AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.

On Sunday, President Biden addressed the graduating class of Morehouse College, the prestigious Black college whose alum include Martin Luther King Jr.

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: It’s a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That’s why I’ve called for an immediate ceasefire, an immediate ceasefire to stop the fighting, 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 into Gaza, rebuild Gaza.

AMY GOODMAN: President Biden’s address came just days after his administration notified Congress of its plans to send another billion dollars in arms to Israel, including tank ammunition, mortars and tactical vehicles. Some students turned their backs on President Biden to protest his Gaza policies. The Morehouse valedictorian, DeAngelo Fletcher, who had a Palestinian flag affixed to his graduation cap, called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

DEANGELO FLETCHER: Dr. King was a global philanthropist of social justice, believing that injustice anywhere was a threat to justice everywhere. His campaign and message reached far and wide. To follow in the footsteps of our great alumnus, it is only right for the class of 2024 to utilize any platform provided to stand in solidarity with peace and justice. The Israel-Gaza conflict has plagued the people of its region for generations. It is important to recognize that both sides have suffered heavy casualties in the wake of October 7th. From the comfort of our homes, we watch an unprecedented number of civilians mourn the loss of men, women and children, while calling for the release of all hostages. For the first time in our lives, we’ve heard the global community sing one harmonious song that transcends language and culture. It is my stance as a Morehouse man — nay, as a human being — to call for an immediate and a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. … Hear the people of this world sing the song of righteous justice. Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN: President Biden was seen applauding DeAngelo Fletcher’s valedictory, his call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Later on Sunday, protesters gathered in Detroit, where President Biden addressed an NAACP dinner.

For more, we’re joined by two Morehouse professors. Dr. Taura Taylor is an assistant professor of sociology at Morehouse College. She turned her back and raised her fist as President Biden gave his commencement speech. And Samuel Livingston, an associate professor of Africana studies and a member of Friends of the Congo. Professor Livingston was behind President Biden holding up the flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo as President Biden spoke.

We’re going to get to Congo in a minute, but I wanted to start with Dr. Taura Taylor. Can you talk about your protest yesterday as the president addressed the graduating class of Morehouse?

TAURA TAYLOR: Yes. So, one of the things that I understood was that there is definitely a contingent amongst our community regarding the invitation for Biden, one, to be the commencement speaker, but then, on top of that, that he was to receive an honorary degree. Luckily, now I can speak kind of freely, because some of our information has become public, but the faculty, we basically were basically divided regarding wanting Biden as a commencement speaker, but we understood that we could voice our discontent, but we were not going to rescind him being the commencement speaker.

And so, I think at that point that I pretty much already had it in my mind that there was going to have to be some level of protest that I was going to do, and I spoke with other fellow faculty members. But the particular issue was that the students were held to this rule of what they can do and what they could not do. And so, you know, President Thomas, who’s the president of Morehouse College, made it clear that a silent protest was very acceptable; however, any type of disruption would actually cancel the commencement overall. So, as a faculty member, particularly one who’s very connected to their students, I didn’t want to be the reason that, basically, their commencement stopped. But at the same time, students were frustrated that Biden was selected as the commencement speaker even though they didn’t agree that he was receiving an honorary degree from Morehouse. We also had faculty that also was very much disappointed in the way that it was handled by our administration in terms of selecting him and giving him an honorary degree.

So, it was a moment where I realized that I was going to be at the commencement, because I am a student marshal and I wanted to be there to support my students, but I wanted to take it upon myself to, one, stand up for my principles, and then also kind of stand in solidarity for my students as well as my other fellow faculty members who felt that we were caught in this moment where it seemed like we, as a community, selected Biden, when we all did not.

AMY GOODMAN: And can you talk about DeAngelo Fletcher, the psychology major, the valedictorian’s call for an immediate ceasefire, the significance of what he did, standing before, really, the world, because this was being broadcast by many news outlets around the world?

TAURA TAYLOR: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: And then also President Biden calling for immediate ceasefire, Dr. Taylor?

TAURA TAYLOR: Yes. So, I was proud of Fletcher. He wasn’t a student of mine. And I also understood the mounting pressure for these students, basically, to make a statement or to not make a statement. And the young man, even as he spoke, he said he was a little bit nervous about being the valedictorian, knowing that he would have to give a speech. I mean, anyone who’s ever done public speaking can understand. You know, everyone’s there. Your family’s there. You don’t know what your nerves are going to be, but now this heightened moment. And the fact that he made the statement — and there was some divide even amongst the students — that he took this moment to basically use his platform to make a statement, I was very proud of him. I mean, it brought honor to his fellow peers, but it also honor to those of us who stand on the shoulders of Dr. King, because one of the things that we’re also always hearing about being faculty and in community at Morehouse is that this is Dr. King’s alma mater and that we should stand up for social justice and humanitarianism. And at the same time, we, as a community, get another message from our administration in terms of how to not embarrass the college, to be dignified and to engage in a certain form of respectability politics. So, for that young man to take that moment to send that message, I was very, very proud of him.

