Morehouse students want Biden to put authenticity ahead of politics

Michael Henry, a graduating senior, said it is important to recognize the gravity of having Biden speak at their graduation ceremony.

”In the context of what’s going on, particularly with reference to the Israel-Palestine conflict, it raises some uncomfortable questions about what Morehouse is saying by bringing him here,” Henry said.

Henry reached back to Atlanta’s civil rights legacy and Morehouse’s role in it, which included the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his mentor Benjamin E. Mays.

He said while no protests have been planned or discussed, he said that the “the spirit and sentiment” are there.

“On some level, I empathize with the people who say this is not the time and the place,” he said. “We have to figure out how we’re going to do it in such a way that’s not disrespectful to the ceremony, but I think it is an important opportunity that we could use to make our voices heard.”

Although Linden Young, a sophomore, is not graduating this year, he was not surprised that Biden picked Morehouse.

“Morehouse symbolizes, more than any other institution of higher education in the country or maybe even in the world, social justice reform and advocacy,” Young said. “So, if you want to appeal to those who care about social justice reform and advocacy, then surely you would go to the place that symbolizes that.”

Young’s message to the Biden administration is to not take advantage of the students.

“Morehouse College is not a token,” he said. “Don’t take for granted the space that you’re speaking in. My biggest request would be that when you come into this space, respect it enough to be real or as real as you possibly could be.”

In a scathing online petition authored by the Rev. Stephen Green, pastor of the St. Luke AME Church in Harlem, members of the Morehouse alumni are “outraged that President David A. Thomas and the Morehouse College Board of Trustees have extended an invitation to President Joe Biden to speak to the graduating class of 2024.”

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