Last spring, when Nicholas Wilborn walked across Morehouse College’s graduation stage, he became the 14th member of his family to do so, dating back to his great-uncle, James Adam Wilborn, the former pastor of Union Baptist Church in southwest Atlanta.
When President Joe Biden delivers his commencement address on May 19, many of the Wilborn men plan to be in the audience — cheering.
“I wasn’t there in the rain in 2013 for Obama, but people still talk about that,” said Nicholas’ father, Peter Wilborn, from the class of 1989, referencing Barack Obama’s commencement address at Morehouse. “It is always an honor when a president delivers an address, especially at an HBCU. Biden has been a positive for the Black community. He has, without question, been a friend to the Black community. So I don’t think he is using Morehouse or doing this for political reasons. I think he believes it.”
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
But the selection of Biden as Morehouse’s commencement speaker has come with a host of issues.
Students, faculty and alumni, critical of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, have raised questions about it and worry that the visit may hurt the college’s reputation as the country’s leading institution for Black men. They want substance, not campaign rhetoric.
Morehouse Provost Kendrick Brown told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview Wednesday that having a sitting president speak at graduation, for only the second time in the school’s 157-year history, “brings attention to our mission and the role Morehouse has had in the community.”
But he also acknowledges the growing cries against Biden’s visit.
“Of course they have strong opinions,” Brown said. “This is what Morehouse is about, the ability to dialogue and debate peacefully.”
On campus Wednesday, students had diverse viewpoints.
Michael Henry, a graduating senior, said it is important to recognize the gravity of having Biden speak at their graduation ceremony.
”In the context of what’s going on, particularly with reference to the Israel-Palestine conflict, it raises some uncomfortable questions about what Morehouse is saying by bringing him here,” Henry said.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Henry reached back to Atlanta’s civil rights legacy and Morehouse’s role in it, which included the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his mentor Benjamin E. Mays.
He said while no protests have been planned or discussed, he said that the “the spirit and sentiment” are there.
“On some level, I empathize with the people who say this is not the time and the place,” he said. “We have to figure out how we’re going to do it in such a way that’s not disrespectful to the ceremony, but I think it is an important opportunity that we could use to make our voices heard.”
Although Linden Young, a sophomore, is not graduating this year, he was not surprised that Biden picked Morehouse.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
“Morehouse symbolizes, more than any other institution of higher education in the country or maybe even in the world, social justice reform and advocacy,” Young said. “So, if you want to appeal to those who care about social justice reform and advocacy, then surely you would go to the place that symbolizes that.”
Young’s message to the Biden administration is to not take advantage of the students.
“Morehouse College is not a token,” he said. “Don’t take for granted the space that you’re speaking in. My biggest request would be that when you come into this space, respect it enough to be real or as real as you possibly could be.”
In a scathing online petition authored by the Rev. Stephen Green, pastor of the St. Luke AME Church in Harlem, members of the Morehouse alumni are “outraged that President David A. Thomas and the Morehouse College Board of Trustees have extended an invitation to President Joe Biden to speak to the graduating class of 2024.”
They are calling for Thomas to risk “reputational harm” and rescind the invitation.
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
Earlier this week, in announcing the president’s arrival, Thomas called the visit a moment that “transcends Morehouse.”
“As an institution and a community, we bear a profound responsibility and obligation to be the beacon of hope and progress in these challenging times,” Thomas said. “We must take intentional, strategic action that serves the present moment and the collective future of our country and the world.”
On Thursday, Brown will host a campus-wide virtual meeting, where he and Thomas will field questions and talk to members of the faculty. Thomas met with students on Tuesday.
Credit: Christina Matacotta for the AJC
Credit: Christina Matacotta for the AJC
“From my perspective, this is not a problem,” Brown said. “Morehouse is committed to being a place for informed dialogue and to offer a range of different perspectives. I knew that the faculty would appreciate an opportunity to engage and when I reached out, they confirmed what I was thinking.”
Illya Davis, Morehouse’s director of Freshmen and Seniors’ Academic Success, said as a philosopher, he welcomes and expects the debate that is currently raging.
“There is a reciprocity on the table. It garners him certain support from a demographic that he needs and then on the other side, it gives Morehouse the opportunity to allow its students to do what they do and that is engage ideas in the public,” said Davis, who is also a 1989 Morehouse graduate. “To scrutinize those ideas and to ensure legitimate engagement. We do not pander, so the beauty of the Morehouse student is they are quite aware that there will be diverse ideas represented in public and that their responsibility is to always have a level of circumspection with regard to anyone who speaks.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Alexander Burt, a Morehouse senior from Nashville, said he has mixed emotions about graduating in front of the president. Part of it comes from the hectic scene that any presidential visit would bring.
”Initially, I was like, “Wow, the president of the United States is coming,’” Burt said laughing. “But then I was like, ‘Oh, the president of the United States is coming.’”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Burt said he is ultimately excited and looking forward to Biden sharing words of encouragement with the Class of 2024.
”I want somebody who is going to come and speak to inspire me to go out and impact massive change in the world,” Burt said. ”I’m not really looking forward to a campaign stop. That’s one thing that I’ll be disappointed if that happened.”
