ATLANTA — Last spring, when Nicholas Wilborn walked across Morehouse College’s graduation stage, he became the 14th member of his family to do so, dating back to his great-uncle, James Adam Wilborn, the former pastor of Union Institutional Baptist Church in East Point.

When President Joe Biden delivers his commencement address on May 19, many of the Wilborn men plan to be in the audience — cheering.

“I wasn’t there in the rain in 2013 for Obama, but people still talk about that,” said Nicholas’ father, Peter Wilborn, from the class of 1989, referencing Barack Obama’s commencement address at Morehouse.

“It is always an honor when a president delivers an address, especially at an HBCU. Biden has been a positive for the Black community. He has, without question, been a friend to the Black community. So I don’t think he is using Morehouse or doing this for political reasons. I think he believes it.”

But the selection of Biden as Morehouse’s commencement speaker has come with a host of issues.

Students, faculty and alumni, critical of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, have raised questions about it and worry that the visit may hurt the college’s reputation as the country’s leading institution for Black men. They want substance, not campaign rhetoric.

Morehouse Provost Kendrick Brown told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview Wednesday that having a sitting president speak at graduation, for only the second time in the school’s 157-year history, “brings attention to our mission and the role Morehouse has had in the community.”

But he also acknowledges the growing cries against Biden’s visit.

“Of course they have strong opinions,” Brown said. “This is what Morehouse is about, the ability to dialogue and debate peacefully.”

On campus Wednesday, students had diverse viewpoints.

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