Lt. Gov. Evette set to give SC State commencement speech, causing student protest

By: Skylar Laird, South Carolina Daily Gazette, April 28, 2026

https://scdailygazette.com/2026/04/28/lt-gov-evette-set-to-give-sc-state-commencement-speech-causing-student-protest/

Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette’s scheduled speech at South Carolina State University’s commencement ceremony brought calls from students and some legislators for administrators to pick someone else.

Evette, a Republican who is running for governor in a crowded June primary, is set to speak to graduating seniors at the state’s only public historically Black university May 8.

“It’s a tone-deaf decision,” state Rep. Hamilton Grant, a Columbia Democrat, told reporters Tuesday.

University spokesman Sam Watson declined to comment beyond saying the college had not yet announced its commencement speaker, and the decision is up to university administration.

The governor’s office confirmed the event is on Evette’s calendar.

“The Lieutenant Governor looks forward to recognizing the hard work and achievements of the Class of 2026,” governor’s office spokeswoman Michelle LeClair said in a statement. “Their success will play an important role in strengthening South Carolina’s workforce and future, and she is proud to celebrate this milestone alongside them.”

Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette is scheduled to speak at the commencement ceremony for students at South Carolina State University on May 8, 2026. (Photo courtesy of SC State)

Gov. Henry McMaster delivered the university’s commencement speech in 2017, according to the governor’s office. Students at the time protested that decision as well, to no avail.

Evette’s planned speech nearly a decade later again drew concerns from students, who heard about the decision early. An online petition called for college administrators to choose a different speaker.

The university’s values are “rooted in advocacy, equity, and the power of our voices,” Student Government Association President Zaria Tucker wrote in a Facebook post.

“Commencement is one of the most important moments of our collegiate experience,” Tucker’s post continued. “It should reflect the voices, values, and lived experiences of the students it celebrates.”

Tucker did not respond to a message from the Daily Gazette requesting further comment.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with inviting a white person to speak at a historically Black college, said Grant, who graduated from South Carolina State in 2011.

But “commencement is sacred,” he said, adding that some of Evette’s stances went against what students stood for.

For example, Grant pointed to Evette’s dismissal of an artificial intelligence-generated video President Donald Trump posted depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, which received immediate backlash as racist. The White House called the since-deleted post an error, and Evette repeated that explanation on X by characterizing the responses as a “melt down over two seconds of an auto-generated clip that was clearly posted in error.”

She attributed the criticism to “another case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Grant also raised concerns over Evette’s opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which she has called to eliminate from every public college. Most state universities have already gotten rid of diversity statements and DEI division names.

Students should hear views that are different from their own, but a commencement speech is not the time or place, Grant said, saying those opinions “go against historical Black colleges and universities.” Evette’s speech is part of her official business as lieutenant governor.