Morehouse College Prepares for Possible Protests

Morehouse alum the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s statue in Washington D.C.When Dr. Travis C. Smith, assistant professor of educational leadership policy and law at Alabama State University, heard that President Joseph R. Biden would be speaking at Morehouse College’s commencement on Sunday, he said his first thought was: “Uh oh — this is going to be interesting.”

The reason for his trepidation is clear: this year’s graduation season has blended with a springtime rise in activism on campus. Thousands of students, faculty, and staff from institutions all across the country have conducted mostly peaceful protests against the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza.  

Protestors have called on institutions to disclose their investments and divest from any funds or research connected with Israel. Many are taking commencement as the opportunity to speak out, or rather, walk out, like they did to protest commencement speaker Jerry Seinfeld at Duke University earlier this week. Seinfeld has previously expressed his support for Israel.

While these protests have largely been absent from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Smith said those who attend HBCUs are likely to sympathize with the plight of an oppressed people.

Dr. Travis C. Smith, assistant professor of educational leadership policy and law at Alabama State University.“HBCUs were founded for the sole purpose of educating newly freed enslaved people. When I’m thinking about what’s going on in the world right now — in Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which a lot of scholars are describing as a genocide — as African American people, we can relate to that,” said Smith. “HBCUs have always been beacons of hope for a lot of people. To invite people to campus who don’t share those same sentiments, who are actively participating in the genocide of another marginalized group, goes against the very foundation of the institution.”

Dr. Felecia Commodore, an associate professor of higher education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said this moment is the perfect opportunity for institutions to assess shared governance policies to ensure it not only includes faculty but also students. The presence of a sitting U.S. president at a commencement is prestigious, said Commodore, and that it's happening at a famous, all-male HBCU is important. But the decision may not have been the students' preference.

“When we think about how we make decisions at an institution, what voices are there in the room? We’re seeing students, faculty, community members, and other stakeholders saying, ‘Who are you making these decisions for and with?’” asked Commodore. “I think there’s a paternalistic instinct and history in higher education with students, and I think it sometimes makes us not take seriously student voice and input in decision making process.”