ATLANTA — President Joe Biden is expected to deliver Morehouse College's commencement address next month and the decision is coming with some voicing concerns, according to NBC News.
A White House official confirmed Monday with 11Alive that Biden is set to attend the event and deliver the commencement address. Commencement exercises are scheduled for May 19 at 9 a.m.
In its reporting, NBC quoted an email that addresses some of the chatter. The email was apparently sent to faculty from Kendrick Brown, the college's provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. He said he received an inquiry from concerned faculty when rumors stirred that Biden had been selected to speak.
To address it, the news outlet reported Brown plans to convene a virtual meeting on April 25 for faculty members to be able to share their feedback and perspectives. Students will also be able to engage with Morehouse College President David Thomas, NBC reported.
11Alive reached out to Morehouse about Biden being chosen as the commencement speaker but has not heard back yet.
Morehouse sophomore Raman Enigbokan, a sophomore kinesiology major, said he saw Biden's visit as a campaign stop and a political tool in an election year.
“It’s not something I feel like I’d honestly partake in that commencement," Enigbokan said. "I don’t see myself being there. At the end of the day, this is something that’s on his political agenda to kind of maybe get more young, Black voters or something.”
Eugene Sledge, a Morehouse sophomore from Chicago, said Biden's address could inspire him and others to go to the polls in November.
“However you feel about Biden, having a president be willing to speak at a graduation is a tremendous honor," Sledge said. "If there are protesters, I just hope they can do things peacefully instead of violently.”
Morehouse is one of Atlanta's iconic Historical Black Colleges and Universities. The NBC article mentioned that the president is struggling with young voters and that recent polling shows some Black voters aren't enthusiastic about supporting him.
President Biden last visited Morehouse in 2022. In the last three years, Biden has given the commencement address at Howard University and South Carolina State University, both HBCU's. Vice President Kamala Harris last came to Morehouse in 2022 with Biden. She previously spoke at the school in 2020.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited Morehouse School of Medicine in February. She then visited Atlanta again in March to launch “Women for Biden” campaign push.
Earlier this month, former President Donald Trump made a stop in Atlanta for a fundraising event. While in the area, he stopped at a Chick-fil-A where some young Black college students were there to greet him.
Georgia could be a contentious point for the two candidates vying to lead the nation. Biden beat Trump in Georgia in the 2020 election -- which was a pivotal win for the Democrats. Historically, Georgia had been a solid Republican state and hadn't voted for a Democrat since it elected Bill Clinton in 1992. The only other exception in which a Democrat got its vote was Georgia-born Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980.
All eyes may be on Georgia once again in 2024 to see which way the state leans in November.