Hatred never truly vanishes—it hides until given oxygen to resurface
En la primavera de 2023, el presidente Biden eligió una universidad históricamente negra como escenario para advertir a la nación sobre fuerzas que, según él, amenazan la democracia y el progreso racial, invocando fantasmas del pasado sin pronunciar nombres. Su discurso trazó una línea entre el odio que se oculta y el odio que resurge cuando se le da permiso, situando la lucha por la justicia racial dentro de la narrativa más amplia de la supervivencia democrática. Sin embargo, la historia más profunda no fue la que Biden contó desde el podio, sino la que sus propios oyentes contaron con sus espaldas vueltas hacia él.
- Biden convirtió una ceremonia de graduación en una advertencia política, apuntando sin nombrar a Trump como el oxígeno que reaviva el odio racial en Estados Unidos.
- El presidente declaró que el supremacismo blanco es la amenaza terrorista más peligrosa para la seguridad nacional, vinculando Charlottesville, el asalto al Capitolio y el presente en una sola narrativa de peligro continuo.
- Mientras hablaba de proteger la democracia y la justicia racial, varios graduados le dieron la espalda en silencio, sosteniendo carteles que acusaban a su administración de indiferencia ante las vidas negras.
- Las protestas revelaron una fractura dentro de la propia base de Biden: el electorado negro que lo llevó al poder en 2020 cuestiona si su gobierno ha cumplido las promesas que justificaron ese apoyo.
- El escenario que debía ser de unidad y celebración se convirtió en un espejo de las tensiones irresueltas entre el discurso sobre la justicia y la experiencia vivida de quienes la siguen esperando.
El presidente Joe Biden se presentó ante la clase graduanda de la Universidad Howard en Washington, D.C., en la primavera de 2023, y pronunció un discurso que fue menos una celebración académica que una advertencia política. Sin mencionar a Trump por su nombre, lo señaló con claridad: fue la respuesta de Trump a la marcha supremacista de Charlottesville en 2017 —cuando dijo que había «muy buena gente en ambos lados»— lo que, según Biden, lo impulsó a postularse a la presidencia en 2020.
El argumento central de Biden fue que el odio en América no desaparece; se esconde, como algo que aguarda bajo una piedra, y resurge cuando se le da oxígeno y permiso. Había esperado que la elección de Barack Obama marcara un punto de inflexión. En cambio, se encontró advirtiendo a los graduados de una universidad históricamente negra que la justicia racial seguía siendo un proyecto inacabado y asediado. Declaró que el supremacismo blanco era la amenaza terrorista más grave para la seguridad nacional, e invocó el asalto al Capitolio del 6 de enero de 2021 como el primer intento violento en la historia estadounidense de interrumpir la transferencia pacífica del poder.
Pero mientras Biden hablaba, una rebelión silenciosa se desplegaba entre el público. Varios graduados le dieron la espalda. Otros sostenían carteles: uno acusaba a Biden y Harris de no importarles la gente negra; otro protestaba por la muerte de Jordan Neely, un joven negro fallecido semanas antes en un estrangulamiento en el metro de Nueva York; un tercero señalaba al Departamento de Defensa como cómplice del imperialismo.
El momento expuso una grieta profunda dentro de la propia coalición del presidente. Biden hablaba sobre el peligro del racismo ante la misma comunidad que, en su visión, debía ser su aliada más firme, mientras esa comunidad le respondía que las palabras no bastaban. El estrado de graduación, concebido como espacio de unidad, se convirtió en escenario de visiones en conflicto sobre lo que América le debe a sus ciudadanos negros y sobre el verdadero significado del progreso.
President Joe Biden stood before the graduating class at Howard University in Washington, D.C., on a spring afternoon in 2023, and delivered a commencement address that was less about celebrating the students' achievement than about warning the nation against what he called sinister forces working to undo racial progress. He never said Trump's name, but the target was unmistakable. Biden traced his own return to politics directly to Trump's 2017 response to the white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia—when Trump said there were "very fine people on both sides." That moment, Biden said, moved him to run for president in 2020.
The president's core argument was that hatred in America never truly vanishes. It hides, he explained, like something lurking beneath a stone. Give it oxygen, give it permission, and it crawls back out. He had hoped that the election of Barack Obama, the first Black president, would mean fear and violence and hate would lose their grip on the country. Instead, he found himself standing at a historically Black university, warning graduates that the work of racial justice remained unfinished and under siege.
Biden framed the threat in sweeping terms. There were people, he said without naming them, who would demonize others and turn Americans against each other. There were those willing to do anything—no matter how desperate or immoral—to hold onto power. White supremacy, he declared, was the most dangerous terrorist threat facing the nation's security. He invoked the Capitol riot of January 2021, calling it a dagger aimed at democracy itself, the first time in American history that an incoming president's power transfer had been violently contested. The assault had failed, he insisted. Democracy had held. Hope had prevailed.
But as Biden spoke, a quiet rebellion unfolded in the audience. Several graduates turned their backs to him. Others held signs. One read: "Biden and Harris don't care about Black people." Another protested the death of Jordan Neely, a young Black man who had died in a subway chokehold weeks earlier. A third sign accused the Defense Department of complicity in imperialism. The protesters were not heckling or shouting. They simply stood, facing away, making their dissent visible and silent.
The moment captured a fracture within Biden's own coalition. Here was the president at one of the nation's most prestigious Black universities, speaking about the dangers of racism and the promise of democracy, while Black graduates—the very constituency he was addressing—rejected his framing. They were not convinced that his administration had delivered on racial justice. They saw foreign policy decisions they opposed. They saw a president who talked about protecting democracy while, in their view, failing to protect Black lives. The commencement stage, meant to be a moment of unity and celebration, became instead a stage for competing visions of what America owed its Black citizens and what progress actually meant.
Citas Notables
Hatred never disappears. It only hides under rocks, and when given oxygen, it emerges from beneath that stone.— President Biden, at Howard University commencement
We will determine the future of the United States, not these sinister forces.— President Biden
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did Biden choose a commencement at a Black university to make this argument about democracy and Trump?
Because he needed to speak directly to a constituency he depends on but that was fracturing. Howard is symbolic—it's where you go to reach Black America at a moment of moral urgency.
But the graduates protesting—they seemed to be saying his words rang hollow.
Exactly. They were saying: you talk about defending democracy and fighting racism, but what about Jordan Neely? What about your foreign policy? Words about sinister forces don't feed people or stop police violence.
Do you think Biden understood that risk when he gave the speech?
He probably knew there would be some protest. But I don't think he anticipated how directly it would undercut his message. You can't warn about threats to democracy while your own base is turning their backs.
What was he really trying to do that day?
He was trying to draw a line between himself and Trump, to say: I'm fighting for democracy and racial progress, he's fighting to undo it. But the graduates were saying: that's not enough. We need you to do more than warn us. We need you to act.
Does that protest change anything politically?
It signals that Biden can't take Black voters for granted, even at a moment when he's trying to position himself as democracy's defender. It's a warning to him, in real time.