Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many high school seniors nationwide will miss the experience of walking across the graduation stage. NBA great LeBron James is providing the next best thing, a prime-time special to honor the high school class of 2020.
The LeBron James Family Foundation teamed up with the XQ Institute and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) to present “Graduate Together: America Honors the Class of 2020.” Set to air May 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, along with YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok and other streaming platforms; the one-hour multimedia event will honor over three million high school seniors across the U.S.
Working on something special for you high school class of 2020! 🙏🏾 See you May 16th!! @LJFamFoundation @GradTogether @XQAmerica @EIFoundation #GraduateTogether 🎓 #MoreThanAnAthlete 👑 pic.twitter.com/oKvC2VrqzN
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 29, 2020
“Graduate Together” will feature not only LeBron James, but also a slew of esteemed guests which include Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe, actress Yara Shahidi, and musical acts Pharrell Williams, Bad Bunny, H.E.R. and the Jonas Brothers.
As a father of three, LeBron James is very passionate about education, as he opened up his I Promise School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio in 2018. James was first approached by the XQ Institute and EIF in mid-April about the “Graduate Together” event and did not hesitate to sign on.
“We learned early on in our work with students and families in Akron that education is so much more than academics. It’s about shared experience, a journey we’re all on together — students, parents, educators, community members, and everyone around them,” said James in a statement. “With that not being possible right now, we’ve been working to find ways to help families get through this really difficult time. These students have worked incredibly hard for this, and there’s no way we can let that go unrecognized. While this won’t be the graduation experience they were supposed to get, we hope we can still give them something special because they deserve it.”
