Washington
CNN
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President Joe Biden used Sunday's commencement address at Morehouse College to tout his administration's efforts to place Black Americans in the highest positions of political power, while raising concerns among young people across the country over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He also acknowledged his smoldering anguish.
Speaking to graduates of top universities for black men, the president called for a long-term political solution to the crisis, urging a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the release of Israeli hostages.
“What is happening in Gaza and Israel is heartbreaking. Hamas's vicious attacks on Israel are killing innocent lives and holding people hostage. Innocent Palestinians are being held hostage in all of this. Caught in the midst of this crisis, men, women and children are being killed, displaced and in dire need of water, food and medicine,” the President said.
Biden faces a delicate balancing act ahead of his Morehouse speech, as some students and faculty object to the president's presence on campus because of his fervent support for Israel's operations against Hamas. was. The White House had worked for weeks to address concerns, hoping it would give Biden an opportunity to build better relationships with young black men, who recent polls show are increasingly distancing themselves from the president.
Mr. Biden and his campaign have said that their chances of returning to the White House are in jeopardy of tough battles, especially in Georgia, where the president held a graduation ceremony at Morehouse, and Michigan, where he criticized former President Donald Trump as “unstable.” On the ground, we know that the support of Black Americans is critical. ” in remarks at the NAACP dinner after Sunday.
Ahead of Biden's commencement address, the school's valedictorian cited one of its most famous graduates, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., in his address and called for an end to the violence in Gaza. Ta.
DeAngelo Fletcher said it was “his position as a Morehouseman, and indeed as a human being, to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.”
02:11 – Source: CNN
President Biden faces peaceful protesters during speech at Morehouse College
Then, as Biden began his speech, some graduates took part in a silent protest. One person unfurled a Palestinian flag while several others turned their backs on the president. But Biden delivered his speech without any noticeable interruptions.
Biden acknowledged the frustration of young Americans over the Middle East crisis and said the issue hits close to home.
“This is one of the hardest, most complex issues in the world, and nothing is easy. I know many people, including my family, are angry and frustrated,” Biden said. ” he said. CNN previously reported that First Lady Jill Biden privately expressed concern about the humanitarian toll in Gaza.
Furthermore, he added: “I know it breaks your heart. It breaks mine too.”
Democratic presidential candidates have enjoyed the support of Black Americans since the civil rights movement, and Biden has deep ties to the community. But polls show support for the president is declining among black voters who are dissatisfied with the president's handling of the economy and support for Israel.
Biden devoted much of his speech to democracy, noting recent national efforts to obscure America's historic wrongs against Black people.
“I never thought I would be president at a time when there was a national effort to ban books,” Biden said. “You don't write history, you erase history. They don't see you as the future of America. But they're wrong. To me, we are the ones who make history. It doesn't erase that. We know that Black history is American history.”
Biden told a group of male graduates that extremist forces are spreading lies about what masculinity is.
“Their idea of being a man is toxic. I encountered them all the time when I was younger. …But that's not you, that's not us. You all know what it really means to be a man. “We know what we're doing and we've proven it,” he said.
Mr. Biden trumpeted his support for the nation's historically black colleges and universities, saying, “Right after the AKA from Mr. Howard, I have no doubt that the guy from Morehouse will be president one day.” The remarks appeared to signal Biden's hopes for the political future of Vice President Kamala Harris, a graduate of an HBCU in Washington, D.C., and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically black sorority.
In the past few months, Biden has largely avoided speaking to large crowds of young people on college campuses, a change that comes as his January remarks on abortion rights sparked protests at George Mason University in Virginia. This happened shortly after the event was interrupted more than a dozen times by irate participants. He continued to support Israel in the Gaza war.
Since then, that anger has only spread as the death toll of civilians, aid workers and journalists in Gaza continues to rise.
According to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, more than 1,360 student demonstrations were held on campuses across the country between October 7 and May 3. Although the vast majority (97%) of these demonstrations have been peaceful, isolated cases of property destruction and violence have received widespread attention.
These incidents culminated in late April and early May, when students at Columbia University overran several university buildings, an encampment at the University of Texas in Austin was forcibly dispersed by police, and counter-protests at UCLA. The protesters launched an hours-long attack against pro-Palestinian protesters. encampment.
Following these instances of campus chaos, Biden condemned the actions of some campus protesters in brief remarks at the White House earlier this month.
“I understand that people have deep beliefs and strong feelings,” Biden said at the time. “In America, we respect and protect their right to express it. But that doesn't mean nothing will happen.”
In his remarks, Biden said dissent is “essential to our democracy” but “must never be disruptive or deny the rights of others.”
Biden's appointment to Morehouse was the latest in a series of efforts by the president in recent days. It is about acknowledging this country's historical racial shortcomings while also addressing the next generation of black leaders.
At the NAACP dinner in Detroit on Sunday night, Biden warned about his opponent, saying the presumptive Republican nominee “poses a greater threat” in his second term than he did in his first. tried to utter. “When he lost, obviously something snapped inside him,” the president said of Trump, repeating statements he had made off-camera at campaign fundraisers.
Biden noted that the former president vowed to pardon the rioters on January 6, 2021, and wondered how President Trump would have responded if many of the rioters who stormed the Capitol were black. did. 6 What if Black Americans had stormed the Capitol? No, I'm serious. What do you think? i can only imagine. ”
Last week, the president met with plaintiffs in the historic Brown v. Board of Education case that overturned racial discrimination in schools 70 years ago. During that Thursday meeting, some of the plaintiff's relatives urged him to make the anniversary of the lawsuit a national holiday.
On Friday, Biden spoke at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, where he spoke with members of the Divine Nine, a historic black fraternity and sorority group.
Biden's stop at Morehouse was the second time he visited the university during his presidency. In 2022, Biden and Harris delivered a speech on voting rights at the same university.
This article and headline were updated with additional information on Sunday.
CNN's Kevin Liptak and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
