White House LGBT Update: Deep in the Heart of Texas

Earlier this week, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, joined Attorney General Eric Holder in Arlington, Texas to deliver keynote remarks at the White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools & Communities.

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama, delivers keynote remarks along with Attorney General Eric Holder at the White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools and Communities at The University of Texas at Arlington, Tuesday, March 20th, 2012. (Photo courtesy of The University of Texas at Arlington).

In speaking before an audience of over 400 teachers, students, parents, community advocates, law enforcement officers and officials, and elected officials, Valerie described the steps the Obama Administration has taken to ensure safety and security for all our young people – including LGBT students – in our schools and neighborhoods.

As she closed her remarks, Valerie told the story of Tempest Cartwright, a 12th grader from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, who experienced – but was able to overcome – bullying and whose story inspires us to continue to fight for safe schools and communities:

So in closing, I would share one more story from a leader who is here today. Because change doesn’t begin in Washington. Change happens because ordinary people do extraordinary things … people like Tempest Cartwright.

Tempest is from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma – she’s 18 years old. When word first got around her high school that she was gay, she lost friends. Some people stopped talking to her at church. Other students called her hurtful words that no young person should ever hear. For a while, Tempest was depressed. But she refused to let bullies ruin her life. As she put it, “Their attitudes and assumptions need to change, not me. If I don’t help that along, who will?

So today, Tempest is the president of her school’s gay-straight alliance – an alliance that has more than quadrupled its membership since she became involved. It’s not easy. In fact, it is hard. When her organization places posters around the school, they often get torn down. But she and other members keep putting them right back up. And every day, bit by bit, she changes the world around her. As she put it, “When people put me down, it inspires me to stand up.”

Well, young people like Tempest should inspire us all to stand up, and keep standing up, for what is right. To stand up for the safety of our children and neighbors. To stand up for the belief that in America, no one should face bullying, harassment, or violence because of who they are, because that’s not who we are.

Read Valerie’s remarks as prepared for delivery

Since launching the White House LGBT Conferences, we’ve been in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Dallas/Ft. Worth to discuss issues such as Health, Housing and Homelessness, and Safe Schools and Communities. Stay tuned for announcements about future White House LGBT Conferences on issues including HIV/AIDS, Aging, and Families.

Best regards,

Gautam Raghavan
Office of Public Engagement
The White House

In Case You Missed It: White House LGBT Conference on Housing & Homelessness

Earlier this month, hundreds of advocates, community organizers, and interested members of the public came together in Detroit, Michigan for the White House LGBT Conference on Housing & Homelessness to participate in a dialogue with the Obama Administration on these issues. The Conference was hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the Ruth Ellis Center, a Detroit-based center for runaway and homeless LGBT youth.

Secretary for Housing & Urban Development Shaun Donovan delivered keynote remarks at the Conference. In his remarks, Secretary Donovan described the important steps HUD has taken to ensure that all people – including LGBT people – have “a place to call home” and announced that HUD’s new Equal Access rule has gone into effect. Thanks to that rule, no one can be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity when trying to access HUD funded programs or FHA insured mortgages.

Watch archived video of the opening session and Secretary Donovan’s keynote

Two panel sessions followed Secretary Donovan’s remarks: first, a panel of senior leaders that discussed the work being done across the Administration to address housing for LGBT people, and second, a panel of nationally recognized advocates who work directly with runaway and homeless LGBT youth.

Watch archived video of the panel discussions

President Obama Announces New Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy

Last week, President Obama announced the appointment of one of the nation’s leading public health policy experts as the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) – Grant Colfax, M.D., the former Director of the HIV Prevention Section in the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Dr. Colfax will coordinate the continuing efforts of the federal government to reduce the number of HIV infections across the United States. A component of the White House Domestic Policy Council, ONAP emphasizes prevention through wide-ranging education initiatives and helps to coordinate the care and treatment of citizens with HIV/AIDS.

“Grant Colfax will lead my Administration’s continued progress in providing care and treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS,” said President Obama. “Grant’s expertise will be key as we continue to face serious challenges and take bold steps to meet them. I look forward to his leadership in the months and years to come."

Read more about Grant and the Office of National AIDS Policy

The Obamas Fill The White House with Music

By J9 of J9's MusicLife

President Barack Obama has a great appreciation of music.  He has stated that "music is a great source of joy and solace in the midst of difficult days."  During a evening of poetry, music and the spoken word event held at The White House in 2009, Obama summed it up best. . .

"We're here to celebrate the power of words and music to help us appreciate beauty but also to understand pain.  To inspire us to action and to sear us on when we start to lose hope.  To lift us up out of our daily existence, even if it's just for a few moments."

Both the President and First Lady have a wide range of music tastes.  It has been said that artists like Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Earth, Wind, & Fire and even mainstream Rap artists like Lil Wayne and Nas can be found on Barack's iPod while Rihanna, Beyonce, Usher, Robin Thicke, Sara Bareilles, Herbie Hancock, and Anthony David can be found on Michelle's.  Their love for music doesn't stop on their iPods as it has also been reflected in the musical guests they have invited over the years to The White House for several events.


State Dinners

Last month, by the request of the Obamas, Janelle Monae performed during a state dinner to honor South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.  Surprisingly, The Obamas are huge Monae fans and even requested her to perform their favorite song Tightrope.

Others that performed during state dinners were Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and Beyonce are also others that have been asked to perform for state dinner. 


Evening of Poetry, Music and Spoken Word Events

In 2009, Grammy-award winning artist Esperanza Spalding performed for the second time at The White House for "An Evening of Poetry, Music and the Spoken Word"

Also, click here to view her first White House performance earlier that year during a tribute for Stevie Wonder.

