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Race Initiative
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�ST
ONE AMERICA IN TflE 21 CENTURY
The President's Initiative on Race
The New Executive Office Building
Washington. D.C. 20503
202/395-1010
October 23,1997
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM
Judith A. Winston
Executive Director
THRU
Erskine Bowles
Sylvia Mathews
SUBJECT
Your Request for Race Initiative Insert For Speeches
You asked me to write a few paragraphs that could be inserted into your speeches that would
reflect the sharper focus that the Advisory Board and staff have taken in implementing the Race
Initiative in recent weeks. I have attached several paragraphs describing the practical goals and
forward progress ofthe Initiative. I hope this serves the purpose you had in mind.
Attachment
JAW:mab
7
�DRAFT
Race Initiative Insert for the President's Speeches
I have said many times before ~ and it bears repeating - as we approach the beginning of
r
a new millennium, we must, as a country, come to terms with the racial divide that too often
f^
prevents us from living comfortably as One America. The Advisory Board and staff that I have V /
appointed to lead my initiative on Race are working hard --using the vehicles of study, dialogue *
and action -- to ensure that all Americans understand both how important it is to bridge the racial
divide and how to take those first difficult steps toward practical solutions. Steps that we must
take to confront and cast off our own prejudices and stereotyped thinking. A way of thinking
that too often makes another person's race a barrier to recognizing common interests and shared
commitments. Too often we make false assumptions about those who are racially and culturally
different than we ~ about their capacity to act responsibly and work hard for their families and
communities — about their interest in education and eriiployment — and even about their
commitment to America. I have directed the Initiative staff to focus their efforts on several very
specific things that will help all Americans understand what we need to know and do to make
progress on these issues.
First, our initial efforts are sharply focused on education, economic opportunity and
youth involvement. We have assembled a group of demographic experts to develop a fact book
that will be easily accessible to schools, colleges, libraries, the media and the workplace. We
will no longer have to speculate about who we are by r?u;e and gender and ethnicity. We can
easily refer to the most recently available numbers andiprojections. We will also provide
information about the disparities that exist along racial lines in educational levels and economic
prosperity. These facts will form the foundation for constructive conversation and dialogue.
We have begun that dialogue and information sharing with educational leaders from
public schools districts and colleges and universities. For example, the American Council on
Education and the Association of American Colleges & Universities have entered into a
partnership with the Initiative and its goals. They have announced a year-long effort to
encourage every college and university to conduct special programs focusing on race and other
dimensions of diversity in American society. They plan to sponsor many conversations about
race on their campuses. They have provided descriptions ofthe successful programs that work in
their own school communities. Programs that have helped to heal racial divisions. We will be
sharing this valuable information with you through the World Wide Web and other vehicles so
that others looking for guidance can adopt and adapt these promising practices at their own
schools and in their own communities.
At my request, every federal agency has joined in this effort. They have all responded
with great enthusiasm and creativity, and, more importantly, by pledging their resources to tackle
the problems of race in their areas of public service with a special focus on youth involvment.
But this effort, if it is to have meaning and if it is to be lasting, has to go well beyond
what just these people do in the coming year. It has to involve people all across the country, in
�every region, of all generations, who are willing to talk about race and race-related issues. To do
no more than talk, even though that is not always easy, will not be enough. People must be ready
to listen and to try to understand the perspective and experiences of others who are different from
themselves.
What does that mean? It means that people who have never personally experienced bias
or prejudice need to hear about what some people confront everyday, even today in 1997. And
people who are weary from carrying the burden of race must be willing to let down their defenses
and to trust in the good will of others who are searching to understand.
In 1993, the late Arthur Ashe described the continuing struggle against racism as a
struggle "24 hours a day." Twenty-four hours a day. That may surprise you. You may even find
it hard to believe. We need those people who would respond to that type of statement by saying
" I don't understand" or "that wouldn't happen in my community," to take the time to listen and
understand why some African-Americans, Native Americans or Latinos would make that kind of
statement - and mean it - today, 1997.
:]
At the same time, people who have been victims of bias, prejudice, and racism, and who
confront that seemingly never-ending struggle daily, also have to be willing to participate and to
have honest conversations withfriends,neighbors, and even strangers who may reach out to
them in good faith. They need to be willing to believe t W there is common ground among us,
and that there are ties that bind us as One America and that are strong enough to see us through
this difficult journey.
i
And all of us need to know what our collective history has been. Our history has
consequences, consequences that remain with us even today and it is with many of those
consequences that we continue to struggle. We must each make the commitment to become
involved in this great Initiative, to listen, to learn, to participate, and to trust one another.
I am asking you to talk about those struggles and to seek out those common bonds. I am
asking you to take the first step -- to talk about race and race-related issues in your community,
with your co-workers, with your neighbors, with yourfriends.But I also challenge you to seek
out people beyond your usual circle of acquaintances.
Having said that, I recognize that for many of us it is not easy to talk with someone of
another race or even someone of your own race about what can be difficult and sensitive
subjects. For those who feel like victims, it is easy to bei skeptical, impatient, and retreat into
the stagnate world of blame. For those who are not burdened by the issue of race on a daily
basis, it would be easy to sit this one out or to be doubtfUl or defensive.
We have to talk with each other, not at each other. And we have to be willing to learn
from each other. I am asking you to take that first step. Join the conversations, engage in the
problem-solving opportunities and act to make the promise of America real for all of its citizens.
�DRAFT
One America:
The President's Initiative on Race
Direction
The President has used several recent national addresses to call attention to his Initiative on
Race. Those occasions include his remarks to the US Conference of Mayors, the AFL-CIO. the
NAACP, and the anniversary ofthe integration of Little Rock High School.
We know it's going to be hard, and we know we have to do it together. But it is a solemn dutv
owe to our young people.
We have to join hands with all of our children to walk into this era, with excellence in education,
with real economic opportunity, with an unshakable commitment to one America that leaves no
one behind. ... the most important thing is I'm an American. I'm bound together. I'm part of this
country. 1 believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I have an equal chance.
And we know we have to do certain things that are government'policy, but we also know that this
is an affair of the mind and the heart, as well. — from President's NAACP speech
Advisory Board members have recommended to the President that the work of the Initiative
be focused first and foremost on education and economic opportunity. Furthermore, the
board recommended the Initiative pay special attention to America's youth.
Study
At its meeting in September, Advisory Board members heard from experts on demographic
trends, on the gap in public perception about the status of minorities in America and best
methods for promoting discussions that bring people of different races together.
Governor Thomas Kean is working with the Carnegie Corporation on its effort to fund
research into interracial and interethnic youth relations, as part of the board's challenge to
make the Initiative relevant to America's youth.
Dialogue
In his effort to encourage a national dialogue on the issue of race, over the summer the President
met at the White House with white ethnic leaders as well as leaders from national civil
rights organizations.
Advisory Board members have undertaken both individual and group efforts to help the
President stimulate a nation-wide dialogue. The activities in which several members have
participated include:
•
A conversation sponsored by the National Conference that originated in Little Rock, on
the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of Little Rock High School, and was linked by
satellite to several cities around the country - in September; and
�DRAFT
•
The American Council on Education's conference of 1500 educators, during which board
members joined with ACE and the Association of American Colleges and Universities in
calling for educators to sponsor special projects on race and inclusiveness at college
campuses around the country -- in October.
In October, Executive Director Judy Winston participated in the conference of Associated Press
Managing Editors, in which she called on the media to be a resource in fostering racial
harmony and to close the racial divide in their own workplaces.
In November, the President will use a White House conference to bring individuals of diverse
backgrounds, from around the country, together to plan ways to end hate crimes.
December's Presidential Town Hall will provide an opportunity for President Clinton to talk
directly with Americans in the Midwest and across the country about the importance of
uniting across racial and ethnic lines to build one America for the 21st century.
Also in December (??), Advisory Board members (??) will announce thefirstgroup of leaders
who have committed to conduct three activities during 1998 that are designed to increase
the understanding and respect for differences among people of different backgrounds
Solutions/Action
Following the Advisory Board's recommendation that the work of the initiative concentrate on
education and economics, the President in July called for a new, national effort to attract
quality teachers to high-poverty communities by offering scholarships for those who will
commit to teach in such communities for three years.
Addressing both the economics of where people can afford to live as well as the educational
concern of which schools their children attend, the President in September directed the
Department of Housing and Urban Development literally to double its efforts to fight
housing discrimination. HUD will issue $15 million in grants to help almost 70 private, nonprofit housing groups investigate housing discrimination, provide counseling on home buying
and promote fair housing.
