Kean University Cancels Common’s Commencement Speech

Hours after making Common the commencement speaker at its 2015 graduation, New Jersey's Kean University retracted its decision. According to a report from NorthJersey.com, the decision to cancel on Common may have been influenced by the New Jersey state police who were concerned that the rapper sympathized with a convicted cop-killer on "A Song For Assata," a track from his 2000 album Like Water For Chocolate. The song details the story of Assata Shakur a.k.a. Joanne Chesimard, a woman who was convicted in 1977 of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster. Police claim that Shakur and other members of the Black Panther party opened fire on Foerster and another officer during a traffic stop on the New Jersey Turnpike. Shakur later escaped jail and now is a fugitive living in Cuba.

Chris Burgos, the president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association of New Jersey, called Kean's decision to make Common its commencement speaker a "slap in the face." "What is troubling here is that a state university that is subsidized with state taxpayer funds, is once again being questioned on their decision-making at the highest levels," he wrote in an e-mailed statement to NorthJersey.com.

“We can’t control who the university invites to speak," added Captain Steve Jones, spokesman for the New Jersey state police. "However, we will continue our efforts to make the public aware of Joanne Chesimard’s escape and life on the lam and continue to seek her return to New Jersey and justice."

Common's selection was made public via an announcement on Kean's Twitter account Tuesday evening. Within a few hours, the tweet and the writeup posted on the school's website had been deleted. Susan Kayne, a spokeswoman for the university, claims that the announcement was made prematurely. "The students expressed interest in Common because he composed the Oscar-winning song "Glory" with our prior commencement speaker John Legend. While we respect his talent, Kean is pursuing other speaker options."

Common has not commented on the situation at this time.

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