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President Biden delivers Morehouse College Commencement 2024 address

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By Eric Mock , Kim Leoffler , FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team, Darlene Superville, Bill Barrow, Matt Brown and Brittany Edney

Published  May 18, 2024 9:51pm EDT

President Biden Morehouse commencement speech

President Joe Biden delivered the 2024 commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta on May 19, 2024.

ATLANTA - President Joe Biden was invited to Atlanta to address Morehouse College's graduating class of 2024, a move that has garnered mixed reactions over the past few weeks.

Multiple pro-Palestine protests have broken out on Morehouse College's campus recently amid the Israel-Hamas war. News of Biden's arrival didn't sit right with some voters who have been unhappy with his handling of the conflict.

Some saw Biden's invitation as the school choosing a side in the ongoing war.

Mixed reactions to Biden Morehouse speech

President Biden gave the commencement address at Morehouse College's graduation. There were mixed reactions from graduates and those in the audience as he addressed the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Morehouse College Provost Kendrick Brown said the school invited Biden last September, which would have been before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Morehouse President David Thomas said he viewed the coincidence as an opportunity to come together during a time of high tension in the world.

Still, others saw the opportunity to speak at one of the top historically Black colleges in the nation as nothing more than a political move to gain points with young voters and communities of color ahead of his rematch against former President Donald Trump.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MAY 19: U.S. President Joe Biden poses for a photo with Morehouse College President David A. Thomas (2nd R), and others at the Morehouse College Commencement on May 19, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. President Biden is appearing at the school during a time when pro-Palestinian demonstrations are still occurring on campuses across the country to protest Israel's war in Gaza. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

Protests at Morehouse College 2024 commencement

Pro-Palestine protest during Morehouse graduation

Multiple pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside Morehouse College on Sunday where President Joe Biden was delivering the commencement address.

With the looming threat of protests during the ceremony, Morehouse College officials said they would rather cancel the proceeding than have to make any arrests during it.

On Sunday, a group of pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside the school, marching to Atlanta Student Movement Boulevard as law enforcement watched behind crowd control barriers.

Atlanta Police squad cars and bicycle units blocked off the end of Lucile Avenue, two blocks down from pro-Palestine protesters who rallied outside the Morehouse College commencement as President Joe Biden delivered his address. (Credit: FOX 5 Atlanta reporter Brittany Edney)

As President Biden delivered his address, he told the graduates that he heard their voices of protest over the war, and called the scenes from the conflict in Gaza "heartbreaking."

"I support peaceful nonviolent protest," he said. "Your voices should be heard, and I promise you I hear them."

Graduates of Morehouse College arrive for their graduation ceremony ahead of US President Joe Biden's commencement address, on the campus of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia on May 19, 2024. Biden's graduation speech at Morehouse College, the university attended by the late rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr, will be his most direct engagement with students since demonstrations over Israel's war in Gaza roiled campuses across the United States. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The president said there was a "humanitarian crisis in Gaza, that's why I've called for an immediate cease-fire to stop the fighting" and bring home the hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. The comments, toward the end of his address that also reflected on American democracy and his role in safeguarding it, were the most direct recognition to U.S. students about the campus protests that have swept across the country.

"It's one of the hardest, most complicated problems in the world," Biden told the graduates. "There's nothing easy about it. I know it angers and frustrates many of you, including my family. But most of all I know it breaks your heart. It breaks mine as well."

Valedictorian DeAngelo Jeremiah Fletcher wears his graduation cap with a Palestinian flag motif, before US President Joe Biden speaks during Morehouse College's graduation ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia on May 19, 2024. Biden's graduation speech at Mor

The class valedictorian, DeAngelo Jeremiah Fletcher, said at the close of his speech that it was his duty to speak on the war in Gaza and that it was important to recognize that both Palestinians and Israelis have suffered.

"From the comfort of our homes, we watch an unprecedented number of civilians mourn the loss of men, women and children, while calling for the release of all hostages he said. "It is my stance as a Morehouse man, nay as a human being, to call for an immediate and permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip."

Biden stood and shook his hand after Fletcher finished.

In the end, there were no major disruptions at the event, and applause for his remarks was muted. At least seven graduates and a faculty member sat with their backs turned during Biden's address, and another student draped himself in a Palestinian flag. Protesters near the ceremony carried signs that said "Free Palestine," "Save the Children'' and "Ceasefire Now" as police on bikes kept watch.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MAY 19: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the Morehouse College Commencement as a faculty member stands and faces away from the stage in protest of the Israel-Hamas war on May 19, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. President Biden is appearing at the school during a time when pro-Palestinian demonstrations are still occurring on campuses across the country to protest Israel's war in Gaza. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

PREVIOUS STORIES

This commencement address marked Biden's second consecutive year speaking at a historically Black college or university (HBCU). In 2023, he delivered the commencement address at Howard University.

Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan and Colleen Long and Mark Sherman in Washington contributed to this report.

How to watch Biden's 2024 Commencement Address at Morehouse live

There are several ways to watch Biden's commencement speech at Morehouse on FOX 5 Atlanta:

The commencement ceremony took place on Sunday, May 19 at 9 a.m. on Century Campus.

Biden arrives in Atlanta for Morehouse commencement

President Biden touched down at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Saturday afternoon.

As he exited Air Force One, he was welcomed by Sen. Raphael Warnock, South Carolina State Rep. Sanford Bishop, and former Fulton County Commissioner John Eaves. All three are graduates of Morehouse.

"As a proud alum of Morehouse College, I'm thrilled to welcome the President of the United States to Georgia and to Morehouse College," Warnock said. 

Mayor Andre Dickens, Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts and Sen. Ossoff were also part of the welcome wagon.

US President Joe Biden (R) embraces Marlon Kimpson (L), member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations in the Office of the US Trade Representative, upon Biden's arrival at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, in Atlanta, Georgia on May 18, 2024. Also pictured are US Senator Raphael Warnock (L), Democrat of Georgia, South Carolina State Representative Sanford Bishop (2nd R) and former Fulton County Commissioner John Eaves (R). The group are alumni of Morehouse College, where Biden will deliver remarks at the college's graduation ceremony on May 19. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

As expected, the president's motorcade caused closures and backed up traffic on GA-400, I-75, I-85 and the connector.

He's expected to stay overnight ahead of his planned speech.

Biden pays Mary Mac's Tea Room a visit

Ahead of Biden's speech at Morehouse, he made a couple of campaign stops and spent some one-on-one time with Georgia voters.

One of those stops was at Atlanta's famed Mary Mac's Tea Room in Midtown.

US President Joe Biden greets former Georgia State Representative and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams (L) during a campaign event at Mary Mac's Tea Room in Atlanta, Georgia on May 18, 2024. Biden is in Georgia for campaign events and is also sch

In his short remarks in the tearoom, Biden wasted no time going after former President Donald Trump.

"My opponent is not a good loser," Biden said to the small crowd. "But he is a loser."

Biden's campaign speech appeared to be more about the dangers of re-electing Trump, rather than the benefits of his own re-election.

"Everything you let me do, everything you helped me do, everything we've done, they want to undo," Biden said. "From the climate legislation, to not allowing medicare, to negotiating drug prices, our democracy is really on the line. Listen to the things he says."

Biden in Atlanta for Morehouse commencement

Georgia leaders and lawmakers greeted President Biden as he exited Air Force One onto the tarmac Saturday. Biden made campaign stops around the city, including one at Midtown's Mary Mac's Tea Room.

FOX 5 met Kerry Singleton at the event. Singleton is a 2024 graduate of Morehouse who says young, Black voters like himself are going to be key to a Biden victory in November.

"If young people don't vote, it'll really cost us an election. No vote is a vote for Donald Trump, and that's something that we cannot have at all," Singleton told FOX 5 Atlanta. "So to the young people out there, it's crucial, more crucial than it has ever been before."

A young girl at the Tea Room Saturday got a very special moment when President Biden came to speak with her one on one.

"He taught me how not to stutter, and he said that I was a very important person," said young Harper Tucker. 

US President Joe Biden speaks to a young girl during a campaign event with volunteers and supporters at Mary Mac's Tea Room in Atlanta, Georgia on May 18, 2024. Biden is in Georgia for campaign events and is also scheduled to deliver remarks at Moreh

Harper's mother, Lawana Tucker, said her daughter has a speech impediment and President Biden has been very inspiring for her.

"The president has been open and vocal about his stuttering issues. So he told her, 'never let anybody tell you that you can't and that you're not enough because you stutter.' So it just kind of continues to give her a little confidence," Tucker said. 

But Tucker said she understood Biden's reason for coming to Atlanta and supported getting out the Black vote in Georgia.

US President Joe Biden speaks to supporters and volunteers during a campaign event at Mary Mac's Tea Room in Atlanta, Georgia on May 18, 2024. Biden is in Georgia for campaign events and is also scheduled to deliver remarks at Morehouse College's gra

"It re-energizes us, reminds us why we're out doing this job every day, why we're getting voters to the polls," Tucker said. "This is so good to see the president, for him to come and tell us why this election is so important."

The president then went on to a private fundraising event to which they only allowed his national press pool.

Angela Bassett delivers commencement at Spelman College

Across the way, actress Angela Bassett was tapped to host the 2024 commencement at Spelman College, where she was also expected to receive an honorary doctorate.

FOX 5 Atlanta has more information on how you can watch her speech.

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