April D. Ryan

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., center, accompanied by fellow CBC members, speaks outside the White House in Washington, Thursday, May 12, 2011, following their meeting with President Barack Obama. Photo: Carolyn Kaster / AP

  

  

 

President Obama and most of the Congressional Black Caucus members met in the White House Dining Room for an hour Thursday. The CBC members number one agenda item, jobs.

The April 2011 black unemployment rate is 16.1 percent with a black teen jobless rate at 44 percent. The overall American unemployment numbers are in single digits with a rate of 9 percent. Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Emmanuel Clever says, “The pain in the urban core is at an extremely high level.”

House Assistant Minority leader, James Clyburn could not make the Thursday meeting as he was in the Deficit Reduction talks with Vice President Joe Biden, administration officials, Democratic and GOP leaders. Clyburn did acknowledge he has been in talks with President Obama on the 10-20-30 concept. That concept focuses on a poverty agenda for the poorest Americans. Congressman Clyburn says, “We look at all these communities throughout the country where 20 percent or more of the population have been existing beneath the poverty line for the last thirty years…In those communities we will direct ten percent of the expenditures in any given category in these communities.”

Clyburn contends the Congressional Budget Office finds it passes constitutional muster and does not violate any ban on earmarks.

President Obama is said to be reviewing the idea. Clyburn hopes it is implemented by the beginning of the next fiscal year, October 1, 2011.

Meanwhile, Congressional Black Caucus Chairman, Emmanuel Cleaver lead the 40 year-old group in the discussion with the President. One of the sub-categories in the jobs conversation, summer jobs. “He [President Obama] did understand the urgency in doing that,” according to Cleaver.  The CBC Chair says the group also suggested creative ways in helping the urban core in need of jobs. Cleaver is looking for ways to give some sort of job help through disaster relief packages “in the areas that have been devastated with tornadoes and floods.” 

For two and a half years,President Obama held fast to a universal approach that would lift all of America rather than a single group.

The President has some political meetings on his agenda today.  On his schedule a meeting with the Senate GOP Caucus and also a meeting with the full membership of the Congressional Black Caucus.  Reverend Al Sharpton wants the CBC to come out of the meeting with President Obama with something concrete for legislative action to cut into the rising black unemployment numbers that stand at 16.1 percent and the black teen unemployment rate of 44 percent.  The overall unemployment rate for April 2011 is 9 percent.

The Obama administration has been promoting stats showing 14 consecutive months of increased job hires in the private sector.  The question among America’s black leadership, who is getting those jobs?  Reverend Al Sharpton says pressure needs also to be applied on the private sector, “the Data speaks for itself.  African Americans are not getting those jobs, which is why I think we have to bring the fight back to the private sector.”

Sharpton believes one immediate jobs remedy is for federal and state lawmakers to require companies to hire people within the city limits of the companies location. The civil rights leader contents that alone will help cut into the black unemployment numbers especially in a city like Detroit, Michigan.

The controversy about poet and rapper Common’s appearance at the White House was discussed in the White House briefing room.  The White House Press Secretary Jay Carney explains the White House stand on the matter.

Q    Okay.  And also, I just got off the phone with singer, poet, philanthropist Jill Scott who’s performing tonight for the poetry and prose.  And she said she’s very disappointed to hear about the critics of Common — Sarah Palin and some of the GOP to include people in the New Jersey State Police — about his stand and his comments.  What does this White House have to say as Common is an invited guest to be able to deliver his poetry and prose to the group that’s coming tonight?
 
MR. CARNEY:  Well, I’ll make a couple of points about that, April.  First of all, the President does not support and opposes the kinds of lyrics that have been written about, as he has in the past.  He has spoken very forcefully out against violent and misogynist lyrics.  Secondly, in regard to the concerns by some law enforcement, this President’s record of support for law enforcement is extremely strong.  He remains committed to the men and women who protect the American citizens and put themselves in harm’s way all the time.  He was able to express that appreciation and support just last week in New York when he met with police and firefighters. 
 
And I would say that while the President doesn’t support the kind of lyrics that have been raised here, he does — I mean, we do think that some of these reports distort what Mr. Lynn stands for, more broadly, in order to stoke a controversy.  I mean, he is — within the genre of hip-hop and rap, he is what’s known as a conscience rapper — or a conscious rapper, rather.  And I would quote a report just six months ago from Fox News where he was described as a rap legend and quote, “Your music is very positive and you’re known as the conscious rapper.  How important is that to you, and how important do you think that is to our kids?” 
 
And I think that one of the things that the President appreciates is the work that Mr. Lynn has done with children, especially in Chicago, trying to get them to focus on poetry, as opposed to some of the negative influences of life on the street.
 
Q    Jay, “conscious” was the word you used?
 
MR. CARNEY:  Conscious.
 
Q    Conscious?
 
MR. CARNEY:  Conscious, yes.  Conscious rapper — as in socially conscious. 
 
MR. CARNEY:  So going back to my conversation with Jill Scott just literally a few minutes ago, she said it’s about freedoms and it’s about creativity, and it’s his thoughts, his opinions.  She’s supporting his thought. 
 
