‘Your moment is now:’ Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett speaks to Tougaloo College’s 2025 grads

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Texas was chosen as this year’s keynote speaker and received an honorary doctorate from Congressman Bennie Thompson, a Tougaloo alum. Crockett says the civil rights legacy left by former Tougaloo students such as Thompson, and those who held a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter in Jackson, was still relevant.

“How many times did you sit back and think about the fact that you walked the same hallowed grounds where the Tougaloo Nine organized,” she said. “For years you sat in the same seats as Anne Moody and Memphis Norman as you were bestowed with knowledge, skills and critical thought.”

Throughout her speech, Crockett made parallels between the struggles faced by Tougaloo students during the Civil Rights Movement and today’s political climate. 

“Sadly enough, in the year of our Lord 2025, sitting in these very classrooms is just as much of a protest as Anne and Memphis pulling up to Woolworth's in 1963,” she said. 

Crockett says that she was invited to speak at the college through Congressman Thompson, but suggested that the invitation received some backlash.

“To think about the fact that people have to be fearful of having a sitting member of Congress to come and address their graduates, tells us that we still got a lot of work to do,” she said.

Crockett suggested that the welcome she received at Tougaloo mirrored that of earlier figures. The ceremony was held in front of the campus’s Rev. Frank Woodworth Chapel, which had been a popular meeting place for several Civil Rights leaders.

“The reality is that this harkens back to a man named Martin,” Crockett said. “It harkens back to a man named Martin. They decided that he wanted to go out and educate and invigorate during the Civil Rights Movement, and it was here at Tougaloo that he could come and speak. In fact, it was the only institution in Mississippi that he could come and speak.”

Crockett urged graduates to become changemakers as soon as they can.

“Your moment is now,” she said. “This country is relying on each and every one of you to walk into your purpose and to walk in greatness with your head held high. There are going to be people that tell you that you don't belong. I am here to tell you over and over and over that you absolutely belong.”

The future lawyers, teachers and scientists then filed across the stage to receive their degrees. This year’s class had over 100 graduates, including some high schoolers who simultaneously earned associates degrees.

Jaylen Johnson is an upcoming high school graduate from Jackson who received his associates in arts in business. He says he appreciated Crockett’s message.

“I got that overall, no matter what you're doing and where you do it, if you carry your values and carry yourself to a higher standard, then you will continue to go forward instead of going backward,” he said. 

Bachelor of arts in psychology graduate Corianna Lyons is from McComb.

“I'm just overjoyed,” she said. “Honestly, it's a whole bunch of feelings. I'm sad, a little overwhelmed, super overjoyed. I'm really going to miss this place and all of my friends.”

Lyons says she was encouraged by Crockett’s message to graduates.

“Congresswoman Crockett was absolutely amazing,” she said. “What I got from that is, today may be challenging, but tomorrow is also going to be challenging. For black people, it's always something that we face, it’s always a stigma against us that we have to fight against every day.”

Although Crockett had a stark message regarding the current political climate, many parents of graduates remained confident in their children’s ability to succeed.

Telo Crook’s daughter, Shamyra Smith, became the first college graduate in her family Sunday.

“Shamyra’s a really bright kid,” he said. “Once she sets her mind to it, oh she’s going to do it. She’s going to do it.”

An earlier graduation ceremony on Tougaloo’s campus also featured the Rev. Cassius Rudolph.