We don’t know how many commencement speeches have been given in the history of higher education. Tens of thousands, we would guess. But of them all, the one that Robert F. Smith gave at Morehouse College last week will go down in history. In his speech, Mr. Smith declared that he would personally pay off the educational loans that had been taken by all the members of the class that sat there listening to him. According to news reports, it took a few moments for people to realize exactly what he had promised to do. But once the meaning of what he said had sunk in, cheering erupted. Please note that this historic event didn’t take place at Harvard, Princeton or Yale, institutions where hundreds of grads could probably step up and personally pay off a class’s indebtedness. It took place at famous little Morehouse, one of America’s historically black colleges and universities. What a source of pride. Read more