Entrepreneurial maven Percy Miller, more famously known as Master P, was bestowed with an honorary doctorate from an HBCU in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
On Sunday, he joined 400 graduates from the historically Black institution Lincoln University at the commencement ceremony, RollingOut reports. Other notable honorees of the graduation ceremony included the mother of JAY-Z, Gloria Carter, who joined Miller and political scientist Charles V. Hamilton in receiving honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from the university.
“I guess I got to change my name to, Dr. P. Miller. From the projects to getting a Doctoral degree from @lincolnuniversityofpa. Don’t be afraid to change, grow and educate yourself. I did it! You can do it. #GODISGOOD #Nevertoolate #hbcu #NoLimit There is NO limit to your dreams #DRPMiller,” the savvy businessman wrote this week.
The son of the former rapper-turned-professional basketball player, Romeo Miller, wrote a heartfelt message to his dad, congratulating him on notching yet another accomplishment.
“You make everything look easy but they don’t see the sleepless nights, I always pray to God to protect you because you only get sleep/rest on the plane. Congrats Dr. P and keep inspiring. Love u pops #NoLimit ???????????????? @masterp,” Romeo wrote under his father’s Instagram post.
As Blavity previously reported, Master P has been rallying support for students to help revitalize enrollment at HBCUs. He recently expressed in an exclusive interview that he has ambitions about one day owning a Black university or college.
It's all about economic empowerment,” the No Limit CEO began. “We need to educate our culture on financial literacy. Even when you look at HBCUs, we have to prepare the students with better living arrangements, better books, better technology, and computers. All these different things are all preparation.”
The 51-year-old New Orleans native said that investment in education is critical to bridging the wealth gap.
“We need to add economics and banking into our school system, and we need to hold ourselves accountable," Master P said. "We're talking about building that gap and leveling the playing field. We're talking about financial literacy, and I think that's the page we have to be on.”
Hercy Miller, Romeo’s younger brother, committed this year to playing basketball at Tennessee State University over major college powerhouses like Vanderbilt and Georgetown. He said he wanted to shine a light on the type of opportunities students can gain from an education at an HBCU.
"I’ve always grown up being a leader, my dad told me never follow the crowd. I want to make a difference,” he told ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith. “I feel like most people think like HBCUs and mid major schools can’t do it. They have a lot of pro’s that come out of HBCUs.”
Author and educator Michael Eric Dyson, also awarded with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, gave the keynote speech during the ceremony.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, bestowed with an honorary Doctor of Laws, gave the commencement speech for the class of 2020 on Friday. The class of 2020’s ceremony was pushed back from last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to RollingOut.