Continuing to concentrate on improving economic opportunity, in October SBA Administrator
Aida Alvarez set a goal of $2.5 billion in new lending to Hispanic-owned businesses over the
next three years. The SBA will rely on established Hispanic businesses and civic groups, as
well as on Spanish-language materials to help attract small Hispanic business owners or potential
business owners to SBA's programs.
In (November or December), the Race Initiative will start disseminating, through its web site and
numerous other channels, the first set of practices which have been shown to foster racial
harmony in individual communities. Advisory board members, Cabinet Secretaries, other
Administration officials and local leaders will highlight these practices as steps that can form the
foundation for activities in communities across the country.
�DRAFT-DRAFT-DRAFT
<
October 23, 1997
^ V
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
iiN
\ j
SYLVIA MATHEWS AND JUDY WINSTON
SUBJECT:
\
President's Initiative on Race
1
This memo provides events and announcements that we will make over the next 2 /: months.
Over the past few weeks. Erskine Bowles has convened White House and Race Initiative staff in
an effort to pull together planning and implementation on concrete actions for the President's
Initiative on Race (PIR). As a result, working groups were established to make progress in
accomplishing goals in the following areas: 1) Policy; 2) Recruiting Leaders / Outreach; 3)
Promising Practices; 4) Hard Questions; 5) Dialogue in Communities; 6) Living Report; and 7)
Youth.
After Congress recesses, we would like to meet with you to discuss these goals and activities of
the PIR and the President's Report to the American People. Our meeting with you will'allow
you to provide input on those activities that we have planned and help shape your report.
OCTOBER
Promising Practices: One of the main components ofthe initiative is finding and highlighting
successful efforts that bridge the economic and social separation among the races. Through an
internal vetting system, we will determine the practices that we should highlight. By October 31,
we will place ten promising practices on the White House web site. This placement will be the
start of regular postings whereby promising practices will be added on a weekly basis. By
December 3, we will have at least fifty promising practices.
Cabinet Outreach: Another major part of the PIR effort will be to encourage state and local
officials to engage in their own dialogue and problem-solving sessions. This month, two Cabinet
officials will attend significant events:
North Carolina Racial Reconciliation Conference: On October 27 and 28, the
Governor of North Carolina, James Hunt, Jr., is hosting a conference on racial
reconciliation. The conference originated from a federal program that set aside for
thirteen southern states that experienced church arsons in 1996. On October 27, Attorney
General Reno and Dr. John Hope Franklin will address the conference and highlight the
PIR and the importance of the Justice Department's work to enforce the nation's civil
rights laws, particularly those laws against hate crimes.
"
V
�Secretary Glickman: On October 27, Secretary Glickman will give the keynote address
at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities' (HACU) 11th Annual
Conference in San Antonio, Texas. HACU represents more than 200 accredited colleges
and universities that collectively enroll two out of three Hispanic Americans attending
college in this country. Also, on October 27, Secretary Glickman will address the 11th
Annual Indian Agricultural Symposium hosted by the Intertribal Agriculture Council in
Chandler, Arizona. The Intertribal Agricultural Council is charted by 84 tribes with a
,;
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membership that represents 80 percent of all US acres owned by Indians and Indian
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tribes. We will attempt to place stories in November which describe Secretary
^ ^
Glickman's efforts at Agriculture.
•
NOVEMBER
The White House Conference on Hate Crimes: On November 10, you will be convening the
White House Conference on Hate Crimes. The Office of Public Liaison and the Domestic Policy
Council, which together have primary responsibility for the Conference, are working to bring
together an diverse and inclusive group of Americans to discuss and examine pro-active
solutions to the growing problems of bias motivated crime. You will host a breakfast reception
on the State Floor, then the Conference will move to George Washington University, where you
will deliver remarks and host a panel with the Vice President and several members of the
Cabinet. Workshops will follow in the afternoon and closing remarks will be given by the
Attorney General, as presently contemplated. We are working closely with the Justice
Department and have developed specific proposals in the area of legislation, law enforcement,
community outreach, data collection and education to be announced at the Conference.
Corporate America: By November 30, we will have organized two regional meetings of
corporate leaders committed to your initiative. By having a Cabinet member host the meeting,
with an Advisory Board member in attendance, business leaders would work together to discuss
the value of a diversity from an economic perspective and share experiences and best practices
from the workplace. Through these meetings we will create a network of leaders who will recruit
other corporate and business leaders. The goal would be to organize a meeting with you in
December of January that would include a cross section of businesses across America
Native Americans & the Arts: The arts are an important way to celebrate our diversity and
learn about racial groups. On November 5, the First Lady will hold a ceremony marking arrival
of the East Garden sculptures by the Native American artists at the White House. The tribal
leaders of all the artists have been invited and other tribal leaders. Earlier on that same day, the
First Lady will tour a Native American woman's weaving exhibit at the Museum for Women and
the Arts in DC.
5
c
�Atthe Table-Type Discussions: At the Table-type discussions will provide a way to engage
Cabinet and Sub-Cabinet appointees, promote dialogue in the communities and generate press on
the topic of race. Also through this effort, local promising practices will be highlighted and
community leaders will be identified. On November 7, we will kick off the effort hosted by the
Cabinet and Sub-Cabinet appointees, much like the effort beginning the first term on women's
issues. For the next
months, Presidential appointees will be encouraged to host these sessions
on their visits throughout the country. The information from the discussions will be compiled
into a report for the President.
Challenge to Youth: By November 15, we will have prepared a letter from you that provides a
call to action to young Americans across the country. Attached to this letter will be a "how to"
action sheet. The letter will be targeted to community leaders, high school and college leaders
and youth organizations. As part of this effort, we would like to conduct a White House briefing
for members ofthe media who target young people through their magazines, radio stations
and/or newspapers (i.e.. Rolling Stone Magazine, Latina Essence, Ebony, VIBE, MTV, VH1,
Univision, BET Teen Summit, Latina, Vanidades, Modema, "A," Flip, Source, etc.) Further,
during the week the letter is released, we recommend that you dedicate your radio address to
your call to action to youth. We will use extra measures to ensure that college, hip-hop, and
specialty radio stations are targeted for the radio address. By the date the youth letter is released,
we wi 1 develop a sub-link to the White House website that will be devoted to young Americans
titled: 'One America: KEEPIN' IT REAL." JAs a follow-up to your challenge, we may
recommend that the Vice-President host arftrn-line Q&A session. We would solicit questions
from the general public. From these questions, we would prepare answers for on-line.
Website: By November 1, new features will be added to the PIR website that will make the site
more dynamic and engaging, especially in ways that educate the public about our work and help
people become actively in the Initiative. Also, this website will provide the Advisory Board
Members with an on-going opportunity to talk directly to the entire American public. One
member will be highlighted each week. After this initial period, Board Members will be offered
the opportunity to post short letters updating the work and experiences they have had working on
the Board. Also, we will add a "Face of America" feature, where we will post concrete, factual
information (such as demographic data and research attitudes on race) that our Policy Planning
and Research Division believes is important to our education outreach efforts. The information
will be updated weekly. A calendar that highlights up-coming Initiative-related events also will
be added to the website.
Secretary Babbitt: Secretary Babbitt will serve as Chair ofthe National Congress of American
Indians (NCAI) that is being held in Santa Fe, New Mexico November 16-21, 1997. The NCA1
is the largest and most representative Native American gathering of Indian organizations in the
country. Over 2000 people will attend, including elected tribal leaders, tribal delegates and
federal officials. Members ofthe Advisory Board and Initiative staff, including Laura Harris,
senior adviser to the PIR will also participate.
�'V
DECEMBER
'^j
6th Grade Mentoring Initiative: The NEC has undertaken a lengthy policy process, and
recently held a principals meeting, on an initiative to reach out to low-income children by the
seventh grade in order to (1) make them aware of financial aid for college, and (2) provide
intensive and sustained mentoring and academic support through high school graduation. At a
recent principals meeting, there was general support for the concept of pursuing these goals
through strong partnerships between colleges and high-poverty schools. Consultations with the
education community have begun, and a decision memo will be finalized soon. An
announcement could be made at the December 3 town meeting or in the State of the Union. The
timing for this is flexible (November or December):
Hispanic Education Action Plan: At your request, the NEC has developed an action plan to
improve educational opportunities for Hispanic Americans (or limited-English proficient
students generally). The current draft plan, based on input from the Hispanic Caucus and
constituency groups, includes a number of administrative actions that agencies will take, as well
as possible targeted investments. The plan would be released along with a report from a panel of
researchers that were named by Secretary Riley last year to look into the Hispanic dropout
problem.
