Students at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) walked out of their commencement ceremony to protest an address by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.).
About 100 of the 1,200 graduates at the graduation ceremony Saturday quietly filed out of the Greater Richmond Convention Center, some wearing kaffiyeh scarves and signs reading “Teach Black history” and “Book bans [do not equal] respect for learning,” The Washington Post reported.
Youngkin, who won election in 2021, continued on with his speech. The Hill has reached out to Youngkin’s office for comment.
The Post reported that the Richmond university has a long history of having the sitting governor give a commencement address.
Earlier this week, the Virginia NAACP VCU chapter sent a letter to the Board of Visitors and the university president demanding that Youngkin’s invitation to speak be rescinded.
“Your administrative decision to continuously postpone the racial literacy requirement as well as comply with Governor Youngkin’s demand to view the syllabi is anti-democratic and anti-intellectual,” the organization said in the letter, reported by 13 News Now. “These actions not only undermine academic freedom from intellectual inquiry, they also perpetuate a narrative that overlooks the intricate nuances of racial history.”
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