Biden's Morehouse commencement address sees few disruptions, some walkouts
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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks onstage during the 2024 140th Morehouse College Commencement Ceremony at Morehouse College on May 19, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/WireImage)
President Biden on Sunday gave the commencement address at Morehouse College, an HBCU in Atlanta, Georgia, but with few disruptions from those assembled, despite calls for protests or for the speech to be canceled.
The big picture: Biden's address arrived as pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses nationwide have raised pressure domestically over the Israel-Hamas war.
- Georgia, a swing state Biden won in 2020, has seen its share of demonstrations and clashes over recent weeks, including at the University of Georgia and Emory University.
- The speech is one of several events where the president appeared this week before Black communities — a demographic that has historically backed him as a candidate and whose vote he's seeking for reelection.
State of play: Some students among the graduating class turned their chairs away from Biden as he began his speech, while at least one student held up a Palestinian flag.
- In a section reserved for the families of graduating students, a chant of "four more years" was heard as Biden came on stage at the start of the ceremony, according to CNN.
- Morehouse Valedictorian DeAngelo Fletcher addressed the crowd while wearing a small Palestinian flag pin, and decorated his mortarboard with another Palestinian emblem. He dedicated part of his speech to calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all Hamas hostages.
- "It is my stance as a Morehouse man — nay, as a human being — to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip," Fletcher said in his speech, which was given before Biden's.
What he's saying: Biden's speech focused on the future of democracy, Israel and Gaza, and encouraging graduates to keep faith and hope, even in dark times.
- "Whether you're young or old, I know what endures. The strength and wisdom of faith endures," he said.
- "Faith asked me to hold on to hope. That's my commitment to you to show you democracy, democracy, democracy is still the way," Biden said, later citing the "extremist forces" who seek to disrupt institutions like Morehouse as a threat.
Biden addressed the Israel-Hamas war by saying he has called for "an immediate ceasefire" in Gaza and reiterating his support for peaceful protests.
- "What's happening in Gaza and Israel is heartbreaking," he said.
- "What happens in Gaza, what rights do the Palestinian people have? I'm working to make sure we finally get a two-state solution — the only solution where two people live in peace, security, and dignity," Biden said.
Several students walked out of the graduation ceremony while Biden was presented with an honorary degree following his speech, CNN reported.
- Morehouse's faculty voted 50 to 38 on Thursday to grant Biden an honorary doctorate. Dozens abstained from the vote, per NBC News.
Between the lines: Protests were ongoing outside the graduation site on Sunday, with barricades set up and manned by the Atlanta Police.
- Morehouse President David Thomas told CNN Thursday that "disruptive behavior that prevents the ceremony or services" would not be allowed.
Worth noting: Biden is the second sitting president to speak at the college in just over a decade, following then-President Obama's 2013 address.
Go deeper: Biden tries threading the needle on campus protests, war
