US President Joe Biden gave a graduation speech at the American college Morehouse College this Sunday (19) and addressed public dissatisfaction with his position on Israel.
Biden's speech at Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta, is part of a strategy to repair ties with young black people.
“It’s a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is why I called for an immediate ceasefire,” Biden said to applause.
“I know this irritates and frustrates many of you, including my family,” the president added.
Biden was not interrupted by protests that have ended several American graduations.
But students turned their chairs to turn their backs on the president, one graduate briefly held up a Palestinian flag and an audience member stood and turned around with his fist raised in protest.
Some graduates wore 'keffiyehs' – the black and white scarf that has become an emblem of solidarity with the Palestinian cause – tied around their garments, while the valedictorian called for a permanent and immediate ceasefire in a speech.
This year, Biden is hoping for more moments that can help him get closer to his electorate. The president's campaign officials have signaled a decline in enthusiasm among his base, particularly among younger black men.
Morehouse was founded in 1867 to educate black people recently freed from slavery, and among its alumni is civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.
“Thank you, God, for this enlightening class of 2024,” Reverend Claybon Lea Jr. said in his opening remarks at the ceremony, praising the students for their political awareness as Biden smiled.
“It is my position as a Morehouse man, or rather as a human being, to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” said Morehouse Class of 2024 valedictorian DeAngelo Jeremiah Fletcher. Biden applauded the speech.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted this month showed Biden tied with Republican nominee Donald Trump among voters under 40, a group Biden won by double-digit percentage points in 2020.
A Washington Post/Ipsos poll last month showed that just 62% of black voters say they are absolutely certain they will vote, down from 74% in the last election.
Nine in 10 black voters supported Biden in 2020, according to polls.
Sunday's speech (19) comes amid a flurry of Biden commitments focused on winning the support of black voters.
Later the same day, he is scheduled to attend the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) Freedom Fund Dinner in Detroit, Michigan.
Source: CNN Brasil
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