Colson Whitehead canceled his planned commencement speech at the University of Massachusetts Amherst after police arrested more than 100 pro-Palestine protesters at the school on Tuesday, the Boston Globe reports.
Whitehead, the author who won Pulitzer Prizes for his novels The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, had been scheduled to deliver the graduation speech at the university on May 18.
His withdrawal comes after about 130 people were arrested at a UMass encampment filled with people protesting Israel’s actions in Palestine. UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes addressed the arrests, saying, “While we have told demonstrators that failure to remove the tents and barriers may result in arrests, this is not the outcome we had hoped for.”
On the social media platform Bluesky, Whitehead reprinted a message he said he had sent to the UMass administration. “I was looking forward to speaking next week at UMass Amherst,” the message reads. “I visited two years ago and everyone was awesome. My nephew graduated from there and got a great education. But calling the cops on peaceful protesters is a shameful act. I have to withdraw as your commencement speaker. I give all my best wishes and congratulations to the class of ’24 and pray for the safety of the Palestinian people, the return of the hostages, and an end to this terrible war.”
I sent this message to the UMass administration yesterday: "I was looking forward to speaking next week at UMass Amherst. I visited two years ago and everyone was awesome. My nephew graduated from there and got a great education. But calling the cops on peaceful protesters is a shameful act...” 1/2
— Colson Whitehead (@colson.bsky.social) May 9, 2024 at 1:52 PM
In a statement, UMass said its graduation ceremony would proceed without a commencement speaker.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
