Black Men Might Turn Their Backs, Literally, on President Biden’s Morehouse Commencement Speech

By Nigel Roberts

Democratic presidents delivering graduation commencement addresses at HBCUs are typically good vibe moments. But that’s not the case this time.

Strong opposition is brewing against President Joe Biden’s invitation to deliver the May 24 keynote speech at iconic all-male HBCU Morehouse College in Atlanta. Morehouse, which extended the invitation in September, received immediate backlash after announcing Biden’s keynote address. Many complain that Morehouse is a merelypolitical pawn in Biden’s re-election bid – nothing more than a campaign stop in the crucial swing state of Georgia.

Polls predict that disgruntled young Black men could turn their backs on Biden and the Democratic Party on Election Day. And the way things are looking, Black men in caps and gowns at Morehouse could literally turn their backs to him in protest on graduation day.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s alma mater is one of only two commencement invitations that Biden accepted — the United States Military Academy at West Point is the other – among what is likely dozens of invites. Given the polling data, cynics say it’s unsurprising that the White House accepted an invitation to address the graduating class, since the chance for TV news sound bites is tantalizing.

“$100 says commencement address morphs into a campaign speech, where President Biden talks about what he’s gonna do about the two key pieces of voting registration that has languished in the senate since 2021,” Instagram user Adcusmc commented.

Opponents also criticized Morehouse’s plan to present Biden with an honorary doctorate.

“Speaking here is cool I guess but giving the man who drafted the 94 crime bill an honorary degree from morehouse is crazy,” Quin.zip wrote.

Indeed, many Black folks have not forgiven Biden for sponsoring the 1994 crime law as a senator that criminal justice reform activists blame for the wave of mass incarcerations of Black men in the 1990s.

This is all playing out against the backdrop of widespread protests against Biden on university campuses over his support of Israel in its war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, where Palestinian civilians face a humanitarian crisis.

Opponents have dubbed the president “genocide Joe,” including former Morehouse professor Marc Lamont Hill.

White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre addressed the backlash at a press conference on Wednesday. A reporter asked if Biden had any concern about Morehouse disinviting him.

“I’m certainly not going to speculate or go into hypotheticals,” Jean-Pierre responded. “The president is certainly looking forward to these two commencements … and he’s done these many times before, understanding the important moment and how special that moment is for the graduates and their families. And he’s going to do his best to meet that moment as it relates to what’s going on, the pain that communities are feeling.”

There’s no chance of the college rescinding the invitation, Morehouse’s provost and senior vice-president of academic affairs, Kendrick Brown, told fuming faculty members, according to The Guardian.

Still, Morehouse political science professor Andrew Douglas told NBC News that several faculty members refuse to “sit on a stage with Joe Biden.”

With university protests spreading, there’s concern for student safety.

“Our priority should be … to try and ensure that under no circumstances are the police brought to bear on our students,” Douglas said. “Our students do not have the same privileges that Ivy League students typically do, and confrontations with the police can turn deadly for our students.”