Standing Up for American Goods Around the World.....

[The Straight Story]

Ambassador Ron Kirk's Story: Standing Up for American Goods Around the World

Posted by Ambassador Ron Kirk on February 24, 2011 at 02:19 PM EST

Ed. Note: This post is part of the Celebrating Black History Month series, which highlights African Americans from across the Administration whose work contributes to the President's goals for winning the future.

As United States Trade Representative, I am a member of President Obama's Cabinet and serve as the President's principal trade advisor, negotiator and spokesperson on trade issues. In this role, I have led the office in developing trade policies that are proactive, responsible, and more responsive to American families' interests – recognizing that trade can be a job-creating pillar of economic recovery in the United States and around the world.

My story begins in the south – the segregated south, to be specific. I was born in the year of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, in Austin, Texas – an otherwise progressive city, but still a city that was segregated and lived by the rules of Jim Crow. When I was born, my parents could not vote. And like so many other black families throughout the south at the time, they were faced with literacy tests for “colored people.”

Fast forward a few decades and I was able to go to college, to get a law degree, and to launch and build a successful legal practice. Eventually, I had the privilege of serving as the Texas Secretary of State, appointed by Governor Ann Richards, in the same state that had once forced my parents to pay a poll tax. I went on to become the first African-American mayor of the City of Dallas, Texas. I was elected twice with support from communities of every size, shape, and color. And today I am the first African-American United States Trade Representative, appointed to serve in the Cabinet of the first African-American President of the United States. I credit all of this to my family, the strong guidance and wisdom I received from my parents, both of whom worked incredibly hard to ensure that I had a good education that led to greater opportunities.

This month, as we reflect on how far we have come since the days of slavery and segregation, the best way to honor the leaders who sacrificed to get us here is to redouble our efforts to do more with what we have today. We should focus on the power of families, and consider what each of us can do as parents, neighbors, teachers, mentors, and friends to help support and enrich our youth. Right now we can control our own destinies if we seize the opportunity to educate our children better and prepare them more fully for the jobs of the 21st century.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama told Americans that the future is ours to win – but only if we rise to the challenge. Because countries like China and India have started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They’re investing in research and new technologies in an effort to get a head start on the next big thing. So if Americans are to compete for and win the jobs and industries of the future, we need to out-smart, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world. This international challenge is especially significant for the African-American community, because in educational attainment we are not even keeping pace with our peers in the United States.

In my travels around the world as U.S. Trade Representative, I’ve seen the hunger for a better life that millions of young people have in places like Africa and Asia. And their parents want it for them even more. They are reading, writing, and speaking English at an early age in addition to one or more of their native languages. They are studying science and math and engineering. And they have access to all of the world’s information at the click of a mouse.

So we’ve got to do a better job of educating our children, not just for the sake of African-Americans, but for America. Our country is a symbol of freedom and liberty around the world and “Made in America” is still the most powerful brand in the world. Through educating our children we can be sure that it stays that way and that the United States remains the best place in the world to do business.

Ron Kirk is the United States Trade Representative.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/02/24/ambassador-ron-kirks-story-standing-american-goods-around-world

Nothing about outsourcing causing us to lose jobs, Wall street fraud, all about 'our education sucks and we need to do better'.