Former President Barack Obama said in a commencement speech on Saturday that current leaders during the coronavirus crisis were failing 2020 graduates.
“More than anything this pandemic has fully finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing,” he said. “A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”
The former president did not directly criticize Donald Trump, but he repeatedly referred to leaders currently in power.
“Broad majorities agree on the ends,” he said, urging graduates to seek unity. “That’s why folks with power will keep trying to divide you over the means. That’s how nothing changes.”
The former president spoke online to recognize historic black college and university graduates on Saturday, offering a 2020 commencement speech for those who were unable to graduate due to the coronavirus.
How alleged White House UFC attack plotters organized across four states
Watch: Japanese Fans Accidentally Shame Certain Cultures Ruining Our Public Spaces, Go Viral for Unheard-of Behavior at Dallas Stadium
Subcontractors say they’re owed millions, face financial ruin, after helping build Obama Presidential Center
JD Vance Calls Infamous Campaign Comment ‘One of the Dumbest Things I Ever Said’ in New Book
Rhode Island judge faces misconduct complaint over attacks on DOJ lawyers
Republicans question Trump’s ‘privately funded’ ballroom after report points to taxpayer burden
WATCH: Unearthed video shows leftist Senate hopeful celebrating anti-fossil fuel group’s arrival in Texas
Delaware hospital shooting suspect identified, faces multiple charges including first-degree murder
Sick: PBS Bigwig Appears to Keep Job After Publicly Wishing Stroke on Trump in Deranged Birthday Message
Leftist Professor Goes Viral by Admitting the Hard Truth – Trump Has Destroyed Their Dreams and the Democratic Party Too
Judge reveals Luigi Mangione will pursue psychiatric defense in UnitedHealthcare CEO assassination case
12 Key Points on Iran Peace Deal Revealed, as Trump Says He’ll Likely Read It to Media So They Get It Right
Pentagon Sends Coast Guard to Rescue 2 Survivors After Latest Deadly Strike on Narco-Terrorists in Pacific
Oklahoma Democrats face runoff showdown in race for deep-red Senate seat
Deadly B-52 crash puts focus on engines, controllability as investigators hunt for answers
“Even though half of the semester was spent in Zoom university, you’ve earned this moment. You should be very proud,” he said.
The president was joined by celebrities Kevin Hart, Steve Harvey, Chris Paul, Debbie Allen, Common the rapper, and Vivica Fox, as well as national politicians such as Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Tim Scott.
Obama urged graduates to fight for “economic and environmental justice and health care for everyone” and to fight the “system that looks out for the rich and the powerful and nobody else.”
He said that the virus only enhanced the understanding that the black community continues to suffer inequality in the United States, but that they should reach out and find others who suffered the same struggle.
“Meaningful change requires allies and common cause. As African Americans we are particularly attuned to injustice, inequality, and struggle but also that should make us more alive to other experiences of others,” he said.
Obama urged graduates to stand up for immigrants, refugees, the rural poor, the LGTB community, low-income workers, and women.
How alleged White House UFC attack plotters organized across four states
Watch: Japanese Fans Accidentally Shame Certain Cultures Ruining Our Public Spaces, Go Viral for Unheard-of Behavior at Dallas Stadium
Subcontractors say they’re owed millions, face financial ruin, after helping build Obama Presidential Center
JD Vance Calls Infamous Campaign Comment ‘One of the Dumbest Things I Ever Said’ in New Book
Rhode Island judge faces misconduct complaint over attacks on DOJ lawyers
Republicans question Trump’s ‘privately funded’ ballroom after report points to taxpayer burden
WATCH: Unearthed video shows leftist Senate hopeful celebrating anti-fossil fuel group’s arrival in Texas
Delaware hospital shooting suspect identified, faces multiple charges including first-degree murder
Sick: PBS Bigwig Appears to Keep Job After Publicly Wishing Stroke on Trump in Deranged Birthday Message
Leftist Professor Goes Viral by Admitting the Hard Truth – Trump Has Destroyed Their Dreams and the Democratic Party Too
Judge reveals Luigi Mangione will pursue psychiatric defense in UnitedHealthcare CEO assassination case
12 Key Points on Iran Peace Deal Revealed, as Trump Says He’ll Likely Read It to Media So They Get It Right
Pentagon Sends Coast Guard to Rescue 2 Survivors After Latest Deadly Strike on Narco-Terrorists in Pacific
Oklahoma Democrats face runoff showdown in race for deep-red Senate seat
Deadly B-52 crash puts focus on engines, controllability as investigators hunt for answers
The president also referenced 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, noting that the injustice of “a black man goes for a jog and some folks think they can stop and question and shoot him if he does not submit to their questioning.”
He said the same struggles were not new in the United States and asked all graduates to do their part to fight.
“What is new is that so much of your generation has woken up to the fact that the status quo needs fixing,” he said.
Story cited here.