Town Hall Meeting: On December 3, you will host a town hall meeting. By October --, you
will receive a memo providing options for the location and YOUTH theme ofthe town hall
meeting. Generally speaking, this town hall meeting will be set up as a model meeting so that it
may be replicated throughout the country. Among other things, it will highlight and emphasize
what is working in the community where the meeting takes place.
Health Disparities: This proposal will address racial disparities in six carefully selected areas:
infant mortality, breast and cervical cancer, heart disease and stroke, diabetes, AIDS, and
immunization. The proposal will include nationwide measures on each of the six health
conditions to go onto effect in the next two years, as well as intensive five-year pilot projects in
thirty communities focused on one or another of the six conditions (say, a project on diabetes on
an Indian reservation or a project on AIDS in an inner city). The stated aim of the proposal will
be to eliminate racial disparities in these six areas by 2010.
Fact Book: By December 3, we will have drafted a fact book that will provide positive and
negative statistics to serve as a baseline for understanding race issues in America.
Indexed Savings Bonds: Treasury will have prepared a new series of inflation-indexed savings
bonds in January. The savings bonds will feature figures representing the diversity of America
and of American values (e.g., Martin Luther King, Jr., Marion Anderson, Hector Garcia). These
portraits will mark the first time that a minority portraits appear on US currency.
•v
�Interior Discussions: Beginning in December 1997, Interior will be convening the first of six
panel discussions in targeted locations that willfocuson the role race has played in our history,
its influence on our cultural heritage, and DOI's role in educating the public about the nation's
history in addressing race relations in the National Park. System and the many other natural
resources, tribal and cultural heritage challenges that the DOIfindsin its trust.
�MEMORANDUM FOR ANN LEWIS
From:
Stacie Spector
Subject:
The President's Initiative on Race - Town Hall options
To be held: December 3, 1997
Attached are 3 possible scenarios for the 1st Town Hall to be held in the Midwest.
Idea#l - Youth
Idea #2 - Youth and Service
Idea #3 - Engaging Youth
These have been created by members of the Dialogue in Communities, Communications, and
Youth working groups. Please let us know if you need any additional information.
�The President's Initiative on Race - Overview
Town Hall December 3rd, Somewhere in the Heartland
The items on this cover sheet are applicable to all ideas for the town hall. This is the framework
for each, and the idea specific formats can fit in as decisions are made.
Goal: To design a town hall that addresses the issue of race relations, the importance and the
concerns of the American people, and develop actions that will help break down stereotypes and
improve relations between all Americans of all ages.
Moderator for Town Hall:
We recommend that a moderator be chosen from within the community, such as:
•
A local leader, elected official, or opinion leader.
•
A local well known Professor or teacher who teaches on these issues or related subjects.
•
A well known historian or respected national activist who works/studies in this area.
Audience: With both ideas the audience will be very diverse, with representation from many
races. At least half of the audience will be people who participated in the service project or
youth activity and other promising practices. In addition we will include:
community leaders/constituency group members
•
religious leaders and their recommendations
•
local elected officials, local opinion leaders
•
PIR Advisory Council and talkers
•
College Presidents, School Superintendants
•
authors who have written on their life experience growing up
Format of the Town Hall Program:
Diverse youth of all ages
participants in a local promising practice
Local educators and other VIP's
Americorps representatives
Teachers of all grades and institutions
as an American and of a minority race
3 possible options follow this cover sheet.
Video Inserts: This is an optional tool that we could use to "set up" each of the segments of the
town hall. Begin each segment with a short 1-2 minute video with clips of real Americans
talking on this topic, their experience/story, and perspective on the issue of race relations and
stereotypes.
For Television at end of town hall: At the end of the town hall we could flash a one frame
message with 5 basic ideas for how each individual can help improve race relations in America
(to reinforce the President's Call to Action.)
Parting gifts: We could give the in house audience something to walk away with. We need an
item that reinforces their experience and would remind them of their commitment to carry this
message back to their community. A few simple thoughts:
A gold lapel pin of an outreached hand inscribed with the President's Initiative on Race.
A t-shirt that says "One America: Working together" w/ the President's Initiative on Race
Notepads with a same or similar message, so when they write notes the message is always there
Pencils or pens that have the President's Initiative on Race on them and the theme
A memento that is a symbol of the location/or of the project with the PIR on it
The purpose of the item is to be something that helps to carry the message even if lost and and
someone else finds it. (Of course, we would need a corporate sponsor to donate these.)
�Draft-- Idea#l - Youth
Goal: A town hall to address why this topic is important, beginning with children of ages 13-21. We
could identify activities from promising practices that children and youth in the community have
participated in and discuss their experiences and how we can learn from them.
Possible names of the Town Hall: One America: One Future (or) One America: Learning Together
What is the Activity: We propose identifying several classrooms of kids who have participated in group
activities that were designed to make them more aware of prejudice and race relations. We would work
with an ongoing program, i.e. ADL's A World Of Difference, to highlight activities that they have
conducted on these issues. Types of activities could include:
1) asking the kids to sit with new people -of a different race - in class
2) pair up for an in the classroom assignment with someone they do not normally talk to
3) asking someone of a different race to join them for a social event
4) ask a person of a different race to have lunch or coffee or go for a walk or to see a movie
Format: The town hall is 1 Vi hours long. Again, to ensure message management and focus we
recommend that the message of the town hall be shaped in 3 - 30 minute segments:
1.
Their Experience: How did you feel before the activity? How did you think about people from
different backgrounds before the activity? What was the activity like for you? Was it difficult, why?, was
it fun - why? Are their people like Jimmy (a hispanic young man) in your neighborhood? Why do you
think this was important? What do you think some of the issues are?
2.
Lessons Learned: Did you feel that you and the new friends would stick together? Once you met
them, did you feel more comfortable? Was it more natural to work with them and rely on them? Why was
this important? Why do you think it was difficult? What did you learn from this experience? What are
some of the stereotypes that existed before the activity and have any of those changed? What are some of
the possible solutions?
3.
What's Next:
President issues a call to action for individuals: introduce yourself and talk with someone of a different
race and get to know them. The President could suggest 5 simple, but not easy, things that each individual
watching or participating could do personally. In addition, he could challenge local communities through
their schools to continue the dialogue in their school districts.
Video Inserts: Show a few powerful clips from the activity of kids of all ages playing, lunching,
socializing, working, and learning together.
�Draft ~ Idea #2 ~ Youth and Service
Goal: To create a Town Hall for the President to conduct a dialogue with Americans on the
issue of race. To provide a focus for the dialogue i.e. Youth would participate in a service event
and be asked to participate in the town hall to examine stereotypes, difficulties and lessons
learned while working with people of different races that they did not know.
Possible names ofthe Town Hall:
*
One America: One Future
*
One America: Growing Together
*
One America: Learning Together
What is the Service Project: a local community project would take place the weekend before
the town hall. Local Americorps groups could work with a group of kids between the ages of 1321 with other community service organizations to help organize this. Projects could be a
playground build for kids, a park clean up, a community center build project, etc. The date falls
on the weekend after Thanksgiving ~ which is a nice theme of giving thanks to their local
community by participating in a service project that gives back to the community.
Format of the Town Hall Program:
Our assumption is that the Town Hall program will be approximately 1 '/z hours. For message
management and to ensure constructive outcomes, the town hall could be developed in 3
segments, in the case of a 1 '/z hour discussion, 3-sets of 30 minute increments focusing on:
1.
The American Identity: What were you thinking this was going to be like before you
came? What stereotypes existed in your thinking and how you think about others? How did
you describe it to other people (family and friends)? What do you think some of the critical
issues are?
2.
Lessons Learned: What was difficult about this? What was it like to work along side
others of different races? Were you fearful about what to expect, how did it challenge what you
thought before you got there? How would you talk about this now with your friends and family?
What did you learn? What are some of the possible solutions?
3.
Call to Action: Carrying this message back to our local communities. The President
could issue a call to action: asking each individual at the town hall and every person who
watches to extend their hand to another person of a race different from their own. The President
could suggest five simple (though not easy) things people can do. He could challenge local
communities through their schools to continue the dialogue with local town halls and round table
formats encouraging more interaction and communication.
