The Impact of the War in Gaza on Black History: A Memoriam of the Biden Administration and the Need for HBCUs
Students have criticized Biden in his handling of the war in Gaza, and he received a backlash when he visited there. David Thomas toldNPR that if protests became too disruptive he would stop the ceremonies altogether.
“Faced with the choice of having police take people out of the Morehouse commencement in zip ties, we would essentially cancel or discontinue the commencement services on the spot,” Thomas said.
“The goal will be to make sure that we use this as an opportunity to continue to elevate the amazing work that’s been done at Morehouse over the last century and a half.”
He stressed the investments the Biden administration has made in HBCUs. Since taking office, the Biden administration has funded $16 billion in support for HBCUs.
The president is going to have a meeting with leaders from black sororities. He’ll deliver the keynote address at Morehouse College on Sunday. Biden has had strong support from Black voters in the past. This time, not everyone is as enthusiastic. Recent polling shows just 38% of Black Americans feel Biden’s policies have helped Black people. Faculty at Morehouse wrote a letter against awarding the president anhonorary degree for his policies on the war in Gaza. They decided to give Biden the degree.
“The founders of Morehouse understood something fundamental: education is linked to freedom,” he said. “Because to be free means to have something that no one can ever take away from you.”
What has President Biden been doing for Black Americans: From a Small Business to a Large Business: The Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Case
Biden blamed Trump for giving justices to the Supreme Court who ended affirmative action for college admission, and for undoing diversity and inclusion programs across the country.
In his speech on Friday, Biden told the NAACP that an “extreme movement led by his predecessor and hisMAGA allies” is the same one that was faced after the Brown decision.
Talking over the phone to Atlanta radio show host Darian “Big Tigger” Morgan for his morning show this week, Biden listed off what he says he’s done for Black Americans, including lowering unemployment rates and cancelling some student debt. He also went after his opponent.
A recent survey from the Washington Post and Ipsos showed that only 62% of Black voters said that they are absolutely certain to vote this year, compared to 74% this time in 2020.
A meeting with the Divine Nine, a group of historically Black Sororities and fraternities, are just a few of the engagements Biden has. Baker said he will visit a black owned small business in Detroit on Sunday.
In a memo, a senior adviser to the campaign stated that they are not going to parachute in to vote at the last minute.
The Biden campaign said the engagement was a signal of how the administration prioritized issues important to Black voters, and how it was working to earn their support.
The 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case, which ended racial segregation in public education, is being celebrated by President Biden, who is trying to court Black voters crucial to his reelection bid.
My First Book: A New Perspective on Black Americans and Eilish’s Self-Awareness Using Turandot’s Music at the Kennedy Center
Quiz: Happy anniversary to the NPR News Quiz! how long have you been playing? The answer to this week’s bonus question can be remembered if you remember it.
Turandot has a new ending at the Kennedy Center, which is located in Washington, D.C.
Music: The Eilish sisters tell Morning Edition that they both discovered a new self-awareness on their latest album, Hit Me Hard and Soft.
My First Book, a short story collection by Honor Levy, is an amusing and sometimes confused take on what it’s like to grow up white, privileged, and Gen Z.
Is evil not a thing in movies? This ecological film is about a group of villagers who face off against a big developer for their land and will leave you frightened and rapt.
The Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary offers classes for the public and businesses during rattlesnake season. As people are trained to handle rattlesnakes, they learn how basically everything they thought they knew about the creatures is a myth. In April, Arizona saw a surge in rattlesnake bites as a result of the practice.
Source: Biden focuses on outreach to Black Americans; Billie Eilish finds herself
Up First: A Long Journey in the South with a Drug Abuse Law in La. The COVID High School Graduation Program
The South has been a tough place for unions in the past, NPR’s Andrea Hsu says. The United Auto Workers Union has been trying to organize there for decades, but workers weren’t interested. Hsu says there’s been some acknowledgement that the reason jobs even existed in the region was because it’s cheaper to make cars there. The UAW’s recent victories have renewed interest in unionizing.
The drugs used in medical abortions could soon become controlled dangerous substances in Louisiana, making it one of the first states to do so. State and federal regulations for these substances aim to control access based on the drug’s medical benefit and potential for abuse. The bill that is moving through the Louisiana legislature will make it a crime to sell drugs without a prescription, with penalties of 10 years in prison. The doctors say a false perception that these drugs are dangerous could lead to fear among patients, doctors, and pharmacist in a state with high rates of maternal injury and death.