For another poetry event, Michelle invited conscious rapper Common who recited some lines amidst piano accompaniment in front of an audience of children and adults.  View his performance here.  Obama states "...a great poem is one that resonates with us and challenges us and teaches us something about ourselves."  Remember the controversy this caused when people like Sarah Palin classified him as a "gangsta rapper" and didn't think his attendance was appropriate? 



To read the rest of the post, click here.

White House Correspondents Dinner: Obama Takes On Trump, Birthers, The Media, And More (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama exercised his revenge Saturday after weeks of attacks from his would-be Republican challenger

Donald Trump, joking that the billionaire businessman could bring change to the White House, transforming it from a stately mansion into a tacky casino with a whirlpool in the garden.

With Trump in attendance, Obama used the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner to mock the reality TV star's presidential ambitions. The president said Trump has shown the acumen of a future president, from firing Gary Busey on a recent episode of "Celebrity Apprentice" to focusing so much time on conspiracy theories about Obama's birthplace.

After a week when Obama released his long-form Hawaii birth certificate, he said Trump could now focus on the serious issues, from whether the moon landing actually happened to "where are Biggie and Tupac?"

But then - Seth Meyer (SNL Comedian) took the stage. Donald Trump served as perhaps Meyers' biggest victim of the night. The comedian taunted him for his potential presidential candidacy, saying, "Donald Trump has said he's running for president as a Republican -- which is surprising because I thought he was running as a joke." He also teased Trump for his involvement with the Miss USA pageant, sneaking in a subtle jab at Sarah Palin: "Donald Trump owns the Miss USA pageant, which is great for Republicans because it will streamline their search for a vice president." Trump, needless to say, did not appear to crack a smile.

While complimenting the First Lady on her dashing looks, Meyers blasted the president for appearing to age quickly over the past two years. "If your hair gets any whiter, the Tea Party is going to endorse it," he quipped. Seizing on Obama's sinking approval ratings, Meyers added, "I'll tell you who could beat you: 2008 Barack Obama. You would have loved him."

Video Courtesy of WorldStarHipHop.com

White House staffers' It Gets Better video

by: Bil Browning

bilerico.com

Several LGBT White House staffers including Greg Millett, Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of National AIDS Policy got together to make an It Gets Better video. President Obama and Vice President have also both done videos to encourage LGBT kids that things do eventually get better.

This is a great entry to the IGB collective of videos. I've met quite a few of the folks featured and for all of the questioning of Obama's commitment to LGBT rights, they are some of the most dedicated advocates we could ask for. They bring LGBT issues to the White House daily.

And they're living proof that it does indeed get better.

In NBC Interview, Bush Calls Kanye's On-Air Insult Worst Moment of Presidency

By Nate Freeman

In anticipation of the Nov. 9 release of his memoir Decision Points, George W. Bush will sit down with Matt Lauer for a prime-time news special this Monday to talk over the experiences relayed in the book. In the excerpts released yesterday in a press release, the NBC anchor grilled the ex-head of state on the memoir's key moments — namely 9/11, the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, etc.

But which of these events — all of them defining disasters of this millennium — does Bush consider the worst moment of his presidency? None, actually! It seems Bush is the latest victim of the cutting disses Kanye West can sneak into his nimble, dexterous flow. The offending quip, of course, was West's assertion, on an NBC Katrina telethon, that "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Bush admits that 'Ye burned him hard.

MATT LAUER:
This from the book. “Five years later I can barely write those words without feeling disgust.” You go on. “I faced a lot of criticism as President. I didn’t like hearing people claim that I lied about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction or cut taxes to benefit the rich. But the suggestion that I was racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all time low.”

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:
Yeah. I still feel that way as you read those words. I felt ‘em when I heard ‘em, felt ‘em when I wrote ‘em and I felt ‘em when I’m listening to ‘em.

Kanye has dealt with the haters before — diss tracks from the Dipset crew, Barack Obama calling him a "jackass" after he interrupted Taylor Swift — but nothing compared to the president calling his insult the lowest point of an eight-year tenure in the Oval Office. What's beef, W.?

Michelle Obama's Fashion Book

Michelle Obama Fashion Book: Mrs O: The Face of Fashion Democracy
by Lynette Holloway
Blackvoices.com

The eclectic élan of first lady Michelle Obama has been written and talked about, but few have dedicated their days and nights to chronicling her every look such as Mary Tomer, founder and contributing editor of the wildly popular web site Mrs-O.org. And Tomer is dedicated, keeping up with the first lady's selection of kicks, earrings, brooches, dresses and pants. Most important, she lists the designers, many of whom were unknown before they were graced by Mrs. O-not to be confused with Jackie O.

Now, in her soon-to-be released book, 'Mrs. O: The Face of Fashion Democracy,' Tomer reveals some of Mrs. O's closely guarded fashion secrets through original photographs, sketches and illustrations. It also highlights glossy images of the first lady and President Barack Obama together on the campaign trail, at the White House and other events. It also shows photos of Sasha and Malia with starlit eyes in the foreground and the background.

"Michelle has great style and we carry great affection for her,'' Tomer, who graduated from Boston University in 2003 with a degree in mathematics.

The 235-hardcover book also features commentary from fashion experts and close-ups of her popular and most talked about outfits, including the red and black Narciso Rodriguez dress she wore on election night, and the teal, v-neck, three-quarter sleeve, sheath dress by Chicago designer Maria Pinto that she wore at the Democratic National Convention. It also features images of brooches, dress patterns, and detailed descriptions of outfits such as the stunning violet cocktail dress with French knot embroidery by designer Jason Wu.

Read the entire story go to: Michelle Obama Fashion Book at Blackvoices.com