Israel Flag Taken Down From MLK Jr. Chapel at Morehouse College
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Posted By: S. Moore on February 15, 2024 Video footage of an unidentified Morehouse College student taking down an Israel flag at the campus MLK chapel has generated widespread circulation on social media. According to several social media posts, the student (who’s name is reportedly Amir), removed the flag in protest of the atrocities Israel daily commits against Palestinians.
4quest went on to claim that Morehouse campus police “detained the student who removed the Israeli flag.” The removal of the Israeli flag happened during what’s called the “crown forum,” a school tradition since the 19th century that is also a for-credit course requiring mandatory attendance in order to participate in a graduation ceremony. According to the Morehouse website, the crown forum provides a space with “special attention given to the articulation of and exposure to social justice.” The crown forum description specifically refers to “the demand of students to understand their responsibility with respect to servant leadership and a global citizenry.” After the videos and social media posts were widely shared, a string of posts questioned why Morehouse, a historically Black college for men, would fly the flag of a state that faces credible accusations of genocide against a racial and ethnic minority in Palestinians.
A post replying to the viral Twitter thread offered a more nuanced opinion: “This moment is revealing how the same institutions that was founded on struggle and dreams of Black liberation have long lost their way and are more interested in aligning with the white establishment.”
In response to the viral incident, the Atlanta University Center (AUC) – of which Morehouse is a member – chapter of the Students For Justice In Palestine (SJP) organization started an online petition on Friday to “urge the Atlanta University Center Consortium to publicly express its solidarity with the Palestinian people and condemn any form of human rights violation occurring in Israel and occupied Palestine.” The AUC’s SJP chapter has also released a open letter calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza among other demands. “Our SJP has a rich history of solidarity and support for global struggles for liberation: Black and Palestinian liberation are intrinsically linked, and our central belief is that the fight for freedom continues until there is true liberation for all people,” the letter says in part. In the week following the Hamas-led attack in Israel in October, Morehouse released a statement calling for peace that referenced “immeasurable suffering for both Israelis and Palestinians.” The Historically Black Israeli-Palestinian conflict The HBCU community has long rallied behind both Palestinians and Israelis in what is a complicated history. Howard University’s student-led newspaper the Hilltop reminded readers this past October on how HBCUs “became a refuge for Jewish professors and scholars seeking opportunities free of discrimination in the 1930s,” well before the state of Israel was created in 1948. HBCU students like the one shown at Morehouse have been among the most vocal young people protesting against Israel’s campaign of terror in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of innocent people, including women and children, in military action that is supposed to be targeting the Hamas militant group. That is particularly true of Morehouse’s sister school, Spelman College, an all-women’s HBCU with students who the 19th News reported “feel a connection to the racial, economic and gender injustices they say Palestinians face.”  North Carolina A&T had more than 50 students gathered around the campus Reflection pool, as they shared history about the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Black solidarity with Palestine and the interconnected struggles of colonized people. North Carolina A&T Dissenters  Students stand near the flagpole on the Yard as they rally in support of Palestinians amidst the Israel-Gaza conflict. One student wears a shirt that reads “End Apartheid.” (Nolan Baynes/The Hilltop) Activist and scholar Nyle Fort previously explained in an interview with NewsOne why he said Black Americans in particular should stand in solidarity with Palestinians. Fort pointed to how “African-descendant people have a long tradition of standing on the side of the oppressed,” referring to besieged Palestinians in Gaza. “Black people, who’ve been on the underside of American democracy, who have precisely known what democracy is because we know what democracy is not … we know that every life is precious,” Fort concluded. “So as we learn more and more about the political situation, let’s never lose sight of what this is really about: It’s about defending, protecting, affirming the beauty and the humanity of Palestinian people and of all people.” SOURCE HBCU Buzz If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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