�Idea #3- ENGAGING YOUTH
GOAL: "Keepin'It Real-Talk, Listen, Teach and Do"
To challenge Young America to talk about the tough issues surrounding race, to listen to each other
about how Young Americansfromevery walk of life are addressing race in their daily lives, to teach
each other about the realities of America's racial diversity, and to do byfindingways to solve the
problems that keep usfrombeing One America.
TOWN HALL MEETING FORMAT:
1. TALK AND LISTEN-Shared Eiperiences: Young Americans offer their personal experiences
and anecdotes related to race; this is an opportunity for a group of diverse young people to talk and
listen to one another about their differences and realize their commonalities.
2. TEACH-Ouestion and Answer: The President will provide facts relating to America's racial
diversity and will engage the audience in a Q&A session that provokes a better understanding of how
Young America perceives the issue of race and the challenges we face.
3. DO-Existing Efforts: The President asks for examples of existing efforts made by Young America
to bridge the racial divide. Audience members discuss their efforts, ideas and possible solutions. The
President challenges the viewing audience to build upon "promising practices" (similar to those shared
during town hall) and carry on the dialogue in their own communities across the nation. Upon
conclusion of the meeting, the President would call upon Young Americans to create a project in their
community where people of different races would come together to accomplish one goal (i.e., Urban
Community Clean-ups).
Moderator: A local community leader who is familiar with the audience and Young America.
Audience: The audience would consist of Young Americans who will share their programs, projects,
campaigns, etc. that are creatively working to bring people together in their communities. Audience
members would include high school and college students; young professionals; young parents; new
immigrants; young community leaders; AmeriCorps volunteers; young religious leaders.
Video Inserts: Insert into discussion, short vignettesfromcelebrities and Young Americans that share
experiences and highlight existing efforts.
REASONS FOR ENGAGING YOUTH:
1. To provide a town hall meeting that engages and targets Young America (ages 13-25) in the
dialogue on race because at these ages people learn, formulate and develop their beliefs.
2. To highlight the existing efforts of Young America that address issues of racial diversity.
3. To communicate a challenge to Young America that enlists them in the efforts tofindnew and
creative ways to bring people together with the hope of becoming One America in the 21st Century.
�CITIES FOR RACE TOWN HALL
(in order of preference)
Akron. Ohio
Demographics:
73.8% White, 24.5% Black, 1.2% Asian, 0.7% Hispanic
Local Electeds:
Gov. George Voinovich (R), Mayor Donald Plusquellic
(D), Rep. Tom Sawyer (D), Sen. John Glenn (D), Sen.
Mike DeWine
University:
Kent State UniversityAJniversity of Akron
Media Markets:
Akron and Cleveland
POTUS Travel:
No Record
Chamapign-Urbana. Illinois
Demographics:
80.7% White, 14.2% Black, 4.%1 Asian, 1.9% Hispanic
Local Electeds:
Gov. Jim Edgar (R), Mayor McCollum (NP), Rep.
Tom Ewing (R), Sen. Mosely-Braun (D), Sen. Durbin (D)
University:
University of Illinois
Media Markets:
Tri-city area with.J?ecatur and Springfield
POTUS Travel:
No Record
Kansas City, Kansas
Demographics:
65% White, 29.3% Black, 3.8% Asian, 7.1% Hispanic
Local Electeds:
Gov. Bill Graves (R), Mayor Carol Marinovich (D), Rep.
Vince Snowbarger (R), Sen. Pat Robets (R), Sen. Sam
Brownback (R)
Media Markets:
Kansas City (KS and MO)
University:
Donnelly College/KC Community College
POTUS Travel:
No Record
�Lansing. Michigan
Demographics:
73.9% White, 18.5% Black, 1.8% Asian, 7.9% Hispanic
Local Electeds:
Mayor David Hollister (N/A), Gov. John Engler (R), Rep.
Debbie Stabeow (D), Sen. Carl Levin (D), Sen.Spencer
Abraham (R)
Media Market:
n/a
University:
Michigan State University
POTUS Travel:
n/a
�THE WHITE HOUSE
WASH INGTON
Octobers, 1997
MEMORANDUM FOR ERSKINE BOWLES
SYLVIA MATHEWS
PAUL BEGALA
RAHM EMANUEL
MICHAEL WALDMAN
FROM:
SIDNEY BLUMEN
SUBJECT:
THE RACE INITIATIVE
No President in recent times has displayed a more instinctive and surer grasp of the race
issue, and the public grants the President a special standing on it. If the Race Initiative founders
(as the headline in the Washington Post of October 5 put it), the President will receive an
additional portion of blame, precisely because of his presumed skill in navigating the complexities
of the issue. After the President has done so much to settle race as a wedge issue exploited by the
Republicans, it would be tragic to have it revived by a Race Initiative that was created to achieve
positive results.
The Race Initiative is more than well-intentioned and worthy of the hard work of its
participants. It has already reinvigorated many within the federal agencies and departments,
inspiriting them with new energy and giving them a focus for programs that were previously
languishing in obscurity. If it does nothing else, awakening a sense of vitality within the
govemment (particularly among its many minority members) and projecting the effectiveness of
govemment itself through discussing "promising practices" (reinvention, indeed!) would be
admirable achievements. But the internal benefits wrought by the initiative may fade if its public
role is not more sharply defined and directed.
The initiative's problems, present and potential, cannot be resolved by redoubled efforts at
managerial organization, the proliferation of committees or more draft outlines; nor can the
initiative resolve its predicament through collegial team spirit, however essential that is to any
effort, or the rededication of inter-agency cooperation.
The Race Initiative, as constituted, is both too broad and too narrow. According to the
�Draft Work Plan offirstquarter activities, the mission is as follows: "To build one American
community which celebrates our differences yet is united by our shared values." This states the
mission as all-inclusive and all-encompassing. Yet the activities ofthe initiative so far are to
commission certain social science studies, plan for town halls and sketch an outline for a report
whose content remains to befilled.The initiative asserts the need for overarching concepts, but
without declaring them; it claims it will be the fount of legislation for the next decade, but without
an agenda. Between the vast generalities and the verbal service to undesignated specifics lies a
vacuum into which the initiative can easily drift. If it is sucked in, the initiative will likely discover
that it has been transformed into a shock-troop defensive unit on affirmative action, though it is
poorlyfitto serve as that sort of political operation. When this inadvertent function becomes
apparent the initiative can be stigmatized as about nothing but affirmative action. Whatever its
subsequent contributions, they may be overshadowed.
The initiative's point must be clear, easily grasped and capable of accomplishment. The
purpose of the initiative should be to gain support for a national consensus around the President's
goals. The President's program should be organized around the following areas, all of which were
articulated but not fleshed out in the Little Rock speech:
1.
Acting swiftly and effectively on issues of discrimination, issues that can be
addressed through the legal process, such as employment and housing. (The President's
announcement at the last meeting of the Race Commission of $15 million more in funding to act
on housing discrimination is an example.)
2.
Acting on a short, medium and long-term basis on the separation, exclusion and
isolation of,firstand foremost, the underclassfromthe middle class; blacksfromwhites; and the
mutual isolation of racial and ethnic groupsfromeach other. These problems require a multi-issue
approach, principally focused on education and economics, but also including transportation,
crime and the enforcement of paternal responsibility, as well as suasion to reduce inter-group
suspicion. These steps involve concrete policies and positive action on all sides to bring every
citizen into a common American life. The chief values to be emphasized here are equality of
opportunity and shared responsibility-the responsibility of each individual citizen and the nation
as a whole.
3.
Framing the American identity so that its multicultural sources are understood as
intrinsic to, not separatefrom,or outweighing, the whole. It must be stressed that the identity of
the American nation at the beginning of the 21st century is neither the nativist old-stock model
nor the disintegrative identity politics model. Crystallizing the 21st century American identity will
provide the President the solid ground for a new patriotism.
Notes on American Identity: The idea of what it means to be an American can't be
adducedfromfindingmere common denominators, sharing feelings or conference room
psychodrama. There is a history that has placed us at this particular juncture. At the turn of the
20th century, the old-stock American identity was projected by denying the influence on our
�culture of immigrantsfromeastern and central Europe. All true Americans, it was assumed, were
to assimilate to an ideal of Americanism that was homogeneous and therefore pure. "Hyphenated
Americans" were not considered real Americans. Needless to say, this version ran contrary to the
early 19th century vision of the ideal American as described by Crevecoeur as a combination of all
stocks and, as a result, a more universal andfreertype, unknown in previous history. In the early
20th century Randolph Bourne described his hope for a "transnational America" that included the
immigrants, and Horace Kallen (a disciple of John Dewey) coined the term "cultural pluralism."
