President Biden invoked scripture and lessons from his own tragic past in an address to hundreds of young Black people at Morehouse College on Sunday, saying he believes there are “extremist forces that oppose the meaning and message” of the prestigious institution.
Mr. Biden’s speech, delivered at the historically black men’s college in Atlanta, put him squarely in front of hundreds who represent a portion of the electorate that is moving away from him over the war in Gaza and growing apathy toward his decisions in the run-up to the election . Mr Biden seized the moment to say that masculinity is not about “tough talk” and “bigotry” but about calling out hate.
“Your idea of being a man is toxic,” Mr. Biden told the graduates, a reference to opponents he did not mention by name — but given that his other events this weekend focused on his Republican rival, Donald To attack J. Trump, it was no secret who he was talking about. “It’s not you. It’s not us. Being a man means strength, respect and dignity.”
Those who stormed the Capitol with Confederate flags “are called patriots by some,” he said — a clear reference to Mr. Trump. “Not in my house.”
Mr. Biden’s speech was his first significant appearance before college students since protests against the war in Gaza rocked campuses. At a ceremony where students are discouraged from even decorating their caps, the signs of protest were respectful but clear: A small group of graduates turned their backs to Mr. Biden as he spoke, and several graduates wore the kaffiyeh, a traditional shawl associated with the Palestinians, draped over their shoulders. Some parents urged their graduating sons not to protest.
Mr. Biden, knowing that many of the graduates were so angry about the war in Gaza that they turned away from him during his speech, also called for an immediate ceasefire and said his administration was working to bring about one. He said members of his family were upset about the war, which includes Jill Biden, the first lady, who privately urged her husband to end the war.
“What is happening in Gaza, in Israel, is heartbreaking,” Mr. Biden said. “It is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
During his 27-minute speech, Mr. Biden sought to emphasize to the graduates – none of whom stood for him as he took the lectern – that throughout his life he has respected and represented the same ideas they hold dear.
He said he has worked to eliminate inequities throughout his life as a public defender, senator and president. He detailed his administration’s work, which he and his advisers believe deserves more credit than it gets, including forgiving large student loan debts and reducing the poverty rate of black children.
“We know that black history is American history,” Mr. Biden said at one point, urging the crowd to “check my record,” which included the election of the first black Supreme Court justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and the first black The woman who holds the office is Vice President Kamala Harris.
By focusing on questions of faith and strength, Mr. Biden also sought to draw a contrast with Mr. Trump, not on grounds of policy or politics, but through the lessons of maintaining faith in moments of hopelessness. He spoke of the deaths of his first wife and daughter, as well as his eldest son Beau, from brain cancer.
He told the Morehouse graduates, a class that had weathered the chaos of the pandemic and the tumult of widespread protests over police killings of black men, that it was natural for them to question whether there was one for them at all place in democracy.
“What is democracy when black men are being killed in the streets?” he said. “What is democracy when a trail of broken promises still leaves Black communities behind? What is democracy if you have to be ten times better than everyone else to have a fair chance?”
Mr. Biden repeatedly reached for religious inspiration, recalling that Jesus was buried on Friday and resurrected on Sunday, making Saturday a day of hopelessness. He suggested that 2020 – the year of his choice, with its twin traumas of the Covid-19 pandemic and the police killing of George Floyd – had been such a Saturday.
At one point, Mr. Biden said, “I have learned that there is no such thing as easy optimism, but through faith, through faith, you can find salvation.”
Mr. Biden, in the Oval Office, has a bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has – and who is old enough to include his memories of the assassination of Dr. in his speech.
Founded in Atlanta in 1867, Morehouse is a school whose culture is deeply rooted in tradition. Students work for years to become the embodiment of the Morehouse man: well-traveled, well-read and civically engaged. As the alma mater of Dr. King also has a proud history of protesting for social justice.
Mr. Biden’s visit to Morehouse sparked objections from some faculty members, alumni and students who expressed anger over the war in Gaza and the American government’s support of Israel. The tension attracted so much attention that the school’s president, David A. Thomas, publicly warned that he would cancel the commencement if graduates shouted at the president or disrupted the event.
The signs of protest were respectful but noticeable. DeAngelo Jeremiah Fletcher, the valedictorian, took the stage with the Palestinian flag on his stole and cap.
“It is my position as a Morehouse man, indeed as a human being, to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” Mr. Fletcher said. Mr. Biden joined the crowd, standing and clapping when Mr. Fletcher finished, shaking the graduate’s hand.
But signs of support were also visible at the end of Mr Biden’s speech. When Mr. Biden received an honorary doctorate of law, Mr. Thomas praised the president for addressing the graduates’ concerns. And some people chanted “four more years” as Mr. Biden left the stage.
After addressing Morehouse, Mr. Biden was scheduled to travel to Detroit to speak at a dinner hosted by the NAACP
Reaching two battleground states in eight hours was the clearest sign yet that Mr. Biden is serious about reintroducing himself to the voters who carried him to the White House in 2020 and whose support he must win to win a to remain in office for a second term.
According to the Pew Research Center, 95 percent of black women and 87 percent of black men voted for Mr. Biden in 2020. But in April, just 55 percent of black voters told Pew they approved of his job performance. A recent poll from Ipsos and The Washington Post found that 62 percent of Black Americans plan to vote in 2024, up from 74 percent in 2020.
In recent days, both Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris have traveled outside Washington to hold events aimed at re-engaging those voters.
Mr. Biden’s trip to Detroit comes as the latest New York Times/Siena College poll shows him winning the support of less than half of black voters in Michigan in a five-way race. In 2020, he won more than 90 percent of Black voters in the state, exit polls show.
The war in Gaza and worries about the economy are driving factors behind what analysts say is increasing apathy. In Michigan, nearly nine in 10 black voters rated the economy as in “good” or “poor” shape, a higher rate than white voters, the Times/Siena poll found.
Alexis Wiley, founder of a strategic communications firm in Detroit and a former member of the Democratic National Committee, said the Biden administration needs to do more to communicate its victories.
“I think they’re finally realizing that people aren’t doing well,” Ms. Wiley said, “and now they’re trying to correct that.”
Reporting was contributed by Nicholas Nehamas in Washington and Chevaz Clarke-Williams, Alan Blinder and Sean Keenan in Atlanta.
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2024-05-19 16:43:18
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