Dear Commons Community,

Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos gave the commencement address at Bethune-Cookman University, a historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida. She was soundly greeted by rounds of boos as students turned their backs to her during the graduation ceremony.

DeVos was selected to speak at Bethune-Cookman University despite strong opposition by many students and community members to her presence.   As reported in Black Voices in The Huffington Post:

“DeVos’ speech ignited immediate controversy when it was announced earlier this month, and students criticized the school for selecting her after she downplayed the role of racism in the creation of historically black colleges and universities.

Protesters on Tuesday delivered petitions to the school’s leaders, calling on them to cancel DeVos’ speech due to her ignorance of HBCUs and lack of support for student loan borrowers. Organizers said they had collected 50,000 signatures.

DeVos praised HBCUs as “real pioneers when it comes to school choice” after meeting with school leaders in February.

“They saw that the system wasn’t working, that there was an absence of opportunity, so they took it upon themselves to provide the solution,” she said in a statement.

The comment sparked immediate backlash for “whitewashing” the history of the institutions, formed in response to systemic discrimination that denied black students access to existing schools. DeVos later said that HBCUs were born “out of necessity, in the face of racism.” On Sunday, she issued a statement saying she was looking forward to the commencement, while reiterating her “support for HBCUs.”

“For someone to come and speak at my commencement that cannot relate to me or know what I have been through is kind of like a slap in the face,” graduating student Jasmine Johnson told the Washington Post.

The anti-DeVos petition described her invitation as an “insult” to the legacy of school founder and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune, and the NAACP Florida State Conference called on Bethune-Cookman President Edison Jackson to resign.”

This was a win for the students and a nightmare for President Jackson and his administration.

Tony