Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts tagged as “Michelle Obama”

President Obama Welcomes the Jackie Robinson West All Stars to the White House

By goodblacknews on November 7, 2014
President Barack Obama welcomes the Jackie Robinson West All Stars to the Oval Office
President Barack Obama welcomes the Jackie Robinson West All Stars to the Oval Office, Nov. 6, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 

Yesterday the Jackie Robinson West All Stars — the U.S. champions in this year’s Little League World Series — stopped by the White House for a visit with the President and the First Lady.
Hailing mainly from the South Side of Chicago, Jackie Robinson West captured the world’s attention this summer on their extraordinary run through the Little League World Series. Along with being the first Chicago-area team to make it to the Little League World Series in 31 years, Jackie Robinson West also made history as the first all-black team to win the U.S. title.
Before the world championship game against South Korea, the President tweeted that “we’re all so proud” of the team. Even though South Korea won the final game 8-4, Jackie Robinson West had already secured a special place in the hearts of Americans across the country.
The young players’ victorious run held even more meaning, however, for the city that they came from. Chicago has grabbed headlines nationwide for its increased gun violence and high murder rate, and many of the Jackie Robinson West players come from neighborhoods suffering from this violence as well as disproportionate levels of poverty. But the team’s run this summer helped provide a respite from some of the city’s troubles, with the players’ hard work and upstanding example ultimately bringing hope, inspiration, and unity to their community.

article by David Hudson via whitehouse.gov

President Obama Honors 9/11 Victims a Day After Announcing New Mission Against Terror

By goodblacknews on September 11, 2014

President Obama 9/11/14

WASHINGTON — A day after committing the nation to a new mission against Islamist terrorism, President Barack Obama honored the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, 13 years after four hijacked planes plunged the United States into a decade of war against distant enemies.

Speaking before a giant American flag draped over the part of the Pentagon wall where one of those planes crashed, Mr. Obama said, “Thirteen years after small and hateful minds conspired to break us, American stands tall, and America stands proud.”

He hailed the “9/11 generation” of soldiers who served in the years after the 2001 attacks, and noted that “three months from now, our combat mission in Afghanistan will come to an end.”

For Mr. Obama, the Sept. 11 anniversary lent historic and emotional resonance to his announcement Wednesday night of a new mission against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. But it also carries a somewhat dissonant message: The president has labored to distinguish the expanded fight against ISIS from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The president on Thursday made no mention of ISIS, speaking only of challenges facing the country. But his description of a nation coping with the threat of terrorism seemed entirely relevant to what is happening now. “We carry on because as Americans, we don’t give in to fear — ever,” he said.

In some ways, this anniversary was no different than its 12 predecessors. It was filled with familiar rituals – a moment of silence, the playing of taps by an Army bugler, the assembled families of the victims, many now with children who have grown into adulthood.

Earlier on Thursday, Mr. Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, along with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill, took part in a solemn ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House at 8:46 a.m., when the first plane struck the World Trade Center.

Later in the day, as they do every year, Mr. and Mrs. Obama will take part in a volunteer project. The president will otherwise remain at the White House, having lunch with Mr. Biden and meeting in the afternoon with his new secretary of Health and Human Services, Sylvia Mathews Burwell.

But Mr. Obama is also certain to be immersed in the details of the military campaign against ISIS that he outlined Wednesday night in his speech to the nation. His warning about the challenges to come still hung in the air, even as he marked the anniversary of battles past.

Americans born after Sept. 11, 2001, are now teenagers, Mr. Obama noted, and he said this post-9/11 generation gave him hope that the United States would remain resilient in the face of terrorist threats.

