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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMorehouse College President: We Got Played
Snip
After meeting with the Trump administration for two days and reviewing Cheddar Bobs executive order on HBCUs, Morehouse College President John Wilson Jr. issued a statement Thursday admitting that over 100 HBCU presidents went to the White House, and all they got was a lousy Instagram photo.
Wilson said that he and other black college heads were excited when they heard Trumps usual hyperbole promising to do more for HBCUs than any other president has done before. After all, President Barack Obama set aside $3 billion for African-American colleges and made them a priority within the Department of Education, so TrumpWilson reasonedwould at least give them $500 million more for this year alone, right? Maybe hed even boost Pell Grants and create an innovation fund! At least hed do something Republican, like offer tax breaks to companies that donate to HBCUs! Those are reasonable expectations, right?
Wrong.
All Trump did was move the HBCU initiative from the Department of Education to the Executive Office of the Presidentpresumably where he uses it as a coaster for his presidential haterade. Aside from that, all the college presidents got was a look at Kellyanne Conways bony knees and a few more frequent-flier miles. In her dual role as White House mascot and secretary of shuck and jive, Omarosa Manigault explained, Thats all we got, bruh.
http://www.theroot.com/morehouse-college-president-we-got-played-1792916254?utm_source=theroot_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT: Statement on HBCU Presidents Visit to White House
I spent the last two days in meetings at the White House and on Capitol Hill. As some of you may know, all HBCU presidents were invited to a dialogue with President Trump and his new administration about support for HBCUs. Most of the 104 HBCU presidents attended, including all presidents from the Georgia-based HBCUs.
Many had high hopes about this meeting. There was much advance chatter about it being historic, and there were many signals from key Trump administration officials that they would surprise HBCUs with favorable treatment. Given my experience in the Obama administration, I knew this would require an extraordinary announcement. Why? Because I knew that President Obama had invested $3 billion more in HBCUs in his first six years than President Bush invested in his final six years. Therefore, since President Trump pledged to do more for HBCUs than any other president has done before, we could have reasonably expected him to get started by announcing at least an additional $500 million to HBCUs
this year! And beside the expectation of new funding, there was advance talk of changes like an aspirational goal of 5 to 10 percent for federal agency funding to HBCUs, a special HBCU innovation fund, large boosts in Pell Grant and Title III funding, and extra tax breaks for those in the private sector who contribute to HBCUs. But, instead of the long-awaited executive order containing or signaling any of those outcomes, the key change is a symbolic shift of the White House HBCU Initiative from the Department of Education to the White House. It is not possible to measure the impact of this gesture anytime soon, if ever.
It should also be noted that, in her luncheon speech to HBCU presidents yesterday, Education Secretary DeVos struck a discordant note when she said of HBCUs, They started from the fact that there were too many students in America who did not have equal access to education. They saw that the system wasn't working, that there was an absence of opportunity, so they took it upon themselves to provide the solution. HBCUs are real pioneers when it comes to school choice.
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In general, the meetings were a troubling beginning to what must be a productive relationship. Trust that the HBCU community will continue to press for the kind of funding that educational excellence and national competitiveness require!
http://www.morehouse.edu/collegestatements/officeofthepresidentstatementonhbcupresidentsvisittowhitehouse.html
nycbos
(6,039 posts)You would think someone who becomes President of a well respected college would figure that out on his own.
Afromania
(2,771 posts)*flat face*
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)dalton99a
(81,599 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)I hope others who get the "photo op snooker" will speak out too.
It's only in this way that people will either understand what they're getting in for, and wear their "I'm With Stupid" shirts to their photo ops, or make goofy faces in the pics, or best of all, refuse the invitation and go to the media and TELL EVERYONE WHY.
LOL Lib
(1,462 posts)She was just so giddy to get a pic of smiling PoC with Drumpf that she would have stood on her head if need be. That pic will stoke the fire of her propaganda machine one day. Vile cretin!
Kittycow
(2,396 posts)does that mean he can erase it all with an Executive Order?
that Propaganda Barbie needed something new to prop her feet on. Maybe it can double as a coaster for Bannon's Scotch bottle.
This is too funny
MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)FDT
Wounded Bear
(58,721 posts)Trump gonna Trump.
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,714 posts)mountain grammy
(26,655 posts)Cattledog
(5,919 posts)thinking they might influence him are fools.
underpants
(182,904 posts)Great source too.
liquid diamond
(1,917 posts)Lifelong Protester
(8,421 posts)matt819
(10,749 posts)What is it with people, continuing to give this dangerous buffoon the benefit of the doubt?
Here are some useful guidelines:
~~ Is your name Trump?
~~ Can he make money off of you?
~~ Are you white?
If the answer is no to any of these questions, he doesn't give a fuck about you.
BumRushDaShow
(129,543 posts)but perhaps not surprising.
And the rudest, most tacky-assed thing was to have that ****** wide-leg kneeling on a (possibly historic/antique) sofa in an "official picture" in the Oval office. It was the insult of all insults and exudes "trash" in every possibly way.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,902 posts)I want to ask to see what rock he's been living under the past couple of years.
heaven05
(18,124 posts)"to get played" I am so tired of hearing people say give this boypotus POS a chance. Give him a chance, he will con you with words of honey hiding the intent of plunging the dagger, and because he's such a fucking coward in the back.
IronLionZion
(45,540 posts)it's amazing that people still believe his promises. Trump has the shittiest reputation.
Caitlyn Jenner was shocked that Trump would throw trans people under the bus too.
You can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbors." - Hillary Clinton (message to Pakistan to stop backing Afganistan terrorists)
forjusticethunders
(1,151 posts)Quayblue
(1,045 posts)Solly Mack
(90,787 posts)Even a reasonable expectation of the good is too high since no good comes from Trump - ever.
He played you. He did, and he did it bigly.
DeVos should be the only clue anyone needs to know that nothing good will ever be a part of education under Trump.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,869 posts)Especially if you represent or are part of a minority group requesting funds or services from this administration. You will be used for a photo-op and either promised something meaningless or just given a souvenir, and then will be sent on your way.
Golden Raisin
(4,614 posts)don't be surprised to wake up with fleas. I would have expected a College President to have done some homework and know better.