ALBANY — More than 800 Albany State University students received diplomas Saturday morning as the university held its spring commencement ceremony at the Albany Civic Center.

The venerable arena was filled to the rafters as parents, relatives, family and friends came to see their graduate receive his or her diploma and to hear U.S. Sen. the Rev. Raphael Warnock kick off his “Southern HBCU Commencement Tour.”

“HBCUs have long punched way above their weight,” Warnock said in a press release sent prior to Saturday’s ceremony.

During May, in addition to ASU’s commencement, Warnock, a member of Morehouse College’s graduating Class of 1991, making him one of two sitting U.S. Senators who graduated from HBCUs, will speak at two other Southern HBCUs to “urge the Class of 2024 to use their voices to uplift the importance of the nation’s historically black colleges and universities.”

He spoke at Tennessee State University (Nashville, Tenn.) the night before addressing ASU grads, and is scheduled to speak at Johnson C. Smith University (Charlotte, N.C.) on May 19. The senator said the institutions are “renowned for their rich history, academic excellence, and commitment to fostering black leadership across industries.”

In his position as a Georgia senator, Warnock has secured $267 million for Georgia’s HBCUs to date, and more than $7 billion in total for HBCU campuses across the country

“HBCUs play a vital role helping shape the next generation of leaders our country needs, and as one of two HBCU alums serving in the U.S. Senate, I will continue working to build on the $7 billion we have secured in federal investments for these institutions to continue expanding and innovating their transformational work,” Warnock said. “I am honored to have the opportunity to address the graduating classes of Albany State, Tennessee State and Johnson C. Smith Universities.

“The Class of 2024 is entering the work force or pursuing their chosen endeavors in a moment where many express uncertainties over the future for themselves and the world at large. I believe public servants play an important role in extolling a message of hope and vision of possibility that inspires more of us to take up the hard work required to make the change we wish to see.”

Warnock is a Head Start and Upward Bound alum and was inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King’s teachings to matriculate to Atlanta’s historic Morehouse College — using Pell Grants and low-interest student loans to become the first in his family to graduate from college. Following his graduation from Morehouse, he went on to receive his master’s and doctorate degrees at the Union Theological Seminary.

Elected Georgia’s first black Senator in 2021, Warnock has been an ardent champion for education in the U.S. Senate. He has actively worked to bolster K-12 and higher education in Georgia and across the country. The senator introduced legislation, the HEADWAY Act, to expand access to early learning, and helped pass the American Rescue Plan, which made significant investments in the nation’s K-12 schools.

Saturday’s commencement was a bittersweet one for outgoing ASU President Marion Fedrick, who now will leave the university to take on her dual roles with Georgia State University and with the University System of Georgia.