Only with suburbanization, the advent of the baby boom generation in which a youth culture
superseded ethnic differences among whites and the rise of the civil rights movement was it
possible to pose the contemporary version of the question of American identity. Before then,
whites outside the South simply didn't think of being "white" as much of a meaningful category.
The shattering of the civil rights movement on the reefs of separation and exclusion (but not legal
segregation) in the Northern cities, led not only to afragmentedBlack Power movement but to
that movement's visceral castigation of a honky white monolith. The idea of whites as
"hyphenated Americans" disappeared almost completely. In its place came a parody, not of
"cultural pluralism," or a beatific vision of "transnational America," but of hyphenation, elevated
into identity politics.
Culturally, the two political parties could not be further apart than ever. The Republicans
are fundamentally rooted in an old-stock model of American identity, which appears today not so
much as a claim to the natural order as a form of identity politics itself. (The battle over Bill
Weld's nomination should be understood in part as the implosion of the former Republican
identity. The authority of the Yankee patrician was defeated by the populist/planter manque in a
realignment of cultural archetypes. It will be increasingly difficult for moderate Republicans who
adhere to a New England model of society and social status to maintain their support if their party
rejects their sense of being and place. Unsurprisingly, for thefirsttime, the congressional
delegationfromMassachusetts is all Democratic. This is an augury of what may yet sweep
through Greater New England, that is, the entire Northern tier of states.) For their part, the
Democrats, at worst, descend into afragmentationof identity politics accelerated by interestgroup narrowness, which allows the Republicans to portray them as out ofthe mainstream.
(Remember which mainstream.) The Democrats, at best, represent a common American identity
into which multicultural currents flow as tributaries.
The overwhelming majority of blacks still maintain the ideal of integration, but without
losing the element of black pride. The reality we must acknowledge is not that blacks are the
Other, or a detached minority that must be brought to adjust to the ways of the majority, like a
benighted colonial enclave. Blacks, as the astute black writer Albert Murray, described them, are
"omni-Americans." As James Baldwin wrote in his famous essay, his travels abroad and then
returns home disabused him of any self-imposed illusion that he was anything but American to his
marrow. By the same measure, there can be no such thing as a "white" American in the sense that
there is a "white" European, because to be an American means to possess a culturally mingled and
fused background.
�The real problem of blacks in the new American nation is that the black-white template is
becoming a subset of the multicultural template. Hispanics will surpass blacks in number; Asians
are vaulting upward in social mobility. And identity poUtics itself is crumbling, for now at an
intellectual level, but soon tofilterthrough the society. David Hollinger, a historian at Berkeley, in
his 1995 book, Postethnic America, locates this shift: "Ethno-racial distinctions remain
involuntary as they serve to identify people who need protectionfromdiscrimination....A truly
postethnic America would be one in which the ethno-racial component in identity would loom
less large than it now does in politics as well as culture, and in which affiliation by shared descent
would be more voluntary than prescribed in every context." Nathan Glazer, the former
neoconservative sociologist at Harvard, in his new book. We Are AllMulticulturalists Now,
endorses Hollinger's "postethnic" ideal, while acknowledging its difficulty for blacks. Still, he
writes: "Let us have respect for identity in the context of a common culture, but let us avoid the
fixing of lines of division on ethnic and racial bases. Let us accept the reality of exitfroman
ethnic-racial-religious group, as well as therightof differential attachment, as a common
American way, and let us agree that ethnic and racial affiliation should be as voluntary as religious
affiliation, and of as little concern to the state and public authority. Let us understand that more
and more Americans want to be Americans simply, and nothing more, and let us celebrate that
choice, and agree it would be better for America if more of us accepted that identity as our central
one, as against ethnic and racial identities."
Two questions that have gained the most publicity in connection with the initiative should
be quickly settled. The initiative should befreedfromthe politically immediate and pointlessly
symbolic in order to focus on the important. The issues that should be cut offfromthe initiative
are:
1.
Affirmative action. The initiative is an awkwardly constructed vehicle to manage
an urgent political issue, particularly affirmative action. As a political matter, affirmative action
cannot be reasonably defended solely on racial grounds, but must include a strong representation
of women's interest. Over the next 13 months, until the election of 1998, the Republicanrightwill
be trying tofindways to use affirmative action as its cutting-edge racial issue. What is demanded
is a strong political and media operation. The matter should immediately be ceded to the
Domestic Policy Council and to the political shop to begin to organize.
2.
Apology for slavery and reparations. The danger to the initiative can be seen in the
unproductive and negative response to the notion of an apology and reparations. Even after the
last meeting ofthe commission, much of the reportage was directed at this question. If, in regards
to the initiative, the affirmative action issue is a problem of appropriate political technology, this
one is concerned completely with symbolism. Yet the demands for an apology and for reparations
are misguided and, whatever the good intentions behind them, can only damage efforts at
reconciliation and reconstruction. The apology would strike a false note, not least because it is a
redundancy and an anachronism. Rather than serving as a demonstration of caring and
understanding, it would act as a divisive flash point, especially for Northern Catholics, who feel
no historical burden, and would provide an incentive for the therapeutic politics of victimization.
�There is no historical justification for President Clinton to offer an apology for slavery in 1997
when President Lincoln made a statement of contrition to the Lord Almighty in 1865. Those
words, in his Second Inaugural, are engraved in the marble of the Lincoln Memorial. In brief, the
apology, far more eloquent than any starkly forced "apology," was delivered at the time. The
reparation question is a primitive reiteration and distortion of the policy of the first
Reconstruction-forty acres and a mule. If offered today, it would be arisiblesubstitute for a
complex policy approach needed to deal with the contemporary problem of separation. The way
for the President to put this entire question to rest is to put it into perspective. If the President
ever did decide to deliver such a statement, perhaps to the next commission meeting, it would, in
fact, be useful in establishing the tasks and boundaries of the initiative. During the Civil War, he
might say, Lincoln addressed the issue of national guilt and culpability. Quote the Second
Inaugural. Afterwards, during thefirstReconstruction, reparations in the form offered by the
Freedmen's Bureau was truncated by the reaction. In the wake of its failure, the Jim Crow system
of segregation was regularized. Breaking its bonds required a second Reconstruction,
spearheaded by the civilrightsmovement. Standards of legal equality replaced segregation. But
segregation has been replaced by economic and social separation. Those are the new bonds that
must be broken. Hence, the initiative has been created to summon a consensus for modem
solutions.
Finally, the commission shouldfileits report in December 1998 and go out of existence. It
should leave no lasting bureaucratic entity or else it willriskbecoming a de facto miniDepartment of Race. If it has done its work, a new momentum will have been established within
the Administration, in all the departments and agencies, to advance the President's objectives. The
initiative will then be acclaimed as one of the great successes of the Clinton era.
�Edley draft, 10/5/97
I.
T H E PRESIDENT'S REPORT TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
3 AcbW"
#
CONTENT
1.
2.
3.
5.
6.
7.
•
•
PROCESS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Introduction & Summary
Report Card
a)
demographics
b)
disparities
c)
discrimination
d)
race relations J/A
Policy & Race
a)
effects nf public pnljdes^nn racial justice and the "report card"
b)
effects of race on public and private policy & discourse
Vision — Clinton's Vision and Why it is Preferable to Others
Wrestling Lessons — Modeling Constructive Engagement on Hard '
Questions
tfPromising Practices — Poolic & Private
Call to Community, Challenge to Leadership
Back-up volume of essays, speeches and reports.
Use backward mapping to set tasks for WH and Initiative staffs
Close and confidential; deliberative and collegial
confidential core group - the number you want in the Oval Office
confidential drafting team
inner and outer circles of friendly consultants/advisers
inner and outer circles for vetting
involve the Vice President
hard issues go to POTUS, with advice; not mushed to death, by staff
TIMING:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Outline to POTUS each month from core group, progressively more
detailed as to themes, etc.
Monthly meetings with POTUS to review outline, and to upcoming events
First outline to POTUS by October 30 ?
Use outline process I combination with speeches to develop themes and
bold concepts (which may or may not involve policy)
th
�OUTREACH PLAN
OBJECTIVE:
Obtain input from and communicate with a broad range of individuals and organizations
regarding the President's Initiative on Race, with respect to specific issues as developed by the
working groups as well as the progress of the Initiative.