MR. CARNEY:  Well, look –
 
Q    And then — but wait a minute.  But also, at the same time, did this White House vet any of the poetry that the poets are delivering tonight before they deliver them?
 
MR. CARNEY:  I don’t know specifically about the vetting process.  The fact is, Mr. Lynn has participated in other events in the past, including the lighting of the Christmas Tree, I believe.  I mean, he’s a Grammy award-winning — multi Grammy-award winning artist.  And he’s been invited to this event about poetry, and partly because of his efforts to bring poetry to audiences that don’t get to experience it.  And we think that’s a positive thing.
 
Q    Can I follow on that?  I mean what – 
 
MR. CARNEY:  If you must.  (Laughter.)
 
Q    Well, somewhat must.  I mean, why would it that someone who has made statements threatening to kill police officers get invited to –
 
MR. CARNEY:  Keith, let me just make clear that we oppose –
 
Q    — is it an appropriate thing for him to be here?
 
MR. CARNEY:  He has spoken out about — very strongly against — as an elected official, as an American and as a father, against those kinds of lyrics.  And he opposes them.  But he does not think that that is the sum total of this particular artist’s work, which has been recognized by a lot of mainstream organizations and fair and balanced organizations like Fox News, which described his music as very positive.
 
Q    Are you sarcastic when you say that?
 
Q    — but I mean, is it then possible that whatever your overriding message — that killing cops is a very serious matter — you can basically say anything as long as your overriding message is positive and get invited to the White House?
 
MR. CARNEY:  I’ve addressed this.  We — the President opposes those kinds of lyrics.  He thinks they’re harmful.  Again, I think that taking that — it’s ironic to pick out those particular lyrics about this particular artist, when in fact, he’s known as a socially conscious hip-hop artist or rapper who has done a lot of good things.  He’s not — you can oppose some of what he’s done and appreciate some of the other things he’s done.
 
Q    Is there concern he’ll get associated with that?
 
MR. CARNEY:  I think that’s all I can say on that.
 
Yes.
 
Q    — as racist?
 

April 2011 labor statistics show unemployment numbers for that month, among the major worker groups, the unemplyment rates for adult men 8.8 percent, adult women 7.9 percent, teenagers 24.9 percent, whites 8 percent, blacks 16.1 percent, Hispanics 11.8 percent, Asians 6.4 percent.

In contrast, to the rising unemployment numbers there were job gains in April 2011 in the service providing sectors of manufactuing and mining.  The report also indicates an increase in the hourly wages for all employees with no non farm job. In April the average hourly wage rose by three cents to $22. 95 an hour.  

The White House is also emphasizing 14 consecutive months of private sector employment growth in the latest unemployment report.   However, Former head of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, Mary Francis Berry wants to know who is getting these private sector jobs as black unemployment continues to be disproportionately higher at 16.1 percent above the overall numbers of 9 percent.

Democratic Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee and Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele agree the death of America’s most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, is a unifying moment. However, Michael Steele says the death of  Bin Laden does not guarantee re-election for President Obama.   Steele says, “There is an underlying politic here that will be reflected in polls that will be coming out in the next few days and weeks.”

According to Gallup Polling, as of April 30, 2011 President Barack Obama’s approval rating stood at 46 percent.

Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher agrees with Steele saying, “It is a great moment in history but it does not guarantee an election.  This was not about an election but, about us tracking down some one who killed us, who killed Americans.”  He asserts people thinking in terms of political guarantees are naive saying, “This should not be looked at through the prism of partisan politics.  There are no guarantees in American politics.”

Political analysts contend anything can happen between now and Election Day, a year and a half away.  Steele feels other strong Presidential election factors will also weigh heavily at the polls like: “the economy, the unemployment and job creation rates and how people feel about the direction of the economy.” 

The State Department issued a travel alert Monday, warning Americans traveling or living abroad to be cautious about anti-American violence in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death.

It began with a tip to the CIA eight months ago about a possible Bin Laden hiding place, and led Sunday to the bold military operation that will go down in U.S. history.

 Osama Bin Laden wasn’t hiding in a cave, but in a Pakistani city of 90,000 called Abbottabad, just north of the Pakistani capital.

Tracking one of the Al Qaeda leader’s trusted couriers, the CIA discovered an acre-large, million-dollar compound with 12 to 18-foot walls that had no telephones but was eight times the size of other homes in the area and just off a major highway.

President Obama gave the order for a small team of U.S. Navy SEALs in Afghanistan to go in Sunday night Pakistan time, even though bin Laden had never once actually been seen in the compound.

ABC has the exclusive look inside the compound.

Osama Bin Laden is dead after being shot in the head by U.S. forces outside of his five year old custom built Pakistan compound rembling a fortress. The facility had minimal windows, no telephone or internet service. The compound is also eight times larger than those in that area with 12 to 18 foot walls with barbed wire at the top. The most wanted man in the world, Bin Laden would also burn trash in efforts to keep his anonimity. Before delivering his national address, President Obama consulted with former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush on the death of Bin Laden, the man who carried out the 9-11 plot against the United States.

The body of Bin Laden is in U.S. custody and Islamic customs and traditions are being observed.