In calling education and the lack of equality in education the “civil rights” issues of our times, President Obama has urged African-Americans students to step up in terms of closing the achievement gap.
In discussing the matter of too many students dropping out of school, the President told a black audience in the ballroom of the Sheraton New York Hotel that this fact is not a color or racial problem but it is a problem for everyone in America.
Along with this, he also provided an assessment (considered by most experts as a ‘sober’ one) as to what he had done for black Americans apart from also showered praise on the health care overhaul as well as the successful bailout of the auto industry ever since he took over the Presidency of the United States.
Yet his presence at this event was a quick one before which he had to deal with talks about the impending budget plan in Washington, and in being at the 20th anniversary of Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network kept a promise that he had made in 2007 when he was campaigning in the Presidential election. And since almost 95 % of the black population voted for Obama at that election, he continues to enjoy support from them at a level of 84 percent according to recent polls that were conducted.
In seeking to engage with minority voters, Obama and his Cabinet members have also promised to do much more for the African-American community by aligning themselves with Rev. Sharpton, who is no doubt, one of the most beloved and respected figures in the African-American community.