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Two Presidents, One America Still Wrestling With Racism

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America’s slow march toward equity is the topic of many conversations these days whether during a company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusive (DEI) effort or on more personal turf: homes, small gatherings and churches. Awareness of the nation’s unfinished racial business may be at an all-time high, but this is far from America’s first attempt to get it right.


On June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech to Americans about civil rights, promoting legislation which would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The Act also prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs, and it bolstered the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools.


“Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free,” Kennedy said from the Oval Office. “And when Americans are sent to Viet Nam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only, it ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops.”


Kennedy’s speech was largely in response to the two African American students in Alabama who wanted to attend the University of Alabama but had been denied admittance by Governor George Wallace. In a symbolic nod to his motto, ‘segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,’ Wallace had stood at the door of an auditorium as if to block Vivian Malone and James Hood from entering. Kennedy federalized the National Guard and deployed them to desegregate the university.


Fast-forward 58 years. President Joe Biden traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma last week for the centennial of one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history to talk about the need to address the ongoing impact of racism on Black Americans and the country.


“Today, we are announcing two expanded efforts targeted toward Black wealth creation that will also help the entire community,” Biden said. “The first is my Administration has launched an aggressive effort to combat racial discrimination in housing, that includes everything from redlining to the cruel fact that a home owned by a Black family is too often … appraised at a lower value than a similar home owned by a white family.”


Programs to help Black businesses and entrepreneurs were also announced but Biden did not overlook the racism that destroyed a thriving African American community in Tulsa known as “Black Wall Street.”


“We are here to shine a light, to make sure America knows the story in full, May 1921,” he explained. “…they built something of their own worthy of their talent and ambition, Greenwood, a community, their way of life: Black doctors and lawyers, pastors, teachers, law practices, libraries, churches, schools.”


As he told the story of Greenwood, he touched on the tender spots in the African American psyche exposed time and again to white anger, drawing a line from the speech Kennedy gave in 1963 to America today.


“We should know the good, the bad, everything, that is what great nations do. They come to terms with their dark side. We are a great nation. The only way to build a common ground is to truly repair and rebuild.”

Black History

Trump Signs Executive Orders That Will Impact HBCUs and Black Schoolchildren

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and establish a White House Initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.”

According to the White House, the Initiative will help develop private-sector partnerships, institutional development and workforce preparation in technology, health care, manufacturing and finance. 

The president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry L. Williams said, “Today’s executive order serves as strong reaffirmation of President Trump’s support of investment of historically Black colleges and universities. This executive order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations, members of Congress and state lawmakers to redouble their efforts to support HBCUs and their students. TMCF looks forward to continued engagement with the administration and Congress to deliver results for HBCUs and the students they serve via appropriations and other legislative actions.”

On the same day, Trump signed another executive order that removes safeguards for African American schoolchildren by eliminating an Obama-era initiative to protect Black schoolchildren from excessive disciplinary action.

During the Obama administration, the first Black president’s administration created guidelines that sought to prevent school discipline from having a disproportionate effect on minority students. Trump revoked the civil rights initiative during his first term and Biden did not formally restore it. 

At his signing today, Trump said his decision was especially important to the current Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who held the signed order.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”

She added, “Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.

Studies show that Black students are punished more often than their white counterparts.

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President Jimmy Carter Appointed the First Black Woman to Lead a Federal Agency

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President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life,
advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his
death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of
Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White
House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that
changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.


Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose
Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in
1977.


Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not
considered before.”


Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.


The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.


Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.


“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”


President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty,
compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice

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Black History

The Congressional Black Caucus Prepares for “Important” Work

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The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.

“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.

Photo Credit: Ron Busby, U.S. Black Chambers Inc.

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