President Biden to speak at Morehouse College commencement
President Joe Biden will deliver the commencement address at Morehouse College’s May 19 graduation ceremony.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported the plans Monday afternoon, citing sources familiar with the discussions. The White House confirmed the president’s planned appearance in an advisory Tuesday.
His remarks in Atlanta come as Biden has been trying to shore up his appeal to young Black voters ahead of a rematch against former President Donald Trump in November. Georgia is crucial to both campaigns, who see the state as a pivotal November battleground.
In 2013, Barack Obama became the first sitting president to give the commencement address at Morehouse, the historically Black college near downtown Atlanta. Officials at Morehouse College would not comment on the Biden speculation Monday.
Biden’s visit also come in the middle of widespread concern — particularly among college students — about the role of the United States’ support for Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In February, more than 1,100 people — including Morehouse students — signed an online petition urging the Atlanta University Center Consortium to publicly express its solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Biden is familiar with Atlanta’s Black colleges. In 2022, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Atlanta University Center, which includes Morehouse, to promote voting rights legislation. Biden visited Morehouse in 2015 to raise awareness of a federal effort to address sexual assaults on college campuses.
A Biden appearance at the nation’s only HBCU for Black men could be critical as the country heads toward a long summer of presidential campaigning.
Biden and his Republican challenger Donald Trump are virtually tied in many polls, so Black voter turnout promises to be crucial.
In 2020, 95% of Black women and 87% of Black men voted for Biden — representing the two most loyal demographic groups.
Arguing that Trump’s record on the economy and his passage of a criminal justice law were more beneficial for Black communities, Republicans have tried to drive a wedge between Black voters and the Democratic Party. Trump supporters have even suggested that his recent legal troubles were appealing to Black voters.
Democrats have dismissed Republican talking points as disinformation, but in a recent Wall Street Journal poll, about 30% of Black men said they were either definitely or probably going to vote for the former president in November.
Biden has also tried to shore up support among young voters through his attempts to reduce or eliminate student loan debt. Four years after graduation, Black students owe an average of 188% more than white students borrowed, according to the Education Data Initiative, a research organization.
Atlanta University Center at a glance
The collection of historically Black colleges and universities that make up the Atlanta University Center has long been a symbol of excellence and education, with many of the schools’ beginnings dating back to the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.
The schools officially united as the Atlanta University Center Consortium in 1929 to share some services and programs, but each school maintains its own board of directors and president.
- Morehouse College. Founded February 14, 1867. Celebrates Founders Week in February.
- Spelman College. Founded April 11, 1881. Celebrates Founders Day in April.
- Clark Atlanta University. Consolidated in 1988 from Atlanta University (1865) and Clark College (1869). Celebrates Founders Day in March.
- Morehouse School of Medicine (Chartered 1981)
- Morris Brown College. Founded January 5, 1881. Celebrates Founders Day in March
- Interdenominational Theological Center. Founded 1958.
- Museums: The Atlanta HBCUs are treasure troves of Black art
About the Authors
Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
