More than a dozen members of the Haitian community protested at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights earlier today to denounce College President Rudy Crew’s invitation of Hillary Clinton as the commencement speaker at the school’s graduation ceremony.
Komokoda or the Committee to Mobilize Against Dictatorship in Haiti, is demanding that Clinton not be allowed to speak at the June 8 ceremony due to her previous statements describing black youth as animals who “should be brought to heel.”
The group also claims that the former Secretary of State is a corrupt, war criminal and a compulsive liar.
“They portray themselves [the Clintons’] as friends of Haiti but their role in Haiti has been to pillage and plunder. For years we have been protesting Clinton because of her role in militarizing the police, in criminalizing black youth and building jails to incarcerate our youth. Many people in our community felt that it was a victory that Clinton didn’t win this past U.S. election,” said Komokoda President Dahoud Andre.
The group’s goal is to pressure Crew into rescinding Clinton’s invitation.
However, the college said it has no plans of cancelling Clinton’s appearance and are standing behind their decision. In fact, Clinton will be receiving an honorary degree at the ceremony.
“Medgar Evers College respects the democratic process and the rights of our students to respectfully voice their opinions. We stand by our choice of Hillary Clinton to deliver the keynote address, and receive an honorary degree at our 2017 Commencement Ceremony,” said Jonathan Sandville, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Communications at Medgar Evers.
Andre also claims that Mrs.Clinton stole thousands of dollars in funds for aid relief in the wake of the devastating 2010 earthquake, but the the Clinton Foundation vehemently denies these accusations and claims that the relief money was given to the appropriate nonprofit relief organizations.
“In the wake of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, President Clinton worked tirelessly to secure as much immediate relief for the country as possible. This money, which the Foundation raised in the immediate aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, has been accounted for and funds were disbursed to leading non-profit organizations,” said a statement from the Clinton Foundation Press Office.
In addition, the Clinton Foundation cites the Washington Post’s Fact Checker ratings, two four pinocchios (the worst rating) and Factcheck.org on multiple accusations as even more evidence that Clinton hasn’t made any corrupt dealings when it comes to Clinton Foundation funds and Haiti relief aid.
But Andre insists the Clintons’ have had a very hard history with Haiti through their foundation, and if the group’s demand isn’t met they will continue to protest up until the day of the ceremony, with planned protests inside and outside the graduation.
Crown Heights Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and Flatbush Haitian-American Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte – both of whom are huge supporters of both Haiti and Hillary Clinton – did not respond to questions about the protest at post time.
Medgar Evers College, although a part of the City University of New York public schools system, serves a predominantly black student body in a neighborhood with a large number of Caribbean-Americans.
