Blog Posts Related to the African American Community

  • Chicago Winning The Future Community Town Hall

    Posted by Nicole Young on April 18, 2011 at 5:25 PM EDT

    Today, April 18th at 6 p.m, Chicago and Cook County Community leaders and residents are invited to a “Winning The Future” community town hall at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.  Join Michael Blake – the Director of African American and minority business outreach for The White House Office of Public Engagement, Congressman Danny Davis, President Preckwinkle and WVON radio as they discuss President Obama’s agenda for “Winning the Future” and engage in a conversation about how his administration is working to best serve local communities across the country and Chicago.

    If you are interested in learning how President Obama’s & his administration’s efforts are helping you and your community, this is an opportunity to find out directly from The White House staff. 

    There will be time for questions and answers. Family, friends, local residents, community leaders, elected officials, and local business leaders are welcome to attend.

     Event Featuring:
    The Honorable Danny Davis
    Congressman, 7th District – U.S. House of Representatives

    The Honorable Toni Preckwinkle
    President, Cook County Board of Commissioners

    Matt McGill
    WVON 1690 AM – Host

    Michael Blake
    Director of African American and Minority Business Outreach, The White House Office of Public Engagement

    Location & Details:
    Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church
    4543 South Princeton Avenue
    Chicago, Illinois

    Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
    Due to limited seating, you are encouraged to please RSVP directly to Michael Blake at mblake@who.eop.gov and ONLY put in the subject line: RSVP for Chicago Community Forum
    If you have any questions, please call (202) 456-4805 for additional details.

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  • Honoring a Legacy and Empowering the Future

    Posted by Anna Leach on April 11, 2011 at 10:39 AM EDT

    Department of Education honors the legacy of Dr. Dorothy Irene Height

    Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell and Denise Forth.

    “You need a positive approach in order to work for change because you have to believe that even if you cannot bring it about all by yourself, you can still make a difference.”-Dorothy Height

    On March 24, the Department of Education Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships hosted “Woman and Girls Winning the Future through Education.” The event honored the legacy of Dr. Dorothy Irene Height and focused on empowering women of all ages to become involved with education issues in their individual communities to raise achievement levels. The center partnered with the Black Women’s Roundtable which is a part of the National Coalition for Black Civic Participation. Also women from local community and faith-based organizations, and federal employees from across the government attended the event. Senior leadership from both the Department of Education and the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships to discuss school turnaround, mentoring, college completion and other issues pertinent to women and girls.

    During the event, we hosted a roundtable discussion where attendees shared their ideas on how communities can be involved in their schools and bring positive change. Participants suggested ways to encourage corporations to fund programs; encourage individuals to use personal networks to connect teachers with resources; and increase communication with all individuals and agencies (teachers, parents, local school districts, state governments, federal branches) in a way that supports schoolchildren today. Participants also suggested expanding mentor programs in schools, ideas on how to get parents involved, and how we can get corporations to invest in students. Many new inspiring ideas were born at the event.

    Includes Photo Gallery
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  • Keeping the Dream Alive: President Obama's Work with the African American Community

    Posted by Michael Blake on April 8, 2011 at 10:30 AM EDT

    Read the Transcript  |  Download Video: mp4 (213MB) | mp3 (21MB)

    On Wednesday, April 6th, the National Action Network kicked off its 20th anniversary convention, celebrating "20 years of struggle, 20 years of progress, 20 years of shaping history."

    During the day, four Cabinet members--Education Secretary Duncan, Attorney General Holder, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan--spoke to convention attendees about how the Obama Administration has been working with the African American community. That night, President Obama spoke at the Keepers of the Dream Awards Gala.

    Includes Video
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    Learn more about Civil Rights, Economy, Education, Health Care, Poverty, Seniors and Social Security, Urban Policy, Women, Working Families, Additional Issues

  • Open for Questions: A Conversation on The Clean Air Act with Administrator Lisa Jackson

    Posted by Nikki Sutton on March 16, 2011 at 4:24 PM EDT

    Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson announced EPA's proposed Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, a Clean Air Act protection to reduce harmful pollution in the air we breathe and help safeguard the health of millions of Americans.

    Join Administrator Jackson for a special White House live chat on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards tomorrow, Thursday, March 17 at 10:55 a.m. EDT.  Administrator Jackson will be joined by young people who are passionate about this issue and the discussion will be moderated by Kalpen Modi of the Office of Public Engagement.

