Biden’s planned commencement speech sparks concern at Morehouse College

Washington CNN —

A commencement speech that President Joe Biden is expected to deliver at Morehouse College next month has sparked some concern among the school’s faculty amid heightened tensions on college campuses across the country over the US’ continued support for Israel in its war in Gaza.

The White House on Tuesday formally announced that Biden will deliver the May 19 commencement at Morehouse, but faculty at the school – one of the nation’s preeminent historically Black colleges – expressed concerns about Biden’s presence on campus after hearing rumors that he would deliver the commencement earlier this week, according to an email from Morehouse Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Kendrick Brown, which was obtained by CNN.

In the email, Brown writes that the concerns “prompted me to consult with elected faculty leaders” and those leaders “expressed clearly that providing such a forum for discussion would be valued by many faculty.”

The forum is scheduled for April 25, according to the email and will just be for faculty, though Brown notes “students also will engage” with college President David Thomas on the issue.

Brown concludes the email saying, “Please know going into this conversation that the College does not plan to rescind its accepted invitation to President Biden.”

Biden’s visit to the Georgia college comes as he seeks to convince young voters to send him to the White House for another term, even as many have expressed frustration for Biden’s continued support of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Those frustrations have boiled over at college campuses across the country in recent days, where students have protested to demand that their universities divest from Israel.