Showing posts with label President Barack Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label President Barack Obama. Show all posts

Monday, September 13, 2010

President Obama: "Education Means Emancipation"



Remarks by President Obama to presidents of historically black colleges and universities, as provided by the White House at HBCU President's Reception


Grand Foyer, September 13, 2010, 10:36 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody!

AUDIENCE: Hello!

THE PRESIDENT: Welcome. Welcome to the White House. It is good to see some old friends and familiar faces. And I want to especially welcome three of our newest board members of the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I am so grateful that they’ve agreed to join, and I’m looking forward to working with all of you.

Now, last February, I saw some of you here when I signed the executive order to strengthen the White House initiative on HBCUs. And this is allowing the government to collaborate with educational associations, with philanthropic organizations, and with the private sector to increase your capacity to offer a college degree to as many students as possible.

We’ve also declared this week to be National HBCU Week. And we do this for two reasons: first of all, to remember our history. We remember all the men and women who took great risks and made extraordinary sacrifices to ensure that these institutions that you lead could exist. We remember that at a critical time in our nation’s history, HBCUs waged war against illiteracy and ignorance -- and won. You’ve made it possible for millions of people to achieve their dreams and gave so many young people a chance they never thought they’d have -- a chance that nobody else would give them. And that’s something to celebrate. And that’s something to be very, very proud of. (Applause.)

But we also use this week as an opportunity to look forward towards the future and to take stock of the work that we’ve got left to do. As many of you know, I set a goal that by 2020, the United States would once again lead in the number of college graduates, have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. I set that goal because our success in a 21st century economy is going to depend almost entirely on having a skilled workforce, how well trained our young people are.

We cannot reach that goal without HBCUs. We can’t get there -- (applause) -- we can’t get there unless all of you are improving your graduation rates. We can’t get there unless all of you are continuing to make the dream of a college education a reality for more students. We want to help you do that in every way that we can. Already, we’ve eliminated billions of dollars of unnecessary subsidies to banks and financial institutions so that that money could go directly to your students. And that is incredibly important. (Applause.) And as a consequence of that, we’re making it possible for millions of more students to attend colleges and universities and community colleges all across the country.

We also want to keep strengthening HBCUs, which is why we’re investing $850 million in these institutions over the next 10 years. (Applause.) And as I said in February, strengthening your institutions isn’t just a task for our advisory board or for the Department of Education; it’s a job for the entire federal government. And I expect all agencies to support this mission.

Now, none of this is going to be easy. I know -- I’m sure you know that. As leaders of these institutions, you are up against enormous challenges, especially during an economic crisis like the one that we are going through. But we all have to try. We have to try. We have to remain determined. We have to persevere.

That's what the first founders of HBCUs did. They knew that even if they succeeded, that inequality would persist for a very, very long time. They knew that the barriers in our laws, the barriers in our hearts would not vanish overnight. But they also recognized a larger and distinctly American truth, and that is that the right education might one day allow us to overcome barriers, to let every child fulfill their God-given potential. They recognized, as Frederick Douglass once put it, that education means emancipation. And they recognized that education is how America and its people might fulfill our promise.

That’s what helped them get through some very difficult times. It’s what kept them fighting and trying and reaching for that better day, even though they might not be able to live to see that better day. That’s the kind of commitment that we’re going to need today from everybody here at the White House, from all of you at your respective institutions.

We are extraordinarily proud of what you’ve done. But we’ve got a lot more work to do. And I just want everybody here to understand that you’ve got a partner in me, and you’ve got a partner in the Department of Education -- and you’ve got a department with everybody here at the White House who’s absolutely committed to making sure that you can succeed in your mission.

So thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. (Applause.) Thank you.

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

President Obama's Oath and Inaugural Address


Aretha Franklin Sings


Obama's Inauguration Parade Guide

There will be over 10,000 people marching all together, representing all 50 states. Based on Florida A&M University Marching 100 Band first division placement in the lineup, no doubt the hundred is the best band in the nation. It is the first marching band after Barack and Michelle Obama's alma maters.

