Biden’s planned Morehouse College commencement speech spurs alumni protest

Joe Biden will be the commencement speaker at Morehouse College in Georgia, giving the Democrat a key spotlight at one of the nation’s pre-eminent historically Black campuses but potentially exposing him to uncomfortable protests as he seeks re-election against Donald Trump.

The White House confirmed on Tuesday that Biden would speak on 19 May at the alma mater of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr, and then address the graduating class at the United States Military Academy at West Point on 25 May.

The Morehouse announcement has drawn some backlash among the school’s faculty and supporters who are critical of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. That could put the White House and Biden’s re-election campaign in a difficult position as the president works to shore up the racially diverse coalition that propelled him to the Oval Office.

The letter, obtained by the Associated Press, claimed Biden’s approach to Israel effectively supports genocide in Gaza and runs counter to the pacifism that King expressed with his opposition to the Vietnam war.

“In inviting President Biden to campus, the college affirms a cruel standard that complicity in genocide merits no sanction from the institution that produced one of the towering advocates for nonviolence of the twentieth century,” the letter states, emphasizing King’s stance that “war is a hell that diminishes” humanity as a whole. “If the college cannot affirm this noble tradition of justice by rescinding its invitation to President Biden, then the college should reconsider its attachment to Dr King.”

Late last week, before the school and the White House formally announced commencement plans, Morehouse provost Kendrick Brown, Thomas’s top lieutenant, sent an email to all faculty acknowledging concerns about “rumors” and affirming that the school issued the invitation to Biden last September. That would have been before Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, spurring the sustained counteroffensive that the Morehouse alumni letter called an act of genocide against Palestinians. Brown’s email did not reference anything about the Middle East conflict.

Brown invited faculty to an online forum, scheduled for Thursday afternoon, to discuss the matter. But, he added: “Please know going into this conversation that the College does not plan to rescind its accepted invitation to President Biden.”

Morehouse officials have not responded to an Associated Press inquiry.

Asked about the concerns from some faculty members, the White House deputy press secretary, Andrew Bates, said Biden was eager to speak at the school and added: “Commencements are about the graduates, their families and their loved ones, about celebrating the accomplishments of the graduates.

“I’m not going to weigh in on processes happening at Morehouse, but he looks forward to going there and celebrating with the graduates,” he added.

Earlier Tuesday, Thomas released a statement to BET.com that, like the provost’s faculty letter, highlighted the September timing of the invitation to Biden.

Thomas said Morehouse officials “eagerly anticipate” the president’s visit, which he called “a reminder of our institution’s enduring legacy and impact, as well as our continued commitment to excellence, progress and positive change.”

The Rev Stephen Green, pastor of the St Luke AME church in Harlem and an author of the alumni letter, said in an interview that his group had reached out to several Morehouse trustees and hoped to speak with Thomas. Green, who graduated in 2014, called the effort part of a “common thread of protest and activism in the Morehouse tradition” of social and political engagement.

“We hope this would send a strong message that we are serious about the values we were taught,” Green said, adding that he wants to see Biden forcefully advocate for a Palestinian state and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Beyond any dissatisfaction over Israel, polling suggests Biden may have work to do with Black Americans generally. More than half of Black adults approve of how he is handling his job as president, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in March, but that is down significantly from when he took office and 94% approved of his performance.

Biden has increasingly encountered protests this year from progressives who assert that he is too supportive of Israel. The issue has proven vexing for the president. He has long joined the US foreign policy establishment in embracing Israel as an indispensable Middle East ally. Yet he also has criticized the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for mounting civilian deaths in Gaza and told him that future US aid depends on Israel taking steps to protect civilians.