“Generations from now, Americans will fill our parks, our stadiums, our cities,” he said. “Generations from now, Americans will still build towers that reach toward the heavens, still serve in embassies that stand for freedom around the world, still wear the uniform

“Generations from now, no matter the trial, no matter the challenge,” he said, “America will always be America.”

article by Mark Landler via nytimes.com

Happy 16th Birthday, First Daughter Malia Obama

By goodblacknews on July 4, 2014

062414-politics-malia-obama-2014.jpg
Malia Obama turns 16 today, which also is when the U.S. celebrates Independence Day. This first daughter, pictured here during a March trip to China with her mother, grandmother and sister, Sasha, has already begun taking steps toward her independence. She interned on the set of Extant and soon will begin taking driving lessons. Look out world! Here she comes!
article by Joyce Jones via bet.com

The World's Most Powerful Black Women According to Forbes Magazine

By goodblacknews on May 30, 2014
photo michelleobama-1.jpgEvery year Forbes Magazine publishes a guide to the most powerful women in the world. The list consists of 100 women from a wide array of fields, and this year 10 Black women are counted among them. It is, of course, reasonable to ask how the magazine measures power. The answer is rather unclear, but it seems to be a mix of financial stature and social influence. Take a look at the full list here.  Here are the women who made the list:
#8 Michelle Obama
She may not carry the hard power of her husband but there’s arguably no one who makes better use of the world stage. The Harvard grad and former corporate attorney (she was Barack Obama’s boss) actively uses her platform as first lady to fight childhood obesity and promote healthier eating and lifestyles. With approval ratings at 66%, she’s more popular than her husband by far (44%) — likely because she spends more time laughing on TV than running the country. In 2013, Obama announced the Academy Award for Best Picture, mock “mom dancing” with Jimmy Fallon (18 million views on YouTube) and launched an initiative aimed at increasing the number of low-income students who go to college. This year she’s been extremely visible globally, taking a trip to China in March, where she met with her Chinese counterpart and fellow Power Woman Peng Liyuan. photo oprah.jpg#14 Oprah Winfrey
Though she turned 60 in January, Winfrey is still going at a furious pace. She’s been a red carpet staple this past year thanks to a host of nominations for her role in acclaimed historical drama “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” She also appears to have reversed the fortunes of her once-struggling network OWN, which finally became cash-flow positive in 2013. The first quarter of 2014 was the networks most-watched to date, with double-digit growth across all demographics and bragging rights as the fastest growing cable network among women between the ages of 25 and 54. OWN’s success looks set to continue this year, with a much-anticipated reality show about troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan making headlines and producer Tyler Perry set to helm a talk show on the channel. Winfrey was FORBES’ highest-earning celebrity of 2013 (her haul: $77 million); the majority of her net worth still stems from 25 years of her profitable daytime TV show, plus earnings from her Harpo production company, which has a hand in the Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray and Dr. Oz shows. She continues to support educational causes and has spent more than $100 million on the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