AMY GOODMAN: And to be clear, President Biden called for immediate ceasefire; Fletcher DeAngelo called for a permanent ceasefire.

TAURA TAYLOR: Exactly. And to me, it was pandering. And it was the moment. And it’s also the conflict of, basically, this is a commencement speaker for the students, and he’s using it as a campaign stage. And so, even to the extent that he recited off several things that he did for the Black community, for me, while I was standing there with my fist raised, I was shaking my head, because I was just like, “This is typically what we see, campaign, like, trolling, to an extent, pandering, to an extent, and these are these young men’s future.”

One of the things that I couldn’t help but note is that there are basically the Secret Service there with snipers. Right? So, there’s also the idea that Black men, who face incredible injustices in policing and harm to their bodies, in their moment of graduation, their moment of celebration, they’re also being refined to being repressed and the threat of possibly being harmed if they speak out in protest. So, you know, Biden’s statements, to me, were kind of pretty much very hollow and fell on deaf ears.

AMY GOODMAN: Dr. Taura Taylor is assistant professor of sociology at Morehouse College. She turned her back on President Biden as he spoke at the Morehouse graduation, with her fist in the air. Professor Samuel Livingston was also at the graduation, associate professor of Africana studies and a member of Friends of the Congo. Throughout President Biden’s address, he was standing in front of the Congolese flag. It was you, Professor Livingston, who was holding up that flag. Can you talk about why and what your demands are?

SAMUEL LIVINGSTON: Yes. First of all, thank you for having us this morning.

Actually, it was me and Dr. Cynthia Hewitt who were holding up the flag. And I have to, of course, mention that. But we held up the flag because the police state that Dr. Taylor mentioned in terms of the Secret Service being on campus is local, but it’s also global. We held up the flag because the people of the Congo do not get enough media attention in terms of the active genocide that the United States is supporting through its support of Rwanda, through its support and Rwanda’s support of the M23 rebels.

So, we have been standing in solidarity and working with Congolese organizations. And I say I’ve been working with them for the — about since 2012. But I’ve been concerned about the Congo since about 1987, as I began my journey of being an Africana studies professor. And it’s plain and simple. There are so many Congolese people who could speak to their case, but the U.S. media, most of the major newspapers, most of the corporate media, will never feature them. So I’ll mention Dr. Kennedy Kihangi Bindu, one of our partners who we brought to Morehouse College from the city of Goma at the University of the Great Lakes at Goma. He came to Morehouse and spoke about the situation in the Congo at one of our symposia. We’ve had a sustained engagement with the Congo, that will not show up always in terms of protest, but that type of engagement is transformative with our students. We also have a program where we pair our Morehouse students in our first-year experience courses with Congolese students, and they engage in conversation. So I think that’s very important.

We also recognize the connection of the Congo to the current situation in the Middle East, the fact that President Biden has tried to strike a deal with Dan Gertler, the noted conflict mineral mining magnate, who is also Israeli and who has been using those profits in many ways. Those have gone to enrich him, but also, vicariously, the Israeli state, and therefore the oppression — contributing to the oppression of Palestinian people. So, those connections are there.

And we raised the flag, we held up the flag, because we couldn’t rely on just a chant, because that could be ignored. And even if we gave an interview, maybe not like this one, but with The New York Times — for example, New York Times gave a story on the fact that there had been no protests at HBCUs, or relatively few. And, you know, I was really misquoted in terms of saying that Joe Biden seems like a decent person. But, I know, why am I saying that again? I shouldn’t even be saying it again. But compared to Donald Trump, I guess anybody could be a decent person. But he does not get it. He does not. He may have the Dr. King bust in the Resolute Desk or at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, but he is not listening to King. He needs to listen to HBCU faculty, who really have held out the only hope of real social change in America in its history, especially in the 20th century, but we could go back ever further.

So, we held the flag for those reasons. Congo deserves justice, reparations from the United States for the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, conspiring in that assassination, and —

AMY GOODMAN: Five seconds.

SAMUEL LIVINGSTON: Yes. And the people today deserve a country that is built on peace and justice.

AMY GOODMAN: Samuel Livingston and Taura Taylor, thank you so much. I’m Amy Goodman. This is Democracy Now!