Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 8-21-15 Edition

White House News
Video Released Of Black Lives Matter Activists Confronting Hillary Clinton At Campaign Event
President Obama Has Appointed The First Openly Transgender White House Staff Member
Members of Massachusetts chapters of the Black Lives Matter movement met with Democratic presidential candi- date Hillary Clinton after a campaign event on August 11. The three activists, including Julius Jones (pictured) and Daunasia Yancey, accused Clinton of victim blaming and claimed that there always been a 'white problem of violence'. They also questioned her call for ending mass incarceration, because in the 1990s she called for stronger prison sentences and more prisons.
During the meeting she sug- gested that the activists need to have strong policy goals if they want to create real change. She used the women’s right move-
HILLARY CLINTON
ment and the gay rights move- ments as a comparison, but this did not seem to go well.
In the video, captured by GOOD Magazine, activist Julius Jones took issue with what Clinton said.
President Barack Obama has appointed the first openly transgender White House staff member.
Raffi Freedman-Gur- span, a former policy adviser at the National Center for Transgender Equality, will serve as an outreach and re- cruitment director in the White House Office of Presi- dential Personnel.
Community leaders and ad- vocates lauded the adminis- tration's decision and called Freedman-Gurspan a role model, praising her work to empower members of the LGBT community.
This is one of several steps the Obama administration has taken to show support for the LGBT community. Last year, the President signed execu-
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan will serve as an outreach and recruitment director.
tive orders that banned fed- eral contractors from discrim-
inating against employees due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. And in April, the President condemned therapies that tried to "fix" gay and transgender youth and announced the creation of a gender-neutral bathroom in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, home to many White House staffers.
"Raffi Freedman-Gur- span demonstrates the kind of leadership this administra- tion champions," said Va- lerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to the President. "Her commitment to bettering the lives of transgender Ameri- cans, particularly transgender people of color and those in poverty, reflects the values of this administration."
President Obama Signs Executive Order Making Presidential Innovation Fellows Program Permanent
President Obama signed an executive order that makes the Presidential Innovation Fellows Program a permanent part of the Federal government going forward. The program brings executives, entrepre- neurs, technologists, and other innovators into government, and teams them up with Fed- eral employees to improve pro- grams that serve more than 150 million Americans.
The Presidential Innovation Fellows Program is built on four key principles: Recruit the best our nation has to offer; Partner with innovators inside government; deploy proven private sector strategies; focus on some of the Nation’s biggest and most pressing challenges.
The President said, “My hope is this continues to encourage a culture of public service among our innovators, and tech entre-
PRESIDENT OBAMA
preneurs, so that we can keep building a government that’s as modern, as innovative, and as engaging as our incredible tech sector is. To all the Fellows who’ve served so far – thank you. I encourage all Americans with bold ideas to apply. And I can’t wait to see what those fu- ture classes will accomplish on behalf of the American people.”
National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice Makes Statement About South Sudan Peace Agreement
One of the key issues sur- rounding President Obama’s recent visit to Africa, was to en- courage a peace agreement in Sudan. National Security Advi- sor, Susan Rice made this statement on Tuesday.
“The United States welcomes the signing Tuesday by the op- position and other stakehold- ers of the South Sudan peace agreement. However, we are deeply disappointed that the Government of South Sudan under President Kiir yet again squandered the opportu- nity to bring peace to their peo- ple by refusing to sign the agreement. The U.S. deplores this failure of leadership.
The U.S. greatly appreciates the critical role that Intergov- ernmental Authority on Devel- opment (IGAD) leaders are playing in supporting the talks. Their persistence and united approach has brought the par-
SUSAN E. RICE
ties closer to an agreement that can lead them down the path to peace. The United States will continue to support IGAD as it strives to secure the full and final agreement of the Govern- ment of South Sudan within the agreed 15 days. The U.S. calls upon the Government of South Sudan and President Kiir to sign the agreement before IGAD’s deadline without reser- vation or condition.”
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