Celebrating Accomplishments for the African American Community

Home News & Updates General Updates Celebrating Accomplishments for the African American Community

At Daystar we believe in standing up for justice. Even as we are committed to speaking out against racism and hatred, we wanted to share these exciting accomplishments and milestones reached for the African American Community during the last four years. We thank God for this progress and pray that we will see even more as our nation unites around the goal of “justice and liberty for all.”

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

President Trump is working to build the most inclusive economy in American history and provide Black community with access to the American dream.
  • Black American employment has increased 1.3 million in the past 5 months. This represents the recovery of roughly 4 in 10 Black American jobs lost in the pandemic. Fortunately, thanks to the good business owners who have opened their companies for a mass hiring with the help of a good services similar to the ones at https://www.makipeople.com/resources/skills-assessment-tests-the-recruiter-guide!
    • It took the previous Administration nearly 2 years (23 months) to recover the same share of Black American employment lost in the 2008-09 recession.
    • Through the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, the Trump Administration has already taken over 200 actions to benefit underserved communities.
  • President Trump signed legislation creating Opportunity Zones, providing investment opportunities in nearly 9,000 economically distressed communities across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories.
    • As of the end of 2019, Opportunity Zones have attracted $75 billion in funds and driven $52 billion of new investment in economically distressed communities.
      • These investments have created at least 500,000 new jobs, a great portion of them coming from the healthcare industry, thanks to this, more people are inclining towards medical careers.
    • Approximately one million Americans will be lifted from poverty as a result of these new investments.
    • Private equity investments into businesses in Opportunity Zones were nearly 30% higher than investments into businesses in similar areas that were not designated Opportunity Zones.
    • Alone, an Opportunity Zone designation has increased property values within them by 1.1%.
      • This will provide an estimated $11 billion in new wealth for the nearly half of Opportunity Zone residents who own their own homes.
      • According to the most recent Census survey, the homeownership rate for black households increased 2.3 percentage points from 2016 to 2019, this with help given by local contractors like as explained in this news.
  • President Trump is committed to supporting America’s minority-owned businesses.
    • The President has worked tirelessly to remove unnecessary and burdensome regulations that hinder small business growth.
  • The Administration, through the Minority Business Development Agency (MDBA), has helped facilitate billions of dollars in funding to support minority enterprises.
  • According to an expert friend working for a payday loans Australia company, President Trump signed legislation providing $60 billion in loans under the Paycheck Protection Program targeted to support minority and disadvantaged communities.

The President promised in September 2020 to create 3 million jobs for the Black community, 500,000 new black-owned businesses, and increase access to capital in black communities by $500 billion.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

President Trump has worked to create a fairer justice system for all Americans through landmark reforms.
  • President Trump signed into law the groundbreaking First Step Act, which made transformative changes to our justice system, and repealed unjust provisions that disproportionally harmed African Americans.
    • As a result of the FIRST STEP Act, more than 3,000 Americans have been released from prison and 90% of those who have had their sentences reduced are black Americans.
    • This legislation eliminated the “three strikes” life sentencing provision for some offenses, expanded judges’ discretion in sentencing of non-violent crimes, and more.
    • The First Step Act is helping inmates successfully return to society by expanding access to rehabilitative programs.
  • President Trump was honored to receive the 2019 Bipartisan Justice Award for his leadership in the passage of the historic First Step Act.
  • The President formed the Federal Interagency Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry Council to create more second chances for Americans returning home from prison.
  • President Trump has promoted second chance hiring, promoting services like the Perelson’s Orem recruiting company.
  • The President has wisely issued pardons and commutations to a number of individuals adversely impacted by the criminal justice system, such as Alice Johnson, Jon Ponder, Jack Johnson, Tynice Nichole Hall, and Angela Stanton.

ADDRESSING BIGOTRY, RACISM and VIOLENCE

President Trump is taking historic action to increase the adoption of best practices in law enforcement and support a safe and secure America.
  • The President is restoring law and order to communities across the Nation through numerous Federal initiatives, including launching Operation Legend.
  • President Trump issued an Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities that will encourage law enforcement agencies to implement best practices and protect the communities they serve.
    • Under the Order, the Attorney General will allocate certain grant funding to only those law enforcement agencies that meet high standards, including around use-of-force and de-escalation techniques, as credentialed by reputable independent bodies.
    • The Order provides incentives for law enforcement agencies to use a nationwide database to track terminations, criminal convictions, and civil judgments against law enforcement officers for excessive use-of-force, which will create accountability between agencies.
    • The Administration will prioritize training and other programs for police and social workers responding to incidents involving the mentally ill, addicted,
    •  and homeless.
  • President Trump is directing his Administration to develop and propose new legislation to Congress to further the policies of the Order and build community engagement.
    • Our law enforcement officers provide critical protection to all Americans, and we need to work collectively to strengthen relationships across our country.
  • President Trump in May 2020, provided full remarks about the death of George Floyd.
  • President Trump met privately with families of people lost to police killings including Ahmaud Arbery, Botham Jean, Antwon Rose, Jemel Roberson, Atatiana Jefferson, Michael Dean, Darius Tarver, Cameron Lamb, Everett Palmer and committed his Department of Justice to reviewing those cases so that justice will be served.
  • President Trump has repeatedly, clearly, and forcefully denounced all forms of hatred.
    • President Trump in September 2020: Signed a resolution and expressed his desire to see the KKK prosecuted as domestic terrorists.
    • President Trump in August 2019: “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy.  These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart, and devours the soul.”