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In the lull between the last classes of the school year and the start of finals season, a trio of seniors convene on one of the Morehouse quads: Jordan Washington, Wisler Charles and DeAngelo Fletcher.
We are the COVID class of high school. A number of people didn’t get diplomas. It feels like our college graduation. People are more focused on the speaker.
“Am I happy about Biden? He sighs, “Not really.” “If everything about our graduation is about Biden, it’s going to be a problem for us and our families.”
Charles said, “I know there’s some thinking of protest, and some in my class tried to get me to join a protest.” Charles turned his back on Biden as he spoke. “Because my family has pushed me to this point and supported me up until this point … I have an obligation not to turn my back.
“I think it’s kind of insulting that our star alumnus is Dr. [Martin Luther] King, but Biden has been on a tirade in the Middle East,” said DeAngelo Fletcher. To get the young Black vote especially, it’s kind of insult to bring him here.
Hundreds of alumni from the Atlanta HBCU signed a letter, calling on the administration to rescind its invitation to President Biden because of his support of Israel in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The Biden administration says that they share the goal of a lasting peace in the Middle East. In the last few weeks, Biden has urged Netanyahu to put in place an immediate ceasefire and more aid for the people of the region.
Why is President Biden Set for the Morehouse Graduation? The Maroon Tiger says he is deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza
Yet underscoring that the civilian death toll is in the thousands, the alumni letter states that inviting President Biden is “a moral disaster and an embarrassment to the college.”
Similar sentiments have inspired protests at colleges across the country. But these demonstrations haven’t been as prominent on historically Black campuses.
But Fletcher does not know if he would protest Biden himself. He’s the youngest of seven and — like his two friends — wants to focus on his family at graduation.
Almost the entire Morehouse senior class is caught in the same limbo as Justin, according to the senior with the Maroon Tiger.
The Maroon Tiger reported that last fall, students across the Atlanta University Center — made up of Morehouse, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and Morris Brown College — hosted events in support of Palestinians and demanded their school administrations take stances against the war in Gaza.
Some of this planning is being done by an organizing person, namely Anwar Karim. He was cautious after taking part in a student camp at Emory University that was cleared by law enforcement.
He told me that there were more melanated people who got arrested and harassed than white people. All of that is taken into consideration as an HBCU.
“So those of us who are standing on the right side of history in this Morehouse and AUC family… we have morals and we have humanity,” he continued. “This President that [the administration is] bringing to our school does not reflect how we feel.”
Source: Biden is set for the Morehouse graduation. Students are divided
Biden’s 2020 campaign to target Morehouse: A political platform for students to engage with the Democrat Voting Opposition and the Democratic Party
He won the Super Tuesday vote in 2020 due to the Black vote in South Carolina, which propelled him through the rest of the year. In Georgia, Biden’s trying to get support from what has been the Democrats most dependable voting bloc.
“So it’s not surprising that he would do this, it’s also not surprising that he would target Morehouse due to the fact that his support is waning among Black men”, said Andra.
She said that HBCU graduations have been used by presidents and first ladies to convey an agenda since the 1960s. More recently, Biden is following in the footsteps of former President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama, who expanded this type of outreach.
“It’s certainly appropriate to think that, like, there was some intentionality in terms of choosing this particular audience for a political reason,” she said. Biden has the chance to win people over by giving a speech that’s really emotional.
Morehouse extended a formal invitation to the White House in September, before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel. But as the war intensified — and calls for Thomas to rescind the invitation grew — he said he never reconsidered his decision.
He said Morehouse has a duty not to cancel or alter commencement, as other schools have done. Morehouse would become a “plain,Vanilla” institution according to his words.
Source: Biden is set for the Morehouse graduation. Students are divided
The Role of Black People in Getting What You Want: Joe Biden, His Legacy, and the Promise of a Unity at Future Colleges
Benjamin also said President Biden respects people’s right to protest and that he makes it a point to lean in when there are protesters in the same space.
“Joe Biden [has] done things that might have been seen as controversial in his past,” said Ronald David, a sophomore. “But still, it’s important for you to have those people that you might not necessarily agree with.”
He thinks he would prefer someone black if it were his graduation. David thinks that Biden might learn something from the Morehouse mystique.
“Just because we don’t necessarily resonate or agree with Joe Biden or think that he’s the best speaker, it’s important not to shun him or say that he isn’t the best speaker or shouldn’t be speaking and, instead, welcome that unity.”