Graduation Speech Interrupted

A North Carolina high school valedictorian, who identifies as Muslim and supports Palestine, delivered a commencement speech that criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, school officials were recorded stepping in to cut his speech short.

Leanne Hijaz gave the welcoming address during the Creighton High School graduation ceremony last Thursday. As he neared the end of his speech, Hijaz spoke about ICE and the situation in Palestine. A transcript from the video captured his closing remarks. He emphasized:

Before I leave the stage, I would like to say one last thing. Every single person here has a voice, and we are privileged to freely use that voice at a time when so many people around the world are struggling and suffering to be heard. Whether it’s the millions of people suffering in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, Afghanistan, and many other countries around the world, or the families torn apart by ICE, these are not distant issues. They are happening right now as I speak. What I am saying is that we are not given a voice to be silenced.

Just after his statement, it appears a school official intervened, stopping Hijaz from continuing and returning to their seat on stage. Despite this, the audience responded with a generous round of applause.

The event was broadcasted on the school’s YouTube page, where the moment was captured on video, and afterward, Hijaz noted that his diploma had been withheld due to the content of his speech.

“My focus all my life has been education, and I feel like something very important to me, something I’ve worked hard for over 12 years, has been taken away and suppressed,” Hijaz shared in the aftermath.

In a TikTok video, he explained his struggles to secure a spot on the stage, saying he fought for six months before the school allowed him to deliver his welcome speech. He expressed a strong urge to voice his thoughts: “The only reason I wanted to be on that stage was because I wanted to say something,” he stated, indicating his belief that someone had to speak out since no one else would.

Hijaz described that when the principal approached him at the podium, he was warned, “If you don’t stop speaking now, you won’t graduate.” Adding that his diploma would be “on hold for one week,” he conveyed feelings of exasperation and disappointment over the situation.

The principal later expressed that he was disappointed with Hijaz, suggesting that the valedictorian misused his platform. Meanwhile, Johnston County Public Schools released a statement explaining that students needed to submit their speeches ahead of graduation and that Hijaz had strayed from the approved content. They insisted that their intervention aimed to uphold the integrity of the program, not to restrict free speech.

While they acknowledged students’ rights to express themselves, the school emphasized the necessity for official events to remain focused on celebrating all graduates. Reports indicate that Hijaz ultimately received his diploma.