Tuesday, February 2, 2010

President Proclaims Black Economic Empowerment



I am always inspired and awestruck when I consider the seemingly unscalable mountains African Americans have had to climb and imagine the unbreakable barriers African Americans somehow managed to break. My soul looks back and wonders over God’s amazing grace toward our people.

President Barack Obama honored the strength and determination of African Americans in his Official Annual Proclamation of African American History Month on February 1, 2010. The theme for African American History Month is “Black Economic Empowerment.” The President urged all Americans to “honor the African Americans who overcame injustice and inequality to achieve financial independence and the security of self empowerment that comes with it.”

The President also expressed his administration’s commitment to overcome today’s challenges through extending credit to small businesses that will enable them to thrive, reversing tax breaks for large corporations that move operations overseas instead of hiring Americans, and giving breaks to companies that provide jobs to stimulate America’s economy. He also stressed that education is key. Therefore, the Obama administration will invest in schools and work to make college available to all students to prepare them to compete in a global economy.

The President pledged to do his part. However, he acknowledges that neither he nor the U.S. government can do it alone. Just as it took the commitment and determination of regular people to break those barriers and climb those mountains of history, it will take the same commitment and determination today. President Obama calls on parents and community leaders to partner with him to “push our children to reach for the full measure of their potential, just as the innovators who succeeded in previous generations pushed their children to achieve something greater.”

You can go to http://www.asalh.org/ to download the entire Presidential Proclamation and learn more about the origin and founders of African American History month.

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