Biden delivers high-stakes commencement speech at Morehouse College

“This is one of the most difficult and complicated problems in the world. This is not easy,” the president said, nodding to the 414 graduating seniors arrayed before him. “I know this breaks your heart. It breaks mine.

The 27-minute speech was Biden’s most significant public remarks to students since protests against the war in Gaza erupted on campuses across the country last month. It was relatively well received at Morehouse, where some students and faculty had urged administrators to rescind the president’s invitation to speak.

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Credit: [email protected]

Although there were no embarrassing scenes of mass disruption at the graduation ceremony, more muted symbols of protest were present throughout the event.

As Biden spoke, assistant professor Taura Taylor had her back turned to the president while raising her right hand into a fist. A few students lined up sat with their backs to Biden while holding a Palestinian flag.

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Credit: [email protected]

While alumni rose to give Biden a standing ovation, students notably stayed in their seats. And the crowd roared after valedictorian DeAngelo Jeremiah Fletcher said it was “my position as a Morehouse man, as a human being, to call for a ceasefire immediate and permanent.

Outside of strict security measures surrounding the closed campus, more than 100 protesters marched toward Morehouse, some holding signs reading “Genocide Joe” and chanting demanding a ceasefire.

Credit: Miguel Martínez

Credit: Miguel Martínez

Among the protesters who marched from West End Park to Atlanta University Center was Daxton Pettus, a Morehouse student, who said he felt he was standing up for what is right.

“I made a commitment, a personal commitment, to be on the right side of history and to be an active agent,” said Pettus, who noted one of Morehouse’s most famous graduates.

“It’s Martin Luther King’s house. And we’re inviting a war criminal to come and speak to students, even though he’s president.”

Biden referred to the ongoing war in general terms, saying the conflict is “heartbreaking” and that he is working “around the clock” to end the fighting that began Oct. 7 when Hamas militants invaded. Israel. Discussions about Biden’s speech at Morehouse’s opening began before the fights.

“I support peaceful, nonviolent protests,” Biden said. “Your voices must be heard. I promise I can hear you.

Efforts have also been made to highlight foreign conflicts that Biden has not directly referenced. On stage, at least three professors periodically waved a flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo to draw attention to the African country’s ongoing civil war.

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Credit: [email protected]

Some expressed excitement over Biden’s visit, noting the rarity of a president speaking at a historically black college, a part of the higher education system long neglected by political leaders. There were chants of “four more years” as he received an honorary degree.

“I’m actually very happy that President Biden is coming to Morehouse,” Braxton Broady, a student, told the Politically Georgia podcast. “Regardless of anyone’s political beliefs, I think the attention a sitting president brings to campus is a great bargaining chip.”

Biden has largely supported Israel’s approach to the ongoing war with Hamas, although he has recently called for more humanitarian aid and Israeli restraint.

His stance, as well as a recent military aid package to Israel, have enraged pro-Palestinian protesters who have staged encampments on many college campuses, including Emory University and the University of Georgia.

Negative reactions to Morehouse, however, occurred more through discussions on campus than through public demonstrations. And as petitions circulated opposing Biden’s speech, Morehouse President David A. Thomas warned that he would stop the graduation ceremony if there was a public disruption.

The visit comes as Biden’s campaign struggles to regain the enthusiasm and energy that propelled his narrow victory in Georgia in 2020, when he became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in nearly three decades.

Polls show Trump gaining more ground with black voters — long the party’s most loyal constituency — and tight races in battleground states Georgia in a rematch that many voters say they fear.

Although top Democratic strategists aren’t worried about Trump’s breakthrough among Black voters, they worry that many of those who voted for the Democrat in 2020 will stay home in November.

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Credit: [email protected]

Republicans view even modest gains among voters of color as crucial to flipping Georgia, a pillar of Trump’s comeback strategy. At the Georgia GOP convention this weekend in Columbus, several political leaders spoke hopefully about Trump winning double-digit black support this year.

“Black Georgians don’t need Joe Biden to tell them what’s good for them,” said Republican Rep. Mesha Mainor, a black lawmaker from Atlanta who switched parties last year. “Black Georgians were much better off before Biden’s failed policies sent inflation to historic highs. »

Ahead of Sunday’s speech, Biden headlined a series of events aimed at shoring up the party’s base. And he made several stops in Atlanta on Saturday to show his support for black people.

He was greeted at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with a group of Morehouse graduates, including U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, one of his most important allies in Georgia. And he told voters at a fundraiser that Georgia was “the reason I won.”

On Sunday, Biden told students he had fought for many of the same principles they pursue, at one point urging them to “check my record,” noting his support for student debt relief, more funding for historically black colleges and the appointment of the first black female Supreme Court justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson.

For students who wonder “what is democracy when black men are being killed in the streets,” Biden said, he draws inspiration from religious scriptures — the same teachings that helped him as he was struggling with the death of his first wife and two of his relatives. children.

“I learned that there is no easy optimism,” he said, “but through faith you can find redemption.” »

Before leaving Georgia for a campaign stop in Michigan, Biden peppered the Morehouse audience with praise for the school. He noted that several of his top advisors are Morehouse Men.

“Education sets you free,” he said. “A Morehouse education makes you fearless.”