Chicago's first citywide virtual graduation in mid-June will be hosted by Oprah Winfrey, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Thursday.

Last month, Mayor Lightfoot announced that long-time Chicagoan and global icon, Oprah Winfrey, will give the commencement address at the virtual event.

The ceremony will be provided in live closed captioning as well as in Spanish on Univision Chicago (WGBO-TV).While the Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a lasting impact on a plethora of groups and institutions across the city, this latest effort by Mayor Lightfoot is designed to ensure that each of Chicago’s high school students are widely recognized for their dedicated work over the last four years. That’s why we’ve partnered with Citadel and local and national leaders like the one-and-only Oprah Winfrey and the immensely talented Miguel Cervantes to host this special graduation ceremony for Chicago’s high school seniors,” said Mayor Lightfoot. The City of Chicago is currently in Phase Four: "Gradually Resume." “We are thrilled and honored to have the one-and-only Oprah Winfrey joining us for this incredible moment with Chicago’s high school seniors,” Lightfoot said in a news release. “Though many of them have postsecondary plans that will take them all over the country and the world, this virtual graduation truly exemplifies how special it is to grow up in Chicago and graduate from Chicago Public Schools.”In addition to speeches from Mayor Lightfoot, Winfrey, Cervantes and others, students from across the city’s high schools will write and perform a single Valedictorian speech to celebrate Chicago’s class of 2020.
My Future.” (MCMF), a youth-focused initiative designed to connect youth across Chicago to meaningful out-of-school experiences, and ensure all Chicago youth have a meaningful plan for the summer. In addition to next month’s graduation ceremony for Chicago’s seniors, Mayor Lightfoot last week launched “My CHI. WBEZ will air portions of the graduation celebration on 91.5 and stream it live on WBEZ.org. Mayor Lightfoot Announces First-Ever Citywide Virtual Graduation for Chicago’s High School Seniors to Take Place on June 14 May 27, 2020 Created in partnership with Citadel, the graduation’s commencement address to be delivered by Oprah Winfrey and ceremony to be emceed by Chicago “Hamilton” star, Miguel Cervantes; Local broadcast channels to air City’s “Graduation 2020: For Chicago.

CBS2 will be running a delayed broadcast later that evening.Additionally, the City of Chicago will be providing a live-stream feed from its website and its social media channels. Chicago's first citywide virtual graduation in mid-June will be hosted by Lightfoot teased the announcement Thursday morning via a Tik Tok video before officially announcing that Winfrey would be virtually attending. "We are thrilled and honored to … Created in partnership with Citadel, the graduation’s commencement address to be delivered by Oprah Winfrey and ceremony to be emceed by Chicago “Hamilton” star, Miguel Cervantes; Local broadcast channels to air City’s “Graduation 2020: For Chicago.
All high school seniors can submit their graduation walk videos at: www.chicagograd2020.comProduced in partnership with ABC7 and ABC’s Localish digital network, next month’s virtual graduation will celebrate every high school senior in Chicago, including those from Chicago Public Schools, charter schools, Catholic schools and all other private schools across the city.

The virtual ceremony is scheduled for mid-June but the exact date has not yet been announced.

Chicago Public Schools are shuttered through the end of the school year, leaving the city’s 25,000 public high schools without an in-person graduation ceremony.

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