Protestors gather near Morehouse College amid President Biden commencement speech

WSBTV.com News Staff
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While hundreds gathered to celebrate the new graduates of Morehouse College, others gathered near the school to address their disappointment in President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

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President Joe Biden delivered the commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta on Sunday.

Channel 2 Action News cameras rolled as protestors took to the streets, blocking roads and chanting for change.

Some students and members of the school’s faculty have been outspoken about their displeasure that Pres. Biden was invited to deliver the commencement address, saying they don’t approve of how his administration is handling the Israel-Hamas war.

Georgia is one of several states that will help decide the expected rematch between Pres. Biden and Republican Former President Donald Trump in November.

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The president arrived in Atlanta on Saturday, stopping to speak with supporters at the newly renovated Mary Mac’s Tea Room.

After speaking at Morehouse, Pres. Biden is scheduled to attend an NAACP dinner in Detroit.

By Tuesday afternoon, some Morehouse alumni were circulating an online letter that condemned the administration’s invitation to Pres. Biden and seeking signatures to pressure Morehouse President David Thomas to rescind it.

The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, claimed Pres. 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.”

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Morehouse College shared the following statement with Channel 2 Action News regarding the protest:

“Peaceful assembly is core to the Morehouse College social justice tradition. The Morehouse College administration fully supports and defends the right to peacefully protest and the expression of one’s views openly. Our faculty are some of the best social scholars that higher academia has to offer, and they are training up the world’s next generation of community and industry leaders who will continue our institution’s history-making legacy.

The world frequently quotes our most famous and beloved alumnus, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but the world must know that without Morehouse, there would be no Dr. King. It is fitting that a moment of organized, peaceful activism would occur on our campus while the world is watching to continue a critical conversation. We are proud of the resilient class of 2024′s unity in silent protest, showing their intentionality in strategy, communication, and coordination as a 412-person unit.

Finally, after many facilitated conversations with The White House amongst students, faculty, staff, and alumni, we are moved that President Biden chose the Morehouse stage to announce another $16 billion investment in HBCUs as well as call for an immediate and permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza war. We appreciate the partnership of President Biden and The White House staff for listening and, most importantly, applying what our community and the global society have requested. The work is nowhere near finished, and Morehouse College will continue centering consequential, nuanced dialogue and critique to foster positive societal change.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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