This archive report was first published on 16 May 2020.
Obama Criticizes US Leadership in Commencement Address ¶
On Saturday, May 16, 2020, former President Barack Obama delivered a virtual commencement address to thousands of graduates at historically black colleges and universities, urging them to seize the initiative in the face of a pandemic that has killed over 87,000 Americans and crippled the economy.
Mr. Obama's speech, which was streamed online, was one of his few public addresses to a national audience during the outbreak. He criticized the government's response to the pandemic, saying that it had created a leadership void that the graduates were now being called upon to fill.
