President Joe Biden will deliver the commencement speech at Howard University during its graduation ceremony later this month, the White House confirmed on Saturday.
Howard University, a historically black research university located in Washington D.C., will hold its graduation on May 13, according to the White House statement. Biden is the first sitting president to address Howard’s graduates since former President Barrack Obama in 2016, CNN reported.
Biden officially announced his bid for a second term in office on April 25. He cited a need to “stand up for democracy” and “fundamental freedoms” as his reasons for pursuing re-election, according to a tweet from his official account.
Vice President Kamala Harris, a Howard University alumnus, spoke on the Washington D.C. campus the day Biden announced the political ticket’s reelection campaign to advocate for abortion access, according to the university. It was her first public address since the 2024 campaign was launched earlier that morning.
The Biden campaign is focused on policies aimed at helping historically black colleges or universities (HBCU), a White House spokesperson told CNN. Biden proposed $45 billion for HBCUs to help maintain the campuses through the administration’s Build Back Better plan in 2021, but the total was later cut to approximately $2 billion after negotiations, according to Politico.
The administration has secured $6 billion in investments through the Department of Education, CNN reported.
Howard University partnered with the Department of Defense (DOD) in January to lead a research center and will receive $12 million annually for five years to fund research, faculty and students, CNN reported. The partnership is the first between an HBCU and the DOD.
Biden is also slated to travel to Colorado on June 1 to deliver the commencement speech at the United States Air Force Academy, the White House confirmed.
“Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark and the Class of 2023 are honored to announce the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, as the commencement speaker for the Class of 2023 Graduation Ceremony on June 1, 2023, in Falcon Stadium,” the Academy announced in a Saturday statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Howard University did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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