U.S. President Joe Biden clapped when DeAngelo Jeremiah Fletcher, the valedictorian at Morehouse College’s commencement ceremony in Atlanta, called for an “immediate and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza, per the pool report. Later on, the president called for an “immediate ceasefire.”
“A few” graduates, faculty and staff at the more than 155-year-old private, historically-back liberal arts school wore keffiyehs during the ceremony, and California pastor Claybon Lea Jr. “made a brief reference to the plight of Palestinians among others,” according to the pool report.
The valedictorian added that “The Israel-Gaza conflict has plagued the people of its region for generations. It is important to recognize both sides have suffered heavy casualties since Oct. 7.”
“We are calling for the release of all hostages,” he said.
In his remarks, Biden—who received an honorary doctorate—said “I support peaceful nonviolent protests. Your voices should be heard and I promise you, I hear you.” (Several graduates reportedly turned their backs on the president during the event.)
Biden called the war in Gaza “heartbreaking” and “spoke of the horror of Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7,” per the pool report. He added that “innocent Palestinians are caught in the middle of this.”
“It’s a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That’s why I’ve called for an immediate ceasefire,” he said.
“The audience burst into applause,” and Biden “said he was also looking to the future. ‘What after? What happens in Gaza? What rights do the Palestinian people have? I’m working to make sure we get a two state solution,’” per the pool report.
