Morehouse College made the official announcement today that President Joe Biden will deliver the 2024 commencement speech on May 19th.

In an email sent to Watch The Yard from the White House, the President of Morehouse College, David Thomas, was quoted stating the following:

“I am honored to announce that the 46th President of the United States of America, Joseph R. Biden, will be the commencement speaker for our 140th Commencement ceremony. The invitation to President Biden was extended last September, and we are deeply honored that he has accepted, which marks the third time the White House has formally visited Morehouse within the last two years – a testament to the significance of our institution and our collective commitment to excellence and progress. 

We eagerly anticipate welcoming President Biden back to The House next month. His presence serves as a reminder of our institution’s enduring legacy and impact, as well as our continued commitment to excellence, progress, and positive change.“

Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, a graduate of Morehouse also opened up about the speech.

“Morehouse is a proud Georgia institution, an incubator for success for young Black men, and a model for colleges nationwide,” he stated. “As a proud alum, I could not be more thrilled and honored to see President Biden return to our great state to deliver this year’s commencement address. Since entering the U.S. Senate, I have worked with President Biden to address the high costs of higher education by providing meaningful student debt relief, and so far, his Administration has canceled debt for over 4 million Americans–helping close the racial wealth gap and giving borrowers drowning in debt a pathway toward prosperity. I know the President will have a timely, poignant, forward-looking message for the Men of Morehouse.

Mekhi Perrin, the current Student Government Association President, who Watch The Yard recently did a feature on was also quoted in the email from The White House.

“As students at Morehouse College, we are often at the forefront of social and political matters because of the institution’s history. We have an extensive history of hosting public figures of national and international rank on our campus,” Perrin said. “We are a community of scholars who are familiar with and understand the complexities associated with engaging many of our socio-political guests. President Biden’s visit is yet another opportunity for our community to engage in his presentation and remain open to his reflections while maintaining a critical investigation of goodwill.”

Henry Goodgame, vice president of external relations & alumni engagement at Morehouse and a class of 1984 graduate had the following to say: 

“I am profoundly thrilled and honored to have my alma mater, Morehouse College, selected from a multitude of institutions to have the 46th President of the United States of America serve as our Commencement Speaker this year. At a time when our nation urgently needs a message of hope and inspiration from our ethical leaders, we have invited the leader of the free world as our speaker to take on the issues and speak to our community. He joins the list of outstanding leaders like the 44th President, Barack Obama, and renowned business mogul Robert Smith to talk about the issues that matter to the next generation of Morehouse Men. Our students and alumni are honored to welcome him to the ranks of a Morehouse man who will take on the issues of the day even when a position may not be popular but is rooted in truth, as Martin Luther King Jr. had to do.” 

This commencement speech at Morehouse comes after the President delivered the 2023 commencement speech at Howard University.