Voorhees College will hold its 124th Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 1 at 11 a.m. via the institution’s Facebook and YouTube pages, where Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will give the commencement address to the Class of 2021.
Bottoms is the 60th mayor of Atlanta being the only mayor in Atlanta’s history to have served in all three branches of government, serving as a judge and city councilmember before being sworn in as mayor.
Leading with a progressive agenda focused on equity and affordable housing, she serves as chair of the Community Development and Housing Committee and the Census Task Force for the United States Conference of Mayors.
Among her notable accomplishments to date include establishing the city’s first fully-staffed Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, including a Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer affairs coordinator and a human trafficking fellow.
In addition, the citywide elimination of cash bail bond, the closure of the Atlanta City Detention Center to ICE detainees, and the rollout of Atlanta’s Open Checkbook, the most far-reaching financial transparency platform in the city’s history.
In 2020, she received the following recognitions: The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Distinguished Civil Rights Advocate, Glamour’s 2020 Women of the Year; Black Entertainment Television 100 Entertainer and Innovator of the Year, Smart Cities Dive’s Leader of the Year; and Georgia Trend magazine’s 2020 Georgian of the Year.
In 2021, President Joe Biden appointed Bottoms as vice-chair of civic engagement and voter protection. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida A&M University and a Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University College of Law.
Bottoms is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, Jack and Jill of America, The Links, Inc., and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. www.voorhees.edu
She is the daughter of Sylvia Robinson and R&B icon Major Lance. Bottoms resides in Atlanta with her husband Derek, their four children; Lance, Langston, Lennox, and Lincoln, and their family dogs, Ace and Zeus.
To view the 2021virtual commencement ceremony, please like, subscribe, and follow our YouTube page @VoorheesCollege1897 and our Facebook page @VoorheesCollege. For more information, contact the Office of Communications, at 803-780-1191 or at communications@voorhees.edu.
