Biden’s upcoming graduation speech roils Morehouse College, a center of Black politics and culture by Bill Barrow and Matt Brown, Associated Press, May 16, 2024 https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-morehouse-campus-protests-donald-trump-8ad48d3f35ad7f18ef92f7ff83ccb688
ATLANTA (AP) — When he gives the commencement address at Morehouse College, President Joe Biden will have his most direct engagement with college students since the start of the Israel-Hamas war at a center of Black politics and culture. . . . The announcement <https://apnews.com/article/biden-morehouse-hbcus-2024-election-black-voters-821d03639c2d9ad7d311b3f63541e3ed> of the speech last month triggered peaceful protests and calls for the university administration to cancel over Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas. Some students at Morehouse and other historically Black campuses in Atlanta say they vociferously oppose Biden and the decision to have him speak, mirroring the tension Biden faces in many communities of color <https://apnews.com/article/arab-americans-reject-biden-election-michigan-palestinians-3c176d111286e767a48d51eef53d50e1> and with young voters nationally <https://apnews.com/article/biden-2024-campaign-oldest-president-young-voters-152d11d3090518a2e5eee63b9a596673>. . . . Many younger Black people have identified with the Palestinian cause and have at times drawn parallels between Israeli rule of the Palestinian territories and South Africa’s now-defunct apartheid system and abolished Jim Crow laws in the U.S. ... . . . Blowback started even before Thomas publicly announced Biden was coming. Faculty sent executives a letter of concern, prompting an online town hall. Alumni gathered several hundred signatures to urge that Thomas rescind Biden’s invitation. The petition called the invitation antithetical to the pacifism Martin Luther King Jr., a Morehouse alumnus, expressed when opposing the Vietnam War. . . . Students organized two recent protests across the Atlanta University Center (AUC), a consortium of historically Black institutions in Atlanta that includes Morehouse. Chants included “Joe Biden, f— off!” and “Biden, Biden, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide,” along with expletives directed at Thomas. “Our institution is supporting genocide, and we turn a blind eye,” said Nyla Broddie, a student at Spelman College, which is part of the AUC. Brodie argued Biden’s Israel policy should be viewed in the broader context of U.S. foreign policy and domestic police violence against Black Americans. . . . HBCUs have not seen crackdowns from law enforcement like those at Columbia University in New York City and the University of California, Los Angeles. However, Morehouse and the AUC have seen peaceful demonstrations, petitions and private meetings among campus stakeholders. Xavier University, a historically Black university in Louisiana, withdrew its commencement invitation for U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, citing a desire among students “to enjoy a commencement ceremony free of disruptions.” Whether Morehouse graduates or other students protest Biden or disrupt the ceremony remains to be seen. Student protest leaders say they are unaware of any plans to demonstrate inside during the commencement. Thomas, Morehouse’s president, promised that forms of protest at commencement that “do not disrupt ceremonies” will not result in sanctions for any students. But he also vowed to end the program early if disruptions grow. “We will not — on Morehouse’s campus — create a national media moment,” he said, “where our inability to manage these tensions leads to people being taken out of a Morehouse ceremony in zip ties by law enforcement.” # # # Joe Biden’s attending Morehouse College’s commencement is an insult to the Black radical tradition *As students at Atlanta’s HBCUs, we recognize that the struggles of the Black and Palestinian communities are interconnected. Because of this, Joe Biden’s upcoming commencement address at Morehouse College is an incredible slap in the face.* by Marq Riggins and Sydney Jael Wilson, Mondoweiss, May 17, 2024 https://mondoweiss.net/2024/05/joe-bidens-attendance-at-morehouse-colleges-commencement-is-an-insult-to-the-black-radical-tradition/ ... President Joseph R. Biden’s upcoming commencement address at Morehouse College is an egregious political mistake and an incredible slap in the face to the graduating class of 2024 and The AUC community. . . . Morehouse College President David A. Thomas’ decision to invite President Biden as the commencement speaker illustrates a more extensive pattern where prioritizing profit, economically or socially, takes precedence over listening to students, faculty, and staff within Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).”2 The Atlanta University Center (AUC), composed of Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, and Morris Brown College, has a rich activist history. ... . . . ... Despite the actions of our presidents, trustee members, and administration– who prioritize political posturing over the well-being of our community– we, along with students, faculty, staff, local activists, and community members, recognize the interconnected struggles faced by the Black and Palestinian communities. You can support our demands for divestment by signing our petition, which currently has 800+ signatures, and receive more information from our decade-long student organizing group, AUC Students for Justice in Palestine, on Instagram @aucsjp <https://www.instagram.com/aucsjp/>! # # # Students Marq Riggins, a graduating senior with a B.A. in Sociology from Morehouse College, and Sydney Jael Wilson, a rising senior pursuing a degree in Comparative Women’s Studies at Spelman College, wrote this editorial. Edited by Lisette Allison, a rising junior pursuing a degree in Biology at Clark Atlanta University. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#30396): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/30396 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/106178918/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
