In his commencement speech at Morehouse College, President Biden presented a grim view of race relations in America.

He referenced George Floyd’s murder and the ensuing national reckoning, questioning what democracy means if black men are killed by police and communities left behind.

“You started college just as George Floyd was murdered,” Biden said. “And there was a reckoning on race. It’s natural to wonder if the democracy you hear about actually works for you.”

“What is democracy if black men are being killed in the street?” he asked. “What is democracy with a trail of broken promises leaving black communities behind? What is democracy if you have to be ten times better than anyone else to get a fair shot? Most of all, what does it mean, as you’ve heard before, to be a black man who loves his country even if it doesn’t love him back in equal measure?”

While his remarks about the challenges faced by black Americans received applause, some students turned their backs in protest of Biden’s support for Israel during tensions in Gaza.

Biden focused on issues of racial inequity in voting rights and opportunity.

However, his stark characterization of America as inherently racist and not loving black people equally drew silent rebukes from graduates who disagreed with his foreign policy stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.