    Submit your questions for Administrator Jackson now in a comment on Facebook. And be sure to watch live tomorrow morning at whitehouse.gov/live or join the conversation on Facebook.

    Learn more about Energy and Environment

  • Ambassador Susan Rice Speaks to Young Women Leaders in East Harlem

    Posted by Taara Rangarajan on March 9, 2011 at 12:36 PM EDT

    Ambassador Susan Rice, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, marked the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day on March 8th in East Harlem, New York. There she urged tomorrow’s strong woman leaders, the 11th and 12th grade classes of The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) of East Harlem, to continue to win their future through education. 


    Ambassador Susan Rice speaks to roughly 120 students and staff from The Young Women’s
    Leadership School of East Harlem on March 8, 2011

    These young women, primarily low-income students of color, have a remarkable legacy to uphold: for ten straight years, every single senior at TYWLS of East Harlem has been accepted to college with significant financial aid.  Ambassador Rice spoke to roughly 120 students and teachers who gathered in the school’s multi-purpose gymnasium on 106th Street. “There is no greater source of empowerment and success,” she said, “than to have, and to insist upon getting the best education.”

    After the event, Ambassador Rice met and snapped photographs with Jo’Nella Queen Ellerbe, Marjana Chowdhury, and Tiara Kittrell, seniors who have been accepted to prestigious universities and who delivered introductory and closing remarks on Tuesday. Together with their classmates, these young women carry on with their “most important asset,” as Ambassador Rice called it: “the education that you are getting, and the education that you will continue to get when you leave this great school.”

    For more information on the United States’ work at the United Nations, visit www.usun.state.gov and follow Ambassador Rice on Twitter and Facebook.  Click here for Ambassador Rice’s statement commemorating International Women’s Day. 

    Taara Rangarajan is a Special Assistant at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations

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  • African American LGBT Student Leaders Winning the Future

    Posted by Monique Dorsainvil on March 4, 2011 at 5:39 PM EDT

    On February 28th, 2011, The White House observed the end of Black History Month with 60 emerging African American LGBT student leaders representing Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) from as close as D.C., Maryland, and Virginia and as far away as North Carolina and Georgia.  They were welcomed by a diverse group of Administration officials and by nearly a dozen local organizations invested in the success of LGBT youth for a roundtable discussion.  The event sparked a vibrant dialogue around careers in public service, effective leadership practices, and important issues affecting African American LGBT communities. 

    Brian Bond, Deputy Director of the Office of Public Engagement (OPE), organized the event and introduced Senior Advisor to the President, Valerie Jarrett, who opened the discussion by welcoming the students and encouraging them to continue to be courageous leaders and strong advocates in their communities. She urged them to work with The White House as the Administration continues to make considerable strides towards LGBT equality. The students also heard from Dr. Raphael Bostic, Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Assistant Secretary for Policy and Development Research, and Dr. Garth Graham, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health at Human Health Services (HHS), both of whom are involved in important work relevant to the LGBT community and advancing equality more broadly.  The students raised questions for both Dr. Bostic and Dr. Graham ranging from curiosity about their professional trajectories to questions on federal housing regulation and the national HIV/AIDS epidemic.

    Some Administration officials shared their experience growing up, some with coming out, and others shared the paths that led them to represent the President. OPE Associate Directors Kalpen Modi and Michael Blake spoke to the group about student engagement on college campuses while reiterating the importance of fighting for equality on all fronts.  Deputy Social Secretary Ebs Burnough and Department of Defense Fellow Tanisha Dozier spoke to the intersections of ethnicity and sexual orientation as they have experienced it and provided insight into their challenges and successes in pursuing their passion for government.  Hearing from so many members of the Administration, several of whom are former White House interns, prompted a fruitful discussion on how these students could apply for internships and fellowships at the White House and pursue long term careers in public service.

    The very next day I received a touching email from one of the students in attendance who thanked me for sharing my own story and who appreciated the Administration taking to time “to connect to those of us who have secretly wondered: if our potential success could ever be limited by our sexuality.”  The student closed his letter by saying that the roundtable discussion “helped [him] to remember that [he is] truly part of a community.”   This roundtable discussion left a room full of America’s future and current leaders inspired and encouraged to win the future. 

    Monique Dorsainvil is a Staff Assistant in the Office of Public Engagement focusing on the Council for Women and Girls and LGBT Outreach

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