Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will give the keynote address at commencement ceremonies at Langston University and Spelman College this month.

“This will be a day to mark in the history of Langston University,” says president JoAnn W. Haysbert. “President Johnson Sirleaf is a dynamic world leader who spreads a profound message of justice, peace and community service.”

At the time of year when colleges are jockeying for the most prestigious speakers, Johnson Sirleaf’s appearance is a major coup for the two historically Black colleges and universities. But the college leaders say Johnson Sirleaf is especially fitting as a speaker charged with inspiring the graduates to go out into the world and make their mark.

Known as Africa’s “Iron Lady,” Johnson Sirleaf spent more than a year in jail and endured death threats for her efforts to bring justice to her native Liberia. In November 2005, the Harvard University-educated activist and former World Bank economist became the first woman to lead an African nation. 

“The more than 500 graduates who have each made a choice to change the world by attending Spelman College will be inspired by the powerful sentiments of a woman who is only the second Black female head of state in the world,” says Spelman President Beverly Daniel Tatum.  

“Her unwavering resolve — to heal war-ravaged Liberia, educate its women and girls, shore up its deflated economy, rehabilitate ex-rebels, reconcile with former combatants — is the substance that this year’s graduates hope to embody as they venture forward into their lives beyond the gates of Spelman College.”

Here’s a list of other commencement speakers:

Alliant International University

Marissa Pei: Best-selling author and international corporate consultant

Bennett College for Women

Poet, activist and professor Maya Angelou

Berea College

Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Director, Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research