ATLANTA — Faculty members at Morehouse College remain apprehensive about the decision to have President Joe Biden deliver the school’s commencement address on May 19 and have asked the White House to take some steps to address their concerns.
Regine Jackson, professor of sociology and dean of the Division of Humanities, Social Sciences, Media and Arts, said faculty members expected some “direct engagement” with Biden before his speech, pointing to a City hall Vice President Kamala Harris held during her visit to the school last fall.
“There was an opportunity for exchange and we all recognize that graduation is not that opportunity, so [we’re] trying to find and find space and time for that,” Jackson said.
Jackson was among about 80 faculty members who participated in a virtual meeting last week, organized by Morehouse administration leaders, to give them an avenue to voice their concerns, which largely centered on concerns that the presence of Biden could divert attention from the graduation ceremony and discomfort with his policies towards Israel and its war in the Gaza Strip.
A spokesperson for Morehouse said the request for additional dialogue with Biden was expected — and that the school has been proactively talking with White House officials about a meeting before the commencement address.
The White House declined to comment.
One senior Democratic official who has been involved in discussions with the Morehouse community is Cedric Richmond, a Morehouse alumnus who is co-chairman of Biden’s re-election campaign.
“I’m friends with everyone there. Of course I talk to them,” Richmond said, adding that he plans to attend graduation but doesn’t plan on going to school early.
“The president speaking at a college is not about the president. It’s about the college and the students,” he said. “How many schools graduate 500 black men at once?”
Morehouse is the only college in the country dedicated to the education of black men. It’s one of two colleges where Biden will give commencement addresses this year; the other is the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.
Morehouse Dean Kendrick Brown, one of the officials who organized the conference call to address faculty concerns, acknowledged that a Harris-style town hall is unlikely given the president’s schedule, but said they have requested some form of additional communication, as tensions remain high on college campuses in Georgia and across the country because of the war in Gaza.
“We cannot control President Biden’s agenda. But we can certainly say that if it’s possible, it would be great if we could get involved before the start. What form that might take and how that might show expression, of course, is all still a conversation,” Brown said.
Concerns about Biden’s visit have grown among some faculty members as protests on college campuses have led to the arrests of students and, in some cases, allegations of excessive force by police.
Last week, a Morehouse student was among 28 students arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest and camp at nearby Emory University, fueling further concerns not only that similar protests would rock the Morehouse campus during Biden’s speech, but also that students would be met with force by law enforcement personnel.
“At Martin Luther King’s alma mater, we have a moral responsibility to speak out against injustice, and our students are being violently repressed and attacked for doing so. And I’m scared of what this will mean for our students,” said political science professor Andrew Douglas.
Students, faculty members and leadership said they expect some type of protest surrounding the president’s visit this month and are focused on preventing the type of escalation at other schools from occurring at Morehouse.
Douglas said he spoke with several faculty members who said that “under no condition will they sit on stage with Joe Biden.”
Jackson said: “The demonstrations, I think we should expect them. I think if we don’t prepare for them, it will be at our own risk.
“One of the things that we have seen over and over again in this generation is their ability to, on the one hand, be respectful and, on the other hand, not to be silenced and to make their voice heard.” Jackson said. “I expect nothing less from our graduating class.”
Richmond was also optimistic about decorum.
“It’s a solemn event on a Sunday morning,” he said, “and I hope people recognize the solemnity of it with parents, family and friends watching.”
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
