Trump Downsizes Black College Conference
Trump Downsizes Black College Conference
By Tom O'Connor -- Newsweek
The White House announced Friday it's switching up the format of an upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and representatives of historically black colleges. The move comes as his administration continues to face deep criticism over its polarizing views on race relations in the U.S.
While the White House statement did not detail what modifications were being made, it did hint that the administration was looking to downsize Trump's meeting with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs). Trump found early success in reaching out to these schools, which were at times critical of his predecessor, but the Republican leader's attacks on their funding, controversial comments following last month's deadly white nationalist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia and his poor approval rating among black communities in general have strained this relationship.
READ MORE: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/tru...
By Tom O'Connor -- Newsweek
The White House announced Friday it's switching up the format of an upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and representatives of historically black colleges. The move comes as his administration continues to face deep criticism over its polarizing views on race relations in the U.S.
While the White House statement did not detail what modifications were being made, it did hint that the administration was looking to downsize Trump's meeting with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs). Trump found early success in reaching out to these schools, which were at times critical of his predecessor, but the Republican leader's attacks on their funding, controversial comments following last month's deadly white nationalist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia and his poor approval rating among black communities in general have strained this relationship.
READ MORE: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/tru...
THURGOOD MARSHALL COLLEGE FUND STATEMENT ON THE 2017 HBCU WEEK CONFERENCE POSTPONEMENT
Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) supports the decision of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the White House to postpone, not cancel, the 2017 National HBCU Week Conference. Any suggestion that we are no longer advocating for a strong relationship with the Trump Administration and Congress due to TMCF’s recommendation to postpone the National HBCU Week Conference is completely false and misleading. TMCF will continue our substantive and positive working relationship with the entire Trump Administration.
Reconvening the HBCU Capital Financing Board, after a two-year hiatus, is also a smart and timely move by Secretary DeVos. TMCF holds a seat on that board, and we will continue serving as HBCU advocates on behalf of our 47 publicly-supported member-schools. The series of strategic decisions are a sign this Administration is still listening to the community, and is serious about finding solutions to ensure HBCUs continue to thrive.
We look forward to President Trump soon appointing an Executive Director for the White House Initiative on HBCUs, and new members to the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs. This newly appointed group can help plan the full agenda, with community input, for the rescheduled National HBCU Week Conference, and set the goals for the rest of 2017 and the upcoming fiscal year.
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President & CEO, Thurgood Marshall College Fund
https://tmcf.org/tmcf-in-the-news/thurgood...