Franklin Graham defends Houston student suspended for saying 'All lives matter'

Evangelist Franklin Graham said a University Student Government vice president was right to say that "All lives Matter" and denounced her suspension for saying so.

The president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association took to Facebook on Friday to express his dissenting opinion on the suspension of the vice president of the Student Government Association at the University of Houston over a social media post.

"Forget‪ #‎BlackLivesMatter, more like ‪#‎AllLivesMatter," was the controversial post that led to Vice President Rohini Sethi's 50-day suspension from the student body effective Aug. 1.

The student body also required Sethi to attend the Libra Project diversity workshop and three cultural events per month. Sethi also needs to submit a reflection letter and present herself in the Senate Meeting on Sep. 28.

"Wow. Somebody needs to tell this student government association that their vp was right—all lives do matter," reacted 64-year-old Graham and added, "Shame on them!"

The head of the Samaritan's Purse came to Sethi's defense for her statement by pointing to God, the "Maker and Creator of all life." He asserted that the Creator definitely did not intend for only "one group" to rise above the rest or for one life to be more important than another.

"In His eyes, every life matters. And no one should be punished for saying that," said Graham.

The much-criticized phrase "All Lives Matter" became a response to the Black Lives Matter movement that came about in protest to the killing of African-Americans by police officers. The deaths of African-Americans Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castille in Minnesota last month sparked Black Lives Matter protests across the United States. This also triggered several gun shooting incidents that included the targeted killing of police officers.

Christian rapper Lecrae slammed the #AllLivesMatter hashtag and likened it to "spitting in the face of black folk." He decried the movement as "extremely selfish" and "unsympathetic to a mourning person."

The 36-year-old Grammy winner did agree that all lives do matter, but explained that the Black Lives Matter movement was not meant to claim black lives matter above others, but is a needed movement because for "many" in the United States, black lives do not matter.

On whether all lives matter, Lecrae said on Instagram: "Of course they do. But it's very clear that black lives don't to many in this country."