Tougaloo College continued its 2025 commencement celebrations Monday morning with a powerful keynote address delivered by Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. The ceremony, held on the Campus Green in front of Woodworth Chapel, honored more than 100 graduates preparing to enter a world Crockett described as facing “unprecedented times.”
Addressing the graduates, Crockett offered a candid reflection on the challenges ahead, while encouraging them to draw strength from a long tradition of resilience and advocacy.
“Black people have always had to fight for everything that they got,” she said. “There’s very little that has been given to us, and while progress has been made, there’s always a need to make even more progress.”
The Congresswoman was warmly greeted by several members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., of which she is a proud member, before participating in a meet-and-greet event on campus.
Crockett’s journey to Congress is marked by a deep commitment to civil rights, justice, and public service. An attorney by training, she began her legal career as a public defender in Bowie County, Texas, where she worked to keep vulnerable youth out of the criminal justice system. Her legal work focused on defending the underserved and challenging systemic inequalities.
Her political career gained traction when she was elected to the Texas House of Representatives. The youngest Black lawmaker and the only Black freshman in the 87th Legislative Session, Crockett quickly established herself as a force for reform. She filed more bills than any other freshman legislator, championed criminal justice reform, and was instrumental in the 2021 Texas House quorum break—a bold stand against restrictive voting legislation.
Since 2023, Crockett has represented Texas’s 30th Congressional District, a seat once held by the late Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. In Washington, she serves on both the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. She was appointed Vice Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight and serves as Co-Chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus Communications Task Force.
A graduate of Rhodes College and the University of Houston Law Center, Crockett holds bar licenses in Texas, Arkansas, and federal courts.
Her message to Tougaloo’s Class of 2025 was one of encouragement, urgency, and empowerment—reminding graduates that their voices matter and that the fight for justice is ongoing.
