On Sunday, President Joe Biden is stepping onto a college campus for the first time in months since protests erupted nationwide calling for university divestments from Israel over the ongoing war in Gaza, but some are calling it "political blackface."
Morehouse College, a historically Black college (HBCU) for men in Atlanta, Georgia, will host the president as its graduation speaker at its 140th commencement. Last month, after the Morehouse administration announced Biden as the graduation speaker, peaceful protests popped up on campus of the of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s alma mater. Student protesters called on the administration to rescind Biden's invitation over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Since Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and more than 200 hostages taken from Israel, Israel's military incursions into Gaza have displaced over 1.8 million Palestinians and killed over 34,500 people, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. continues to provide weapons and aid to Israel. Pro-Palestinian protests and encampments calling for university divestments have popped up on campuses across the nation.
The Morehouse administration, led by President David Thomas, has decided to keep Biden as the speaker, citing the charged responses to his speech as making it even more important for Biden to take the stage. On Thursday, in an interview with CNN, Thomas said, "I have also made a decision that we will also not ask police to take individuals out of commencement in zip ties. If faced with the choice, I will cease the ceremonies on the spot if we were to reach that position."
Newsweek reached out to Morehouse College and the White House for comment via email.
"In many ways, these are the moments Morehouse was born for," Thomas said in the interview, adding, "We need someplace in this country that can hold the tensions that threaten to divide us. If Morehouse can't hold those tensions, then no place can."
Yet, some students disagree, like Morehouse sophomore Anwar Karim who said, "This is a global catastrophe in Gaza, and Joe Biden coming to pander for our votes is political blackface", according to AP.
Newsweek reached out to Karim via email for additional comment.
Biden's commencement speech comes at a time when the presidential race is extremely tight. A recent New York Times/Siena poll showed the presumptive Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump polling higher in five key swing states, including Georgia. Biden's polling in those states is within the margin of error.
Less than six months from the "big day"—Nov. 4—President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are neck and neck among key demographics of Morehouse voters. A May USA Today/Suffolk University poll shows Biden gaining among young and Black voters. Specifically, among young voters, defined as those under 35 years old, Biden leads Trump 34 percent to 25 percent. Among Black voters, Biden edges Trump 64 percent to 12 percent.
Biden's Morehouse appearance will tie up a four-day programming focused on reaching Black communities in his 2024 campaign. He has already met with a plaintiff in the 1954 case that barred legal segregation of the nation's public schools, Brown v. Board of Education, and is set to address the NAACP about the case's 70th anniversary.
The Biden campaign previously released an ad campaign highlighting its $7 billion funding of HBCU's. Vice President Kamala Harris is a graduate of Howard University, an HBCU in Washington, D.C.
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Mandy Taheri is a Newsweek reporter based in Connecticut and Brooklyn. She joined Newsweek as a reporter in 2024. She ... Read more
