Michelle Morial: Glitz vs. Substance

I'm a third generation Howard graduate, a Bison to the core. I contribute weekly to the capital campaign, visit The Yard annually and frequently host administrators and professors alike. My husband and I have a deep relationship with the university.

My grandmother, Beatrice Burson (BA ‘16), and my father, Ross M. Miller (BSMD ‘51), were Howard graduates, as were my husband's grandfather, C.C. Haydel (M.D. of ‘22), and 10 other members of his family.

So, outside of giving the commencement address myself, I couldn't be prouder that my husband, Marc H. Morial, president of the National Urban League, is speaker for the graduating class of 2011.

That said, it was with surprise and some distress that I learned from a Hilltop article that some graduating seniors found President Ribeau's choice of my husband as "not good enough."

Howard has often been graced with high-profile speakers, including notable icons like Oprah Winfrey, then Sen. Barack Obama and recently First Lady Michelle Obama.

While my husband doesn't have that kind of celebrity, let's not confuse lack of glitz with lack of substance.

As president of the National Urban League, Marc Morial spends every day fighting for economic empowerment of the disadvantaged as well as talented African Americans like the graduates of Howard and other historically black colleges and universities.

It is his job, his duty and his personal mission to make sure those graduates will be able to take their places in the boardrooms and executive offices in corporations across America and have the entrepreneurial opportunities they need.

He serves more than two million people every year by providing job placement, early childhood education and affordable housing.

And this calling is not something new. For those who might not know, he served two terms as mayor of New Orleans, where he increased home ownership by 30 percent, decreased crime by 60 percent and created thousands of jobs for the unemployed. Oh, one last thing. As a young law-student, he authored a voting rights case argued before the Louisiana Supreme Court --and won.

We've had a long history of accomplished speakers, from presidents, business tycoons, civil rights leaders, and yes celebrities. Some have been better known than others. Earl Graves, publisher of Black Enterprise spoke to my class.

As I said, Marc Morial may not have glitz of actors and other celebrities, but he has some profound lessons to share with the class of 2011 garnered from years of service to African Americans and the nation. A man of such talent and accomplishment fits very comfortably in the pantheon of Howard University Commencement speakers.

I may be a bit thinned skinned, but as a wife and Howardite, I'm entitled.

All I ask is in the age of the Internet, you choose your words carefully and as Bison, men and women of honor, you show a little respect for people who've been out there fighting for you!

-Michelle Miller Morial

Michelle Miller is a graduate of the John H. Johnson School of Communications at Howard University and is a Correspondent for CBS News