WORK PLAN:
A.
Engage Corporate America in the Initiative
1. With Bob Thomas as the lead, utilize those who have volunteered such as Weldon
Latham, Bob Johnson, Robert Haas, Sam Fried and others to recruit other business leaders.
2. Identify appropriate activities or meetings for these corporate leaders that would result
in corporate CEO's taking a leadership role on the issue of diversity and race.
3. Encourage CEO's to help articulate rationale for value of diversity in economy and
workplace.
4. Identify and promote promising corporate practices that foster diversity,
B.
Obtain Broad Input Necessary for Policy Development of Appropriate Presidential
Response to Hopwood and Prop. 209
1. Obtain input from those members of the Administration with higher education
management experience regarding affirmative action in higher education.
2. Identify a group of individuals within the higher education community who would
provide a broad range of views regarding importance of diversity and how to achieve it in higher
education.
3. Identify individuals within traditional civil rights organizations who would provide
thoughtful views regarding diversity and higher education.
4. Arrange series of meetings with above individuals over next two months to obtain
input and views.
C.
Engage Conservatives/Republicans in President's Initiative
1. Identify Conservatives/Republicans with history of commitment to diversity and
inclusion.
2. Utilize Gov. Keane, other Republicans friendly to Administration and members of
Administration to make calls and convene meetings for discussion.
3. Identify venues and opportunities to highlight participation of
conservatives/Republicans in Initiative.
D.
Communicate Regularly with Key Validators
1. Identify key organizations that media routinely turn to for reaction to Initiative and
make regular calls/schedule occasional meetings to get input and feedback.
2. Provide talking points on progress of Initiative to key validators.
E.
Support Effort to Recruit Leadership
1. Identify key organizations in each sector listed in the Recruiting Leadership work plan
�for continued input and communication purposes.
2. Coordinate travel of Advisory Board members so as to broaden and expand the scope
of our public outreach.
3. Suggest opportunities for Cabinet members and other Senior Administration personnel
to expand scope of public outreach and communicating message of Initiative.
�Working Groups for the President's Initiative on Race
A. Goal-related
1. Hard Questions: Chris Edley, Judith Winston
Group members:
Paul Begala, Sidney Blumenthal, Terry Edmonds, Elena Kagan, Ann
Lewis, Sylvia Mathews, Peter Rundlet, and Michael Waldman
2. Living Report: Chris Edley, Judith Winston
Group members:
Paul Begala, Sidney Blumenthal, Elena Kagan, Lin Liu, Sylvia
Mathews, Peter Rundlet, and Michael Waldman
3. Policy/Enforcement: Elena Kagan, Lin Liu, Gene Sperling
Group members:
Jose Cerda, Michele Cavataio, Dawn Chirwa, Chris Edley, Thomas
Freedman, Kordeman, Emil Parker, and Peter Rundlet
4. Recruiting Leaders/Outreach: Maria Echaveste, Mickey Ibarra, Michael Wenger
Group members:
Ben Johnson, Lynn Cutler, Andrew Mayock, Janet Murguia, and
Tracey Thornton
5. Promising Practices: Susan Liss, Lin Liu
Group members:
David Campt, Michele Cavataio, Counsel intern, Lynn Cutler, Tom
Janenda, Kevin Moran, Peter Rundlet, Michael Sorrell, and Ann
Walker
6. Dialogue in Communities: Ann Lewis, Michael Wenger
Group members:
Beverly Barnes, Paul Begala, Sidney Blumenthal, Jacinta Ma, and
Nelson Reyneri
7. Youth: Minyon Moore, Michael Sorrell
Group members:
Elizabeth Harrington, Jon Jennings, Chris Lavery, Andrew Mayock,
Alison McLaurin, Kevin Moran, Rob Nelson, Mona Pasquil,
Angelique Pirozzi, Chandler Spaulding, Ilia Velez, Ann Walker, and
Cecily Williams
B. Process-oriented
8. Cabinet Affairs: Goody Marshall, Michele Cavataio
Group members:
David Beaubaire, Bibb Hubbard, Jon Jennings, and Andrew Mayock
9. Advisory Board: Minyon Moore, Judith Winston
Group members:
Maria Echaveste, Chris Edley, Claire Gonzales, and Michael Wenger
10. Communications/Press: Ann Lewis, Claire Gonzales
Group members:
Beverly Barnes, David Beaubaire, Ben Johnson, Estella Mendoza, and
Nelson Reyneri
�Goals:
•
Develop and announce concrete policies and actions related to the race initiative, focusing
on education and economic opportunity, but also including crime, health care, and civil
rights enforcement
Process:
•
Holdregularmeetings in areas of education, economic opportunity, health, crime, and
civil rights enforcement to continue developing policy proposals, and integrate Race
Initiative staff into these meetings.
•
Ensure that cabinet agencies participate in these meetings as appropriate and that the
agencies inform DPC, NEC, and Race Initiative staff of new ideas or announcements
relating to the race initiative.
•
Identify opportunities to announce policies relating to the race initiative.
Develop a mechanism for communicating with the members of the Advisory Board to
inform them of our policy proposals and work to gain their support.
Eipducts
See attached document for policy proposals currently under development.
Respurcss
•
Budget commitments as noted on attached document
�Education
•
Teaching Initiative - Previously announced proposal to prepare and recruit teachers for
high-poverty urban and rural communities.
•
Urban Education Initiative - Select 15-20 urban school districts as Education
Opportunity Zones, which would receive additional monies for implementing a program
of standards-based school reform, including measures to promote public school choice,
end social promotions,removebad teachers, and reconstitute failing schools. The
Department of Education hasrequested$320 million for FY 99 for this program.
•
School Construction Proposal — Support our own proposalfromlast year; the DaschleGephardt bill; or an alternative approach.
•
College/School Partnerships - Propose a grant program to promote strong partnerships
between colleges and high-poverty middle and high schools. Through these partnerships,
colleges would encourage students to take demanding courses, while providing academic
enrichment and intensive mentoring, tutoring, and other support services. The
Department of Education has requested $200 million for FY 99 for this initiative.
•
Communications Strategy for Maintaining Diversity in Higher Education ~ Issue
departmental report and give speech or town hall on the value of diversity in higher
education; identify and highlight effective outreach and recruitment efforts in report
and/or speech; invite educational leaders to White House to discuss the importance of the
issue. Do rj£i become Admissions Dean-in-Chief (i.e.. do notrecommendor endorse
particular admissions criteria or strategies).
•
Attacking Racial Separation Within Schools - Department of Education report on best
practices for helping students reach across racial barriers; grants to support model
projects.
EcPborofc E p w r e t
m o emn
•
Empowerment Zones, Round 2 — Announce the Second Round Empowerment Zones
designees. (There is some interagency dispute about the timing of this proposal, given
our inability to come up with grant money to complement the tax incentives.)
•
Housing Portability - Announce package of proposals including expanding the number
of Regional Opportunity Counseling sites and Homeownership Zones, encouraging the
use of exception rents to open suburban housing markets, eliminating obstacles to
portability of Section 8 vouchers, and reducing mortgage denial rates for minorities by
working with mortgage and real estate industry.
•
Fair Lending Initiative — Announce initiative that might include an examination of
certain lending practices on minorities' access to capital, measures to improve the
�collection and analysis of data on loan denials, and increasedresourcesfor testing and
enforcement (see below).
Transportation Infrastrucrurc Development - Propose taxreformsto stimulate spinoff
developmentfromtransit projects and aid development of urban intercity bus facilities.
Assisting the Unbanked - Announce the electronic funds transferregulation,which may
bring up to 10 million individuals into the banking system.
•
Initiative to Reduce Health Disparities — Adopt multi-faceted program, largely focused
on education and outreach, to reduce racial disparities in heart disease and stroke; breast,
cervical, and other cancer; diabetes; infant mortality; AIDS, and immunizations. HHS,
OMB, and Chris Jennings are in the midst of developing cost estimates for this initiative.
Crimg
•
Community Policing Initiative -- Target fundsfromthe COPS program to hire new police
officers and support community organizations in underprotected high-crime, largely
minority neighborhoods (sx.» public housing communities); also use COPS money to
promote diversity training for police and establish citizen academies to help community
" residents understand police procedures; promote minority recruitment in law enforcement
through existing grant program.
Community Prosecuting Initiative - Develop an initiative to give communities an
incentive to experiment with community prosecution, which applies the principles of
community policing - neighborhood involvement and a focus on problem solving and
prevention - to this aspect of the criminal justice system.
