May 19, 2024: Biden speaks at Morehouse College graduation as some students protest
Ahead of President Joe Biden’s commencement address at Morehouse College on Sunday, the school is bracing for enhanced security measures and potential pro-Palestinian protests amid the president’s stalwart support for Israel’s campaign against Hamas.
There have been mixed reactions within the Morehouse community to Biden’s presence on campus. Morehouse extended the invitation to Biden to speak in September, a month before the Israel-Hamas war started, but since the announcement that Biden would deliver the commencement speech, several student-led protests have taken place on and off the Morehouse campus.
Meanwhile, Calvin Bell, another senior, told CNN that he is “looking forward to Biden coming on campus in order to hear what his speech truly has to say.”
The Morehouse address is under the microscope as a potential litmus test for the president’s strength with young voters of color in the fall. The president’s advisers say he’s intent on keeping the focus on the graduates even as the prospect of protests lingers over the event.
Morehouse College President David A. Thomas said it wouldn’t be in Biden’s interest to “give a campaign stump speech.” He called on the president to discuss what the school represents, lay out his vision for “a more inclusive economy” and address the Israel-Hamas war.
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