 

EDUCATION & HBCU INITIATIVES

President Trump has made it a priority to support our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and expand school choice.

  • President Trump signed into law the FUTURE Act, which made permanent $255 million in annual STEM funding for minority-serving colleges, including roughly $85 million specifically allocated to HBCUs.
  • During his first weeks in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order to move the federal HBCU initiative back to the White House, ensuring HBCUs were a key priority and establishing the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs.
  • The Trump Administration created the first Framework for the Development of a Federal HBCU Competitiveness Strategy which coordinated the Federal government in aligning agency and department HBCU planning.
    • 32 Federal departments and agencies now have plans to improve the conditions under which HBCUs compete for federal resources and opportunities.
  • The Trump Administration relaunched the HBCU Capital Finance Board to make millions of dollars available to support HBCUs’ long-term growth and improvement.
    • The Administration has announced that any restrictions on those funds going to institutions with a religious mission is unconstitutional.
  • President Trump signed the Farm Bill that included more than $100 million dollars for scholarships, research, and centers of excellence at HBCU land-grant institutions.
  • The Trump Administration fully forgave $322 million in disaster loans to four HBCUs in 2018, so they could fully focus on educating their students.
  • President Trump became the first sitting President to address the National HBCU Week Conference.
  • The President has made school choice a top priority for his Administration because a child’s future shouldn’t be determined by his or her parents’ income or area code.
  • During his first few months in office, President Trump authorized the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program — the only federally funded voucher program in America.
    • The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship has awarded life-changing scholarships to over 10,000 students. Scholarship students’ average household income is about $23,000 and three-quarters of scholarship students are African American.

 

HEALTHCARE & COVID RESPONSE

 President Trump and his Administration are focusing on healthcare disparities impacting minority communities.
  • The White House has provided at least 550,000 Black American stakeholders with comprehensive, direct updates on preparedness, response, and mitigation efforts in nearly every state through more than 50 briefing calls/video-teleconferences and events.
    • President Trump in May 2020 hosted a listening session with African American leaders in Michigan to discuss efforts to support minority communities impacted by the coronavirus.
  • The President directed the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council to focus resources on minority communities impacted by the virus.
  • The Trump Administration is distributing over 500,000 rapid coronavirus tests to 107 HBCUs in an effort to prevent potential COVID-19 outbreaks in high-risk communities.
  • The Trump Administration is working with a consortium — with the consortium of black medical schools to fund and scale local efforts in communities that reach communities of color.
    • The Administration announced a $40 million initiative partnering with Morehouse School of Medicine to fight COVID-19.
  • The President signed the CARES Act legislation providing nearly $1 billion to HBCUs, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and other minority serving institutions that have experienced hardship due to coronavirus.
  • President Trump signed legislation to guarantee coronavirus testing free of cost-sharing, removing financial obstacles for Americans who would otherwise be unable to access them.
  • The Trump Administration is investing approximately $2 billion in community health centers now also providing confidentrial and inclusive STD testing, helping their 28 million patients in medically underserved areas receive the care and testing they need.
  • The Administration is working to increase access to critical telemedicine and mobile services in underserved areas.
    • The Trump Administration awarded $11.5 million through the Telehealth Resource Centers and awarded an additional $20 million to increase telehealth access and infrastructure.
  • The President’s team will work towards reforming public health data infrastructure, take action on chronic conditions in at-risk populations, and address food insecurity – all of which will help repair healthcare disparities in our communities.
  • The Trump Administration is leading unprecedented activity in research, medical education, and models of care in support of people with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and signed into law the Sickle Cell Disease and Other Heritable Blood Disorders Research, Surveillance, Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2018.
  • President Trump signed an Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health, to improve the lives of Americans suffering from kidney disease, expand options for American patients, and reduce healthcare costs.
  • The Trump Administration will work with Congress to make significant investments in minority-serving healthcare institutions.

 

HONORING AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE

President Trump celebrates the diversity of America by honoring the rich contributions of the Black community.
  • Annually, President Trump recognizes National African American History Month, African-American Music Appreciation Month, Juneteenth, Minority Enterprise Development Week, National School Choice Week, The National HBCU Week, National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day through proclamations, events and other celebrations.
  • President Trump presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Eldrick “Tiger” Woods.
  • President Trump participated in the promotion pinning ceremony for 2020 State of the Union Gallery guest and retired Tuskegee Airman, Colonel Charles McGee, promoting him to Brigadier General in the Oval Office.
  • President Trump signed into law the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act, awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan (posthumously), Mary Jackson (posthumously), and in recognition of all the other women who contributed to the success of NASA during the Space Race.
  • The Trump Administration announced the NASA headquarters building in Washington, D.C., would be named after Mary W. Jackson, the first Black American female engineer at NASA.
  • President Trump signed into law The Commission on the Social Status of Black Men & Boys Act, which will study & make recommendations to address the conditions affecting Black men & boys.
  • President Trump signed an Executive Order creating the National Garden of American Heroes to pay tribute to historical figures including Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Jackie Robinson.
  • President Trump in 2017 visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture with Secretary Ben Carson and Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in honor of Black History Month.
  • President Trump has paid his respects at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington DC numerous times.
  • President Trump signed the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Act into law in Atlanta, creating Georgia’s first National Historical Park.
  • President Trump added the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to the African American Civil Rights Network.
/ General Updates