It looks like Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden told a white lie when he told a South Carolina audience that he “got started out of” Delaware State University, one of the historically black colleges and universities in the country.
Of course, his pick for vice president, Kamala Harris, graduated from historically black Howard University in the nation’s capital and is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
But as for Biden? No.
From the Washington Times:
Joseph R. Biden declared last year on the campaign trail that he began his academic career at Delaware State University, a historically Black college, a claim that the school refutes.
Carlos Holmes, director of news service for Delaware State, said that Mr. Biden was never a student, although he has made appearances twice on campus for commencement speeches at the public university in Dover, one of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
“Vice President Biden did not attend DSU,” said Mr. Holmes in a Thursday email. “However he was the Commencement keynote speaker in 2003 and [2016], and during the former he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree.”
Mr. Biden made the claim ahead of the South Carolina Democratic primary during a town hall held Oct. 26, 2019, at historic Wilson High School in Florence, which was founded in 1866 by the Freedmen’s Bureau for Black children seeking an education.
“I got started out of an HBCU, Delaware State — now, I don’t want to hear anything negative about Delaware State,” Mr. Biden told the audience, drawing laughter, as shown on video. “They’re my folks.”
Mr. Biden, who went on to win the South Carolina primary on his way to the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, has been long accused of making up the DSU connection, but the university’s denial appears to erase any doubt.
Head over to the Washington Times to read more.
