When the protagonist of "Battle Royal" is invited to give his graduation speech to "a gathering of the town's leading white citizens," he is invited to take part in a "battle royal" before he speaks. Why does he object to fighting?

The best answer to the question: Why does he (the protagonist of the Battle Royal in "Invisible Man") object to fighting? would be: He does not wish to distract his white attendees'attention from the speech he is about to deliver.

Explanation:

"Invisible Man" is a novel that was written by author Ralph Ellison and which was published originally in 1952. Essentially, the story of the novel deals with the effects of racism, and the effects of it, on the narrator of the story, an unnamed black person, as he goes from believing himself to be invisible to the world due to his race, to becoming an active person as the recounts of his past remind him that he does not need to hide from the world. Most of the story, thus, goes to show the reader the story behind this "invisbile man" and how events of that life transform him. Another thing that we learn is how this unnamed narrator goes from being a supporter of black movements in the U. S, especially in New York, to realizing that such fanaticsism is not necessary for him to be known to the world. One thing that does happen in the story is that in the beginning, the narrator graduates from high school and receives a scholarship to an all-black college. However, before he receives the award, he has to engage in an activity that is known as a "Battle Royal" to entertain white dignitaries in his town, to which he refuses because he does not want people to pay more attention to the unseemley brutal display, than to his speech.