What is
the Obama administration doing for the African-American
community?
“That’s a
limiting question,” said Michael Blake, deputy associate director
of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and an associate
director for the White House Office of Public
Engagement.
Blake
spoke to about 75 African-American business and community
organization leaders on April 20 to discuss some of the White
House’s new programs. He also heard the audience members’ concerns
that federal initiatives for minorities often don’t play out on the
local level.
The event,
held at FUSE Advertising on the Landing, was one of 1,000 events in
100 cities that Blake will hold to get the word out about these
initiatives and how people can access them.
“This is
showing that you can organize even if you are not present,” Blake
said. “How do you identify people on the ground who do this every
day? My job is to find the local leaders around the
country.”
First,
Blake announced a new website,
“http://www.whitehouse.gov/africanamericans”>www.whitehouse.gov/africanamericans
which lists the federal programs benefiting the black community.
From small-business lending programs to health care, Blake laid out
the “Winning the Future” federal budget 2012. After an hour of
discussion, Blake said he heard a continual theme.
“You have
people who run businesses who are ready,” he said. “All they want
is a chance. They want access to the opportunities. One of the
things I’ll take back is we need to continue to find ways to make
people aware of the opportunities and then concretely make the
connection to the agency who can provide that help.”
To help
entrepreneurs in low-income and minority communities start
businesses and create jobs in inner cities, the federal budget
includes $13 million to continue the U.S. Small Business
Administration’s Emerging Leaders initiative (formerly Emerging
200). Overall, the budget supports $16.5 billion in 7(a) loan
guarantees, helping small businesses operate and expand.
There are
also several initiatives designed to promote entrepreneurship in
underserved areas, he said. The challenge some audience members
expressed was getting those opportunities enforced in
Missouri.
Keith
Turner of Turner Technologies Inc. said he was concerned that the
new SBA programs targeting women will exacerbate a current problem
where the wives of wealthy white business owners apply for the
programs and take away opportunities from minority-owned
businesses.
“We see it
every day,” Turner said.
However,
Blake said from a practical standpoint, “this will lead minority
women to getting access to counsel and capital, which was never
happening.”
Alan
Green, director for the Office of Supplier and Workforce Diversity
within the state Office of Administration, said when Missouri
received the stimulus money for capital projects, few minorities
got to participate.
“How can
we get more access?” Green asked.
“The
challenge in terms of why dollars didn’t get down to minority
businesses like we wanted to,” Blake said, “the states had already
decided where the money would go – which was completely out of our
control.”
He said
the administration could have worked more aggressively to ensure
those dollars were getting to minorities. However, he said people
should not assume that the federal government knows what’s going on
at the state level. Overall, he was asking the leaders in the room
for their help in spreading the information and staying
connected.
“Policy is
about people,” he said. “People need to understand the benefits of
their health care and they need to understand that teachers’ jobs
were saved. It may not be perfect and there is more to do, but all
we are trying to do is help people.”
A Bronx,
New York native, Blake said he feels his position of directing
outreach to the African-American community is a good fit for him
because he grew up in struggle. He said he never takes for granted
that his mother was homeless and his two brothers served
time.
“I can relate to what people are going through, which allows me a
chance to be successful,” he said. “I know what struggle is, and I
know what that feels like. My thing now is that I’m not just
telling you about a program or a theory. I’m telling you because I
know what it’s like to need some help.”
Blake
encouraged people to go to the website, join the listserv, host
events and tell the story. He aims to add one million African
Americans to his listserv.
“If you
have benefited from something this administration has done, tell
the story,” he said.
He invited
individuals to email
“mailto:africanamericans@who.eop.gov”>africanamericans@who.eop.gov
with questions.
