock has pushed to strengthen state support for 1890s land-grant colleges and universities, to ensure they receive a fair share of funding through the Land-Grant Research Equity and Accountability Act, and he has passed legislation to honor first-generation college students.
Warnock’s commitment to service, justice and education embodies the spirit of resilience and progress, making him an inspiring choice to address the graduating class of Albany State University, officials at the university said in a news release.
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