First Lady Michelle Obama delivered a powerful commencement address at Dillard University in 2014, weaving together the university's remarkable history with a call to action for its graduates. She told the story of Emperor Williams, born into slavery in 1826, who taught himself to read and write — a crime for enslaved people — and lived to become one of the original signers of the charter that created New Orleans University, a predecessor to Dillard. Mrs. Obama reminded graduates that their commencement was not just the culmination of their own dreams but the realization of dreams held by generations who came before them — people who 'had the audacity to call their little schools universities and name their baby boys Emperor.' This closing declaration urged graduates to honor that legacy by reaching just as high, using education as their guiding light and bringing others along the way.