photo beyonce.jpg#17 Beyoncé Knowles
Beyonce is a woman who’s had no shortage of big years, but 2013 was one for the record books. The 32-year-old superstar capped off a banner year that included singing for the president, performing at the Super Bowl, and headlining the most profitable tour of the year by shocking the world with a surprise “visual album” in December. The album is iTunes’ fastest-selling album ever, moving 828,773 units in the first three days. She wrapped up the “Mrs. Carter” world tour in the spring, and will hit the road again this summer — this time joined by Mr. Carter, husband Jay Z. The duo topped Forbes list of the highest-earning celebrity couples last year, with Beyonce out-earning the hip-hop mogul by $11 million. The singer is also embracing her role as an icon of women’s empowerment, declaring that “gender equality is a myth” in an essay for The Shriver Report, throwing her weight behind Sheryl Sandberg’s campaign to “Ban Bossy,” and sampling author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED talk, “We should all be feminists,” on her new album. photo ursulaburns.jpg#22 Ursula Burns Chair-CEO, Xerox
The world is headed into a paperless future. And yet in her five years as CEO, Ursula Burns has managed to make Xerox–once only known for its carbon copies–a viable and profitable company. This past year, Burns helped Xerox generate adjusted earnings per share of $1.09, up from $1.02 in 2012, and post $21.4 billion in full-year revenue. She recently told shareholders that she would continue to sharpen the company’s technology-driven, services-led portfolio. Services represents 57% of the company’s total revenue and is expected to grow to two-thirds by 2017. Burns is a Xerox lifer, beginning her career in 1980 as a summer intern. photo joycebanda.jpg#40 Joyce Banda President, Malawi
Malawi’s first female president (and second on the African continent) narrowly won a second term this May after originally assuming office in 2012. However, she ordered that the results of the May elections be nullified and the elections be held in 90 days due to electoral irregularities; spectators say it is a desperate attempt to stay in power. Her time so far has been marred by financial scandals, arrests and prosecutions in her own government. But Banda’s most brazen decisions have been for austerity’s sake. She sold off a $15 million presidential jet, cut her own salary by 30 percent and dismissed her cabinet in the midst of corruption allegations. Her bookkeeping measures have helped lift monetary suspensions from Western donors to Malawi and restore cash injections from the IMF.
photo ngozi.jpg#44 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Minister of Finance, Nigeria
Nigerian economist Okonjo-Iweala didn’t let her failed 2012 bid to become president of the World Bank slow her down. In 2011, she received her second appointment as finance minister of Nigeria. Since then, the country’s GDP has displayed robust growth — 6.87% growth between 2012 and 2013 — especially given the relatively sluggish global recovery. Okonjo-Iweala was key to developing the reform programs that helped stabilize Nigeria’s economy and improve governmental transparency. She has now turned her attention to Nigeria’s 14% unemployment rate. The Harvard- and M.I.T.-trained Okonjo-Iweala spent 21 years as a development economist at the World Bank.
photo ertharin.jpg#45 Ertharin Cousin Executive Director, World Food Programme, United Nations
Cousin has fed 177 million people since taking the helm of world’s largest hunger-fighting organization two years ago. Under Cousin’s leadership WFP increased donations from individuals by 17% last year bringing in $4.3 billion in contributions from 30,000 donors. The funding growth will allow Cousins’ 13,500 strong staff to work in 83 countries this year while focusing on fighting hunger brought on by drought and civil war is Syria, as well as by violent conflicts in South Sudan and the Central African Republic. WFP has airdropped food to support 335,000 people in South Sudan who would otherwise be unreachable because of flooding and security concerns. In 2014 she will launch FoodSECuRE, a program to tackle climate-change-related food insecurity. Looking ahead, Cousin is also focused on transitioning parts of the organization from food aid to food assistance in an attempt to shift from handouts to self-sustenance.
photo ellen.jpg#70 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf President, Liberia
Liberia recently marked ten years of peace and eight years of leadership by Africa’s first female head of state. Johnson-Sirleaf, a Nobel laureate and former World Bank officer, has become an icon since her days fighting against dictators and corruption in Liberia. Today she is ramping up efforts to bring foreign investment to her impoverished nation ($700 GDP per capita and an estimated 64% of its population live below poverty line). The president says her No. 1 priority is infrastructure but is dogged by accusations of corruption, nepotism and failing the nation’s poor.
photo helene.jpg#78 Helene Gayle President-CEO, CARE
When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in November 2013 CARE was on the ground within days providing food, shelter and supplies. Within three months the anti-poverty organization had raised $20 million toward assisting the storm ravaged nation and within six months had helped 300,000 people. Under Gayle’s leadership CARE total program activities budget is $529 million (from 2012) and will complete over 900 projects in 87 countries this year.
photo folorunsho.jpg#96 Folorunsho Alakija
Folorunsho Alakija’s winding path to becoming one of the richest woman in Africa began in London, where she pursued secretarial studies and fashion design as a young woman. After returning to Nigeria to work as an executive secretary, she founded her own tailoring company, Supreme Stitches. With clients such as former first lady Maryam Babandiga, her company quickly rose to prominence among Nigeria’s high society. Her closeness with Babandiga proved even more valuable when the Ministry of Energy approved her oil prospecting license in 1993, granting her a lucrative block in Nigeria’s coastal waters. Famfa Oil, which she controls, now holds a 60% stake in the oil field. It pumps about 200,000 barrels a day. In 2008, she founded The Rose of Sharon Foundation, which works to help widows and orphans. And in 2013, she was appointed the vice chair of Nigeria’s National Heritage Council and Endowment for the Arts.
article via forharriet.com

 
 

First Lady Michelle Obama Reads "The Night Before Christmas" to Kids at the Children's National Medical Center

By goodblacknews on December 16, 2013

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cl3Fu1RdnQ&w=560&h=315]
Michelle Obama Reads To Kids At Children's National Medical CenterAt the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. today, First Lady Michelle Obama read “The Night Before Christmas” to help celebrate the holidays and bring cheer.  Enjoy!
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson