Conyers Applauds President Obama’s Creation of New National Office to Ensure that African-American Youth Are Better Prepared for High School, College, and a Career

Says Initiative Could Increase College Graduation Rates, and Break the Tragic Cycle of High Incarceration Rates for African-Americans, but only with the Active Support of the American People

(DETROIT)— Today, Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) applauded President Obama’s new initiative to help African-American youth be better prepared for high school, college, and a career. During a ceremony at the White House, President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the first ever “White House Initiative On Educational Excellence For African-Americans.” The initiative aims to promote best-practices in education, which will lead to more effective programming for African-American students.

President Obama’s new federal initiative builds upon a recently announced plan to make college and universities more affordable to young people, who are graduating from our nation’s universities with high levels of debt. Under the President’s new college tuition initiative, the federal government would provide more funding to colleges who keep their tuition costs down.

Representative Conyers issued the following statement in support of the new office:

                                                                                                                                                              

“For far too long, African-American youth have been left behind in our nation’s educational system, and far too many have ended up in prison.  Some of the root causes of educational failure in the African-American community have been due to a woefully inadequate federal commitment to fund successful programs like Head Start, after-school enrichment programs, and the Pell Grant college scholarship program. President Obama’s ‘White House Initiative on Educational Excellence For African- Americans’ will elevate the educational achievement of African-Americans as a national priority, so that all African-American students receive an education that fully prepares them for high school, college completion, and productive careers. In addition to President Obama’s initiative, we must fully fund technical schools, job training programs, and direct job creation programs in our nation’s inner cities.  

“This program has the potential to be one of the President’s lasting signature achievements - but only with the active involvement and support of the American people.”

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