FAMU Marching 100 Band --420 members

Here is the complete line up (as of last night) with the HBCU Bands highlighted:

Representatives from the US Army, United States Military Academy & US Army Reserve
Punahou School JROTC
Punahou School Marching Band
Whitney M. Young Magnet High School Navy JROTC
Isiserettes Drill and Drum Corps
Jesse White Tumbling Team
Florida A&M University Marching 100 Band

Crow Nation of Montana
Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School Marching Band (Washington, D.C.)
Illinois Home State Float
Brooklyn Music and Arts Program
Theodore Roosevelt High School Marine Corps JROTC Color Guard and Drill Team (Wash.,D.C.)
Colts Drum and Bugle Corps
Klein Collins High School Air Force JROTC
Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drums
Southern Ohio Ladies Aside
Redwood Middle School Marching Band and Auxiliary Units
Representatives of the US Marine Corps and US Marine Corps Reserve
Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association
University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hen Marching Band, The Pride of Delaware
Delaware Home State Float
Alexis I. duPont High School Band
Comfort Carriages
Tuskegee Airmen
Delaware State University Marching Band
Special Olympics Inc.
Sanford High School Marching Band
Peace Corps Community
Adams Central High School Patriot Band
Oneida Nation Veterans
Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps
Idaho State Leadership: State and Tribal Representatives
Roosevelt High School Marching Band
Suurimmaanitchuat Eskimo Dance Group
South Cobb High School Blue Eagle Marching Band
Representatives of the US Navy, US Naval Academy & US Navy Reserve
Brattleboro High School Marching Band
George Washington University
Petal High School Marching Band
Freedom Riders
Bonnie Brae Knights
Federal Protection Service
Trumbull High School Golden Eagle Marching Band

American Workers Contingent
East Greenwich High School Avenger Band
Commanding General's Mounted Color Guard, First Infantry Division, Fort Riley KS
Green Valley High School Marching Band
Angel Drill Team
Manning High School Golden Pride Marching Band
Wind River Reservation Youth Council
Lincoln Highway National Museum and Archives
University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland Band
Tempel Lipizzans of Tempel Farms
University of Arkansas Pine Bluff Marching Band
Representatives of the US Air Force, US Air Force Academy & US Air Force Reserve
Mountain Ridge High School Pride of the West Marching Band
United Tribes Technical College
Montana Delegation
Hampton University Marching Force
AmeriCorps Alums
North Allegheny High School Tiger Marching Band
World Famous Lawn Rangers from Amazing Arcola
Blue Springs High School Golden Regiment Marching Band
McCrossan Boys Ranch
Colony High School Knights Marching Band
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, Company A
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment
Espanola Valley High School Mariachi Sol Del Valle
1965 Mustang of the DC Metropolitan Police Department
Grambling State University World Famed Tiger Marching Band
Nicholas County Army JROTC, the Wilderness Battalion
J. P. Taravella High School Band
Representatives of the US Coast Guard, US Coast Guard Academy & US Coast Guard Reserve
Morton High School Marching Band
U.S. Border Patrol
Harding University High School Marching Band of Gold
Hawaii Home State Float
Howard University Showtime Marching Band
Pennsylvania Home State Float
Lesbian and Gay Band Association
Mobile Azalea Trail Maids
Londonderry High School Marching Lancer Band and Color Guard
T.C. Williams High School Army JROTC
Windsor High School Marching Band
Michigan's Multi Jurisdictional Mounted Police Drill Team and Color Guard
Ohio State University Marching Band
Boy Scouts of America, Troop 358, Philadelphia, PA
Girl Scouts of the Nation's Capital, Troops 1803 & 382
Fergus Falls High School Marching Band
Representatives from the US Merchant Marine Academy
Evergreen High School Marching Band
Culver Academies
Carl Sandburg High School Marching Eagles
USO Float
Carnaval de San Anto, the URBAN 15 Group
Prevention Partnership, Warren County, KY Sheriff's Office
Siloam Springs High School Band
Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association CCBA
Get a Life Marching Band
Union High School Air Force JROTC
University of Utah Marching Band
Virginia Military Institute Corps of Cadets
NASA Astronaut Crew and NASA Lunar Electric Rover

Monday, January 19, 2009

Inaugural festivities kick off in D.C.






Saturday, December 20, 2008

FAMU Marching 100 Requests Your Help!

In this season of giving, here is an opportunity for you to put your signature on assisting the Florida A&M University Marching 100 Band in participating in the Presidential Inauguration Parade of our 44th President, Barack Obama. The FAMU Marching 100 is the NUMBER ONE marching band in the United States and this event will afford the Washington, D.C. metro area citizens and the world community to see what Florida has enjoyed with the Incomparable Marching 100 for the past 55 years.

Here is how YOU can help and become an important and valued supporter of the FAMU Marching 100 Band program... and see the HUNDRED on Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20, 2009.

FAMU 2008 The Road To Washington and Beyond Campaign

CBS Evening News - 2008 FAMU Marching 100

FAMU 2008 "ESPN College Gameday" Performance



DONATE HERE: http://www.famu.edu/GiveToThe100

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