Tune-in to Watch President Barack Obama, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, the Jonas Brothers, Alicia Keys, Bad Bunny, Timothée Chalamet, Megan Rapinoe, Yara Shahidi, Lena Waithe, Olivia Wilde, Pharrell Williams, Malala Yousafzai, Zendaya, and Many More Pay Tribute to Graduating High School Seniors in Primetime Commencement Special: GRADUATE TOGETHER: AMERICA HONORS THE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 2020
More Than 30 Broadcast and Cable Networks and Streaming Partners to Carry the Show on Saturday, May 16th
TikTok To Host Official #GraduateTogether After Party, Featuring Music, Dancing, and Guest Cameos
Instagram: @graduatetogether | Snapchat: @gradtogether | TikTok: @graduatetogether
Twitter: @gradtogether | #GraduateTogether
#GraduateTogether Promo Videos: here
LOS ANGELES (May 14, 2020) – XQ Institute, The LeBron James Family Foundation, and The Entertainment Industry Foundation have partnered to pay tribute to the nation’s high school Class of 2020 in a one-hour multimedia special event, Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020, on Saturday, May 16 (8 PM ET/PT, 7 PM CT).
The impressive talent line up celebrating this year’s graduating high school seniors includes President Barack Obama, LeBron James, Kane Brown, Bad Bunny, Timothée Chalamet, Chika, Lana Condor, YBN Cordae, Charli D’Amelio, Dixie D’Amelio, David Dobrik, Dolan Twins, Loren Gray, Kevin Hart, H.E.R., Chris Harrison, the Jonas Brothers featuring KAROL G, Alicia Keys, Liza Koshy, Julianne Moore, Maren Morris, National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson, Kumail Nanjiani, Shaquille O’Neal, Brandan Bmike Odums, Ben Platt, Henry Platt, Jonah Platt, Megan Rapinoe, Yara Shahidi, Lena Waithe, Olivia Wilde, Pharrell Williams, Malala Yousafzai, and Zendaya.
The one-hour, commercial-free show will be carried by more than 30 broadcast and cable networks and online streaming channels throughout the U.S. Broadcasters include ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC as well as California Music Channel, CNN, The CW, FOX Business Network, FOX News Channel, Freeform, MSNBC, and Univision—which will air a Spanish-language simulcast of the show.
Streaming partners include ABC News Live, Associated Press, Bleacher Report, Complex Networks, Facebook App, FOX Now, Hulu, Los Angeles Blade, NBC News NOW, NowThis, PEOPLE, Roland Martin Unfiltered, Reuters, The Roku Channel, SiriusXM, TikTok, Twitter, TV One, USO, Washington Blade, and YouTube. Associated Press and Reuters will carry the show to global media organizations, and USO is making the show available to every U.S. military base around the world so high school seniors and their families can celebrate their graduation with their stateside peers. All streaming partners will share the simulcast at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET. In addition, Complex Networks, CNN, ESPN, Freeform, Los Angeles Blade, NowThis, PEOPLE magazine and PeopleTV, Roland Martin Unfiltered, Univision, and Washington Blade are providing special editorial coverage of the event. Closed Captioning will
Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 is a joyful tribute to the more than 3 million high school seniors across the country. With content curated by high school students and educators throughout the country, with the support of the American Federation of Teachers, this special event will include a collection of commencement messages, musical performances, and inspirational vignettes.
To extend the celebration, immediately following each broadcast, TikTok will host the official #GraduateTogether After Party, featuring a wide range of DJs including Dillon Francis. Tune in to the GraduateTogether and Complex TikTok accounts at 9 PM ET/PT for the special event filled with music, laughter, dance, and guest cameos.
Everyone will have the opportunity to interact with the #GraduateTogether campaign, leading up to the primetime graduation tribute and beyond. Twitter has released a special hashtag emoji to honor the high school Class of 2020 and is hosting a virtual watch party to create a community of unity as we all experience the show. Anyone can join the conversation by using the hashtag #GraduateTogether. High school seniors can also submit portraits using a special Snapchat Lens to the largest-ever high school yearbook, giving every graduate a place to share their photo and stories while making a collective statement.
With many schools and communities across the country looking for ways to design and implement virtual graduations of their own to honor and recognize their local high school seniors, XQ Institute has assembled the #GraduateTogether Virtual High School Graduation Toolkit. The step-by-step guide translates key moments of the typical high school graduation experience into a virtual environment, so participants can remain socially distant and the celebration is student-centered, community-inspired, and accessible to all.
XQ Institute, The LeBron James Family Foundation, and The Entertainment Industry Foundation are partnering to host #GraduateTogether. In addition, corporate and philanthropic giving associated with #GraduateTogether will benefit DonorsChoose and America’s Food Fund to help meet student needs in some of our nation’s most underserved and under-resourced communities.
ABOUT THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY FOUNDATION
Founded in 1942, the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) is a multifaceted organization that occupies a unique place in the world of philanthropy. By mobilizing and leveraging the powerful voice and creative talents of the entertainment industry, as well as cultivating the support of organizations (public and private) and philanthropists committed to social responsibility, EIF builds awareness and raises funds, developing and enhancing programs on the local, national and global level that facilitate positive social change. Visit eifoundation.org and follow @eifoundation for more information.
EIF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, platinum seal of transparency from Guidestar, and EIF meets all 20 BBB Charity Standards.
ABOUT THE LEBRON JAMES FAMILY FOUNDATION
Recognizing the life-changing importance of education, The LeBron James Family Foundation invests its time, resources, and attention in the kids of James’ hometown in Akron, Ohio. Through its I PROMISE Program, the foundation serves at-risk students and their entire families by providing them with the programs, support, and mentors they need for success in school and beyond. In 2018, the Foundation partnered with Akron Public Schools in an unprecedented public-private partnership to build all of its family-first programming and academic interventions into the groundbreaking I PROMISE School that has created a new model for urban, public education.
Leading with social emotional learning, the I PROMISE School provides a nurturing and supportive environment that fosters a STEM-focused and trauma-informed curriculum infused with LeBron’s “We Are Family” philosophy to assist the students and families in Akron who need it most. The school’s on-site Family Resource Center provides complete wraparound services for its families including career, academic, legal, medical, and emotional support to eliminate barriers on their path to a better future.
ABOUT XQ INSTITUTE
XQ Institute is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to rethinking the high school experience so that every student graduates ready to succeed in life. We work in communities throughout the country, with individual schools and entire school systems, to help them dream big about what high school could be, turn their innovative ideas into action, and create more rigorous and equitable schools. We share what’s working with other schools and districts, so they can tailor new models to the needs of their own students and communities. We know that seeing is believing, so we meet people where they are to share the importance and possibility of change through listening, learning, and storytelling. And our open-source tools, based on research and design thinking, empower people to take up the challenge of transforming their high schools with a unifying goal: unlocking the American promise of a high-quality education for everyone.
XQ was co-founded by board chair Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of Emerson Collective, and Russlynn Ali, XQ’s CEO and former U.S. assistant secretary of education for civil rights. XQ’s board of directors also includes Geoffrey Canada, Marc Eckō, Jimmy Iovine, Michael Klein, and Yo-Yo Ma. To learn more, visit http://www.xqsuperschool.org and follow @xqamerica.
Media Contacts
Julie Cloutier / julie.cloutier@ledecompany.com
Anna Bailer / anna.bailer@ledecompany.com