UN ambassador not invited to speak at Louisiana HBCU graduation ceremony

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield will no longer speak at Louisiana’s Xavier University commencement ceremony on Saturday.

The decision comes after students pressured the university to cancel her speech on its positions on the war in Gaza. This is the second school to cancel its commencement speech, following the University of Vermont’s decision last week.

University President Reynold Verret announced the decision in an email to students on Wednesday.

“Everyone’s goal is to hold a commencement ceremony that appropriately honors the graduates and their achievements,” Verret wrote. “The vast majority of students would like to be able to enjoy a commencement ceremony without disruptions. That is why we are not going ahead with the starting speaker as originally planned.”

When Thomas-Greenfield’s planned speech was announced last Sunday, students organized a petition demanding her removal, which garnered nearly 1,800 signatures.

“Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield has repeatedly voted against a ceasefire in Gaza, resulting in the decimation of all 13 universities in Gaza, the loss of more than 30,000 lives, while thousands of others were left in the rubble by the violence, and the continuation of the genocide in Gaza. ‘, the petition said. “The Palestinians in Gaza draw on the experiences of their brothers and sisters in America during the segregation era.”

Before submitting a resolution to the UN Security Council in March calling for an “immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza,” Thomas-Greenfield vetoed three other ceasefire resolutions . However, the UN ambassador said she voted against these measures because the United States could not support a ceasefire that did not recognize Israel’s right to self-defense and did not commit Hamas to freeing the hostages seized in the October 7 attack .

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINATOR

It is unclear whether the university will find a replacement.

Meanwhile, the University of Massachusetts Amherst lost its keynote speaker, author Colson Whitehead, after he canceled his speech due to his disapproval of the university calling in police against pro-Palestinian protesters.