Biden beckons Black Americans
President Biden continued his tour to bolster his sagging poll numbers with African Americans during a Detroit visit at the local NAACP branch’s annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner this past Sunday. As with his earlier speeches at the National Museum of African American History and Culture and as commencement speaker at Morehouse College, Biden’s message was just as explicitly clear in Detroit: “The nation…needs all of you.” And so does the president if he is to carry a state that was so decisive to his victory in 2020.
“Because of your vote,” he said, “it’s the only reason I’m standing here as president of the United States. You’re the reason Donald Trump is the defeated former president and you’re the reason Donald Trump is going to be a loser again.”
There was no mention of his primary opponent in his address at Morehouse, which he kept focused on the graduates and the school’s history and tradition as a pioneering HBCU. “I got more Morehouse men in the White House telling me what to do than I know what to do,” he quipped to laughter. “You all think I’m kidding, don’t you? You know I’m not. And it’s the best thing that’s happened to me.”
Inevitably, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,. one of the school’s most celebrated alumni, was evoked. “Dr. King’s legacy had a profound impact on me and my generation, whether you’re Black or white. I left the fancy law firm I had just joined and decided to become a public defender and then a county councilman, working to change our state’s politics to embrace the cause of civil rights,” Biden said.
In keeping with part of his mission at Morehouse he noted that “in addition to the original $7 billion investment in HBCUs, I’m investing $16 billion more, more in our history because you’re vital to our nation. Most HBCUs don’t have the endowments. The jobs of the future require sophisticated laboratories, [and] sophisticated opportunities on campus.”
While he spoke at the commencement, which was covered by several national outlets, some graduates were adorned with items indicating their silent protest, some turned their backs, and one held a Palestinian flag. A Congolese flag was also held on stage behind Biden as he spoke.
To some degree, the president acknowledged the protests, declaring that the war in Gaza was a humanitarian crisis. “What’s happening in Gaza and Israel is heartbreaking,” he began. “Hamas’ vicious attack on Israel, killing innocent lives and holding people hostage. I was there nine days after seeing pictures of tying a mother and a daughter with a rope, pouring kerosene on them, burning them, and watching as they died. Innocent Palestinians caught in the middle of all this: men, women, and children killed or displaced in desperate need of water, food, and medicine. It’s a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
He said that’s why he called for an immediate ceasefire and to bring the hostages home. “And I’ve been working on a deal as we speak, working around the clock to lead an international effort to get more aid to Gaza [and] rebuild Gaza.”
When he arrived in Detroit, he was greeted by a louder chorus of resentment with some chanting “Say it loud, say it clear, Biden we don’t want you here.” And “Biden, Biden you’re a liar, we demand a ceasefire.”
Unlike his remarks at Morehouse, Biden delivered a full-throated assault on Trump, calling him by name. “Trump isn’t running to lead America. He’s running for revenge,” Biden said.
Biden will meet and greet President William Ruto of the Republic of Kenya this week. It will be interesting to see what Biden has to say about Kenyan officers slated to be deployed to Haiti to quell the turmoil there.
The post Biden beckons Black Americans appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.