Dignity, joy, a raised fist: Biden renews pitch to Black voters at Morehouse commencement

It was, in the end, an artful compromise.

Joe Biden got to speak uninterrupted and renew his pitch to Black voters. Protesters got to make their point by wearing keffiyehs or raising a fist. Even the skies were merciful, hinting at but never quite unleashing rain.

Morehouse alumni followed, many wearing maroon jackets and straw hats with maroon bands. Some went all the way back to 1954. The alumni seemed more enthusiastic about standing to applaud Biden than the fresh wave of graduates.

When Biden took the stage, wearing a maroon gown with three black stripes on the arms and maroon tie, there was polite applause, though it could hardly be described as fierce.

He turned to global politics and referenced the Morehouse graduate Martin Luther King, whose civil rights activism overlapped with opposition to the Vietnam war.

A lone figure at the back, wearing a mortar and blue gown, remained still with her back turned to Biden and her right fist raised throughout the entire address. It was perhaps a more powerful statement than any number of disruptions or sign waving.