•
At-Risk Youth Prevention Efforts - Devote $75 million currently in CJS appropriations
bill, which we proposed as part ofthe President's juvenile crime strategy, to targeted
programs for at-risk and minority youth (convince DOJ to drop plans for distributing
funds by formula); launch a newfightto get crime bill prevention programs funded in
next year's budget process.
•
Indian Country Law Enforcement Initiative — In line with recommendations of
Departments of Justice and Interior (due on October 31), transfer law enforcement
authorityfromBIA to Justice and seek increased law enforcement resources specifically
designated for Indian Country.
Civil Rights Enforcement
•
Enhanced Enforcement Initiative — Request additional funds for civil rights enforcement,
tied to programmatic changes to improve coordination among federal government's civil
i
/
�rights offices, speed resolution of claims, and reduce backlog of cases. This initiative
probably will focus on the EEOC. DPC, OMB, and other offices are currently working
on cost estimates.
Hate Crimes Initiative - Announce a package of proposals at the November 10 hate
crimes conference, including measures to enhance enforcement of hate crimes laws,
improve collection of statistics, initiate educational activities, and amend the current
federal hate crimes statute.
�RECRUITING LEADERS/OUTREACH
Current Members: Maria Echaveste, Mickey Ibarra, Mike Wenger, Lynn Cutler, Ben Johnson,
Andrew Mayock, Janet Murguia, Tracey Thornton
Goal: Torecruitand nurture leaders who reflect racial, ethnic, gender, geographic, socio-economic
and poUtical diversity and will sustain and expand the process of racial reconciliation begun by the
President's Initiative on Race.
Work Plan:
A. Beginning in November and beginning with members of the "choir" and branching out from
there,recruit50 people per month to become leaders in our efforts to achieve racial reconciliation.
By the end of October the following tasks will be accomplished:
1. Establish a set of criteria for the designation of leaders.
For example:
a. Prior Activities
b. Organizational Affiliation/Leadership
c. Pledge to Engage in On-going Racial Reconciliation Activities
d. Geographic/Racial/Ethnic/Gender/Political Diversity
e. Personal Commitment to the Principles of "One America" (to be
developed)
f. Willingness to Be Visible in Support of the Principles of "One
America"
2. Strategically determine communities to target with the goal of building a critical mass of
leaders in the targeted communities. The communities targeted should reflect varying
characteristics, such as:
a. Geographic and demographic diversity
b. Differences in the levels of existing activities
c. Varieties in the existing leadership structures
d. Presence of organizations willing to participate
e. Varying sizes (urban, suburban, smaller towns, rural)
3. Determine sectors from which potential leaders will be drawn in each community, while
recognizing that the criteria for leadership will be different for each sector..
a. Education Community
b. Corporate Community
c. Labor Community
d. Small Business Community
e. Elected Officials (Governors, Mayors, County Officials, Congress, Tribal/Alaska
Native Village Elected Officials)
f. Appointed Public Officials (e.g., Human Relations Commissioners)
g. Professional Organizations
h. Faith Conimunity
i. Civic Groups/Community Leaders
�j . Advocacy/Non-Profit Sectors
k. Entertainment Community
1. American Indian/Alaska Native communities
m. Farm Community
n. Youth (there is a working group on youth)
4. Determine sources for identifying potential leaders.
a. Contacts with People/Organizations We Know
b. "Promising Practices"
c. Contests (ex-school essay contests)
d. Board member visits to locations.
e. Volunteers
f. Conferences and other events
g. Members of Congress, Senators, State and Local Elected Officials
5. Establish a process for vetting potential leaders (involve White House Offices of Public
Liaison, Inter-Govemmental Affairs, and Legislative Affairs).
6. Establish a process for training and providing technical assistance to leaders, and develop
materials to support their efforts.
B. Obtain commitment from leaders to participate in or conduct at least one activity per month to
increase understanding and respect for differences among people from different racial/ethnic
backgrounds. By November 17 the following tasks will be accomplished:
1. Develop a list of activities in which they are encouraged to engage and guidance for
helping them to undertake such activities. Examples of activities are:
a. Arranging organizational or community dialogues.
b. Planning and implementing joint community activities which provide
opportunities for inter-racial interaction/communication.
c. Being a catalyst for exchanges among churches with congregations from
different racial/ethnic backgrounds and among other local institutions with
members from different racial/ethnic backgrounds.
c. Promoting improved media attention to important racial issues.
d. Engaging in "promising practices."
e. Identifying other individuals in the community to participate in "One
America" activities.
2. Establish a process for assessment and substantive feedback by leaders to their local
communities and to the PER.
C. Provide at least one nurturing activity per month to keep the leaders engaged and inspired.
1. Publish aregularnewsletter on our web site featuring examples of "promising practices"
and people to contact for more information (if budget permits, we will attempt to publish this on
�paper).
2. Engage in occasional conference calls with groups of leaders.
3. Develop a list of ways in which leaders can be recognized for their activities.
4. Initiate a process for responding promptly to needs of leaders.
5. Promote local media coverage of activities.
Products:
A. Identified cadre of leaders in various sectors who will sustain activities of the Initiative over the
long-term, advise the President on racial matters, and improve race relations in a wide range of
communities throughout the country.
B. Increased racial sensitivity and heightened awareness among organizations in every sector.
C. Feedback to inform President's Report.
Resources:
A. White House (OPL, IGA, Cong. Affairs, etc.) lists.
B. Lists from Cabinet officials.
C. Interested organizations.
D. Advisory Board members.
E. State and local officials.
�Promising Practices
Goals:
•
To identify and highlight "Promising Practices" of racial dialogue and reconciliation
currently used in communities around the country, and disseminate as many "promising"
practices as possible through various channels to begin dialogue and action.
•
To identify and highlight Promising Practices that have been initiated or reinvigorated
because of the President's Initiative on Race through a variety of mediums.
•
To publish a compendium or list of promising practices, and thereby promote the use of
these practices in various parts of our nation as part of the ongoing dialogue of the
President's Initiative on Race.
Process:
•
Initially define promising practices: efforts and initiatives in families, communities,
businesses, govemment agencies and other parts of society that encourage the positive
participation of people of diverse backgrounds and promote inclusion and reconciliation.
•
Organize activities around several broad aspects of society, including the business,
govemment agencies, educational institutions, non-profit associations, the religious
community, and the media.
•
Immediately, identify promising efforts that the Initiative has received and disseminate
them.
•
Immediately, obtain the assistance/co-sponsorship of important organizations and leaders
in the national search for promising practices.
•
President announces the cooperation of important organizations in all of the sectors in his
effort to compile a compendium of promising practices. He invites people to use the
Internet and other mediums to submit candidates for dissemination on the Web and
inclusion in his final report.
Products:
•Short term
1. Within two weeks, we will compile a list of several Promising Practices in each
identified area. Additional examples will be added each week. These examples will
be provided to the Advisory Board members for public discussion at the next meeting.
The board members will also discuss their plans for engaging leaders in their area of
professional affiliation about Promising Practices. The board will visit the site of a
Promising Practice.
2. Secure the cooperation of several Promising Practices to provide a display of their
efforts in a place adjoining the December 2nd meeting. The pubic will be invited to
review these displays before and after the meeting.
3. Before the December 2nd town meeting, augment the Website to allow the public to
submit Promising Practices and to review Promising Practices submitted by others.
�•Long Term
1. The final report will include 1-2 page descriptions of several promising practices per
sector as well as cross-sector examples.
2. By the final report, the President will have gained commitmentsfromat leader in each
of the sectors to devote significant additional resources to these activities.
Resources
This effort will include participationfromdiverse aspects of society, including:
business
government
agencies
educational
non-profit
associations
religious
media
pre-school
and K-12
unions
denominational
news
state, tribal,
and federal
2-4 year
colleges and
universities
voluntary,
advocacy
and civic
ecumenical
arts and
entertainment
associations
of elected and
appointed
officials (e.g
Conference of
Mayors)
associations professional
that include
associations
many
(e-ginstitutions
National
(e-g
Association
Association
of Black
of American Journalists)
Colleges and
Universities)
associations (e.g.
The National
Conference)
sports
small
local/regional
corporate
associations
(e.g.
