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Staff at Morehouse College, one of the country’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), are concerned about a planned commencement speech by President Joe Biden next month due to student protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
Kendrick Brown, the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the Georgia college, emailed staff that he “received an inquiry from concerned faculty about rumors regarding President Biden being chosen as the 2024 Commencement speaker,” according to NBC News.
A virtual meeting was scheduled for Thursday to allow faculty with different perspectives on the selection of the commencement speaker to ask questions and make comments. Brown mentioned that students would also engage with college President David Thomas. He clarified that the college does not plan to rescind its invitation to President Biden.
The speech is scheduled for Sunday, May 19, on the college’s Century Campus. This aligns with Biden’s campaign for another term in the White House, while polls indicate young Black voters are less enthusiastic about him compared to 2020 and may lean towards former President Donald Trump. Biden also plans to speak at West Point’s graduation on May 25.
Morehouse students expressed mixed reactions to WXIA-TV, an NBC affiliate in Atlanta. One sophomore expressed opposition to the president speaking at the college, citing the Biden administration’s support of Israel amid its conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He believed the speech was politically motivated to gain more support from young Black voters.
According to the Associated Press, Morehouse alumni circulated a letter that criticized the decision to have President Joe Biden speak at the college’s commencement, citing the U.S. stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. The letter suggested Morehouse should reconsider its association with Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., an alumnus of the school who held the belief that “war is a hell that diminishes” humanity, if it does not rescind its invitation to Biden.
Anti-Israel protests have emerged on college campuses nationwide, including at Columbia University, resulting in arrests and suspensions. Biden condemned “anti-Semitic protests” on Monday and expressed concern for those who do not grasp the Palestinian situation.
Biden has faced protesters at various events since Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7 of last year. In January, a rally was repeatedly disrupted by protesters, and pro-Palestinian demonstrators interrupted his remarks in March, leading Biden to acknowledge they “have a point.”
So far, the White House has not indicated that Biden will skip the Morehouse commencement speech. His deputy press secretary, Andrew Bates, stated that the president looks forward to addressing graduates and expressing gratitude to their families and supporters.
