Tracee Ellis Ross to receive honorary degree from Spelman College

Angel Saunders
·2 min read
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Tracee Ellis Ross
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Tracee Ellis Ross will serve as an esteemed guest when the actress receives an honorary degree from Spelman College next month. The ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 3 p.m., and Pulitzer Prize holder Nikole Hannah-Jones, the brain behind “The 1619 Project,” will deliver the commencement speech.

The famed Atlanta HBCU shared the news via Twitter with a press release attached on Wednesday (April 26). “We are pleased to announce Pulitzer Prize-winning creator Nikole Hannah-Jones as [the] keynote speaker for Spelman College’s 136th Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 21, 2023. Award-winning actress Trace Ellis Ross will receive an honorary degree,” the school wrote on social media.

Those attending the special event will do so at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park, GA. Spelman noted that Ross would be awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree. The release also highlighted the 50-year-old’s many achievements throughout her career, including five Emmy and two Critics Choice Awards nominations, being the CEO and founder of PATTERN Beauty, and of course, the university could not forget her iconic breakout role as Joan Carol Clayton, Esq. in the popular early 2000s sitcom “Girlfriends.” The groundbreaking series focused on the lives of several young, Black successful female friends living in Los Angeles.

Throughout Ross’ career, she has often been hailed as a positive influence, showcasing African American culture in a regarded light. Beginning in 2014, she starred as Rainbow Johnson alongside Anthony Anderson in the ABC sitcom “Black-ish.” The program followed the lives of the couple and their four children as they navigated the ins and outs of race in America. Although the series ended in April 2022, it paved the way for two spin-offs: “mixed-ish” and “Grown-ish.” The latter is responsible for boosting the careers of young stars such as Chlöe Bailey, Halle Bailey, Yara Shahidi and more.

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