Chamber of
Commerce)
�DIALOGUE IN COMMUNITIES
Cuirent Members: Ann Lewis, Mike Wenger, Claire Gonzales, Beverly Barnes, Sidney Blumenthal,
Paul Begala, Jacinta Ma, Nelson Reyneri
Goal: To meet the goals of the President's Initiative on Race, especially:
1. articulating the President's vision of a just, unified America;
2. helping to educate all Americans about the facts of race in this country; and
3. promoting a constructive dialogue in which we confront the difficult issues of race;
through encouraging dialogue at every level from communities to the national level among people
of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Work Plan:
The White House
A. Hold 3 or 4 Presidential Town Meetings from 10/97 thru 6/98, each focused on a specific
theme or topic, in different regions of the country, being sure to be inclusive of the Hispanic,
American Indian, Asian American, African-American, and white ethnic communities.
B. Hold at leastfiveother Presidential Events from 10/97 thru 6/98 designed to demonstrate
the President's commitment to the Initiative and to promote interaction and communication among
people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
C. Hold 1 or 2 town hall meetings featuring the Vice President and the First Lady in different
regions of the country, being sure to be inclusive of the Hispanic, American Indian, Asian American,
African-American and white ethnic communities.
The Advisory Board
D. Partnering with interested and diverse organizations (ex-the National Voices Coalition,
the Association of American Colleges & Universities, the Inter-Ethnic Affairs Institute of the
National Italian-American Foundation) and taking into account the President's schedule where
feasible, hold at least four Advisory Board town hall meetings from 10/97 thru 6/98 in communities
around the country not covered by Presidential town meetings or Advisory Board meetings, each
featuring at least one Advisory Board member as co-moderator with a more experienced moderator.
E. Develop a strategy for recognizing existing and on-going dialogue efforts, including
recognizing and highlighting the most "promising practices", holding a town hall meeting at one of
the sites where dialogue is underway; encouraging display booths at town hall meetings or Advisory
Board meetings; profiling "promising practices" on our web site; and sanctioning events in which
the Advisory Board and PIR staff do not participate, receiving feedback from these events, and
providing recognition to these events.
F. Develop a strategy for encouraging the development of new dialogues, including
preparation of materials and "how to" kits based on successful efforts already underway.
�Cabinet Departments
G. Woricwith Cabinet Affaire to engage Cabinet Secretaries in at least one activity per month
and for receiving feedback from that activity and from other activities in which the Secretaries may
engage during the month.
H. Work with Cabinet Affairs to develop a set of strategies (ex-"At the Table") for subCabinet personnel, during their normal travels, to engage local community leaders in "conversations"
about racialreconciliation,and prepare briefing materials and guidance for those who volunteer to
participate.
Service
I. Develop a plan for service-related activities (from alliance mini-summits to community
projects) which offer opportunities for both shared experiences and dialogues among people from
different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
J. Establish a plan for 1) sanctioning and recognizing "One America" cities (like "AilAmerican" cities) which are engaged in effective and on-going dialogues on race and 2) encouraging
"One America" cities to share their successes with other cities (this activity will overlap with
Recruiting Leadership/Outreach and with Promising Practices).
K. Explore the feasibility of partnering with an interested national organization(s) to create
a National Day of Dialogue.
Products:
A. Specific feedback to inform President's Report.
B. Specific number of events and dialogues as outlined in work plan.
1. 8-10 Town Hall meetings (President=3-4, Vice President/First Lady=l-2, Advisory
Board=4).
2. Five other Presidential events.
3. Recognize 25 on-going dialogues.
4. Sanction 25 new events/dialogues.
C. Materials/How to kits to facilitate new and on-going dialogues.
D. Participation by Cabinet Secretaries in 50 events.
E. Participation by sub-Cabinet personnel in 50 events.
F. Development of 10 service-related activities.
G. Development of criteria for "One America" cities and plan for recognizing them.
H. Development of calendar of events/activities (e.g., 3-month calendar of events for Advisory
Board, President, Vice President/First Lady, Cabinet and PIR Staff)
I. Development of means of tracking dialogues
Resources:
A. Advisory Board members and their constituencies.
B. PIR staff.
�C. White House staff.
D. White House volunteers in various locations.
E. Leaders, organizations and individuals anxious to participate in Initiative.
�MEMORANDUM FOR ERSKINE BOWLES
JUDITH WINSTON
SYLVIA MATHEWS
FR:
MINYON MOORE
MICHAEL SORRELL
Working Group Members
RE:
ONE AMERICA - YOUTH STRATEGY
THEME:
ONE AMERICA: KEEPIN' IT REAL
GOAL:
TALK
about issues that Young America face in their
real worlds;
DIALOGUE
LISTEN
to young America about how they
propose we face the realities of we what will
look like, but more importantly, be like in the
21st Century in relation to racial diversity;
STUDY
TEACH
and
Americans of all ages about the efforts of
young America to really respect, appreciate,
celebrate diversity;
ACTION
And
DO.
.challenge Americans to build upon the existing
efforts of young America that are taking real
action in moving toward the goal of
One America.
ACTION
PRIMARY MARKET:
13-25 years of age
SECONDARY MARKET:
young professionals & young parents
�ACTION POINTS:
A:
Develop an internal federal ageney youth taskforce, one young person per
agency, that will work with their designated PIR liaison, and the White House
youth working group. These youth agency liaisons will meet with the
WH working group once a month. Their primary responsibilities will be
to ensure youth involvement in the race initiative within their agencies.
Lead:
Target date:
B:
Jon Jennings, Chandler Spaulding
First meeting/Oct 22,1997
We have developed a FOUR part strategy for the following action items:
(1) We recommend a letter to be sent out under the signature of the President
and Dr. John Hope Franklin to call to action young Americans across the
country to engage them in the dialogue of race within their communities.
Attached to this letter will be a "how to" action sheet The letter will be
targeted to community leaders, high school and college leaders and youth
organizations;
Lead:
Minyon Moore & Kevin Moran
Work with WH Correspondence to draft
letter for review by Oct. 17,1997
List building team:
Chris Lavery, Alison McLaurin, Elizabeth
Harrington, Ilia V. Velez, Cecily Williams
Target Mail Date:
Nov. 1-15
(2) We would like to conduct a White House briefing for members of the media
who target young people through their magazines, radio stations and or
newspapers, (i.e. Rolling Stone Magazine, Latina Essence, Ebony, VIBE, MTV,
VHI, Univision, BET Teen Summit...)
Lead:
Target Date:
Briefers:
Rob Nelson, Chris Lavery, Cecily Williams, Alison
McLaurin, Ilia Velez, Ann Walker, PIR7WH
Communications Committee
_ -
Week of November 3rd
To be determined
�(3) The week that the letter hits we would like to recommend that the President
dedicate his radio address to his call to action to youth. We will use extra
measures to ensure that college, hip-hop, and specialty radio stations are
targeted for this address;
Lead:
Ann Walker, PIR7WH Communications Committee
Target Date:
One week from the day the letter is mailed
(4) We would like to recommend that the Vice-President host an on-line Q&A.
Lead:
Target Date:
C:
Kevin Moran & Elizabeth Harrington
Two weeks after the POTUS radio address
We would like to recommend that out of the four town hall meetings the
President is conducting for PIR that one town hall meeting be dedicated to
youth. In addition, we will spearhead regional town hall meetings to be
attended by Cabinet and Advisory Board members as a follow-up to the
Presidents town hall meetings.
Lead:
Target Date:
D:
Michael Sorrell, Angelique Pirozzi, Mona Pasquil
Minyon Moore, Ilia Velez, Andrew Mayock, Cecily
Williams, PIR/WH Dialogue & Youth Committee
To be determined
We will develop a sub-link to the PIR/WH web-site that will be devoted to young
Americans titled: One America: KEEPIN' IT REAL
Lead:
Target Date:
E:
Kevin Moran, Andrew Mayock, PIR7WH
Communications Committee
As soon as possible
Ensure that the "How t o " Kits being developed by the PIR staff has a special
focus for youth.
Lead:
Michael Sorrell, Chandler Spaulding
�LONG TERM GOALS
1.
Seek endorsements and partnerships from Corporate America to help elevate
and raise the awareness of this initiative;
Lead: Jon Jennings, Minyon Moore, Michael Sorrell
2.
Work with the entertainment and sports industry to engage celebrities
in the race initiative; and
Lead: Minyon Moore, Rob Nelson, Ilia Velez, Chandler Spaulding, Michael
Sorrell
3.
To host a Youth Leadership Summit on Race as one of our culminating events.
Lead: One America: KEEPIN' IT REAL WORKING GROUP MