President Joe Biden touted his administration’s efforts to place Black Americans into the highest echelons of political power during a Sunday commencement address at Morehouse College, while also acknowledging the anguish simmering among young people across the US over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

President Biden told the graduating class of Morehouse College on Sunday that his administration was seeking an immediate cease-fire to address “a humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” in a high-profile commencement address in which he appealed to Black voters following a season of campus unrest over the war between Israel and Hamas.

In the lead-up to commencement at the historically Black men's college, many students were opposed to President Biden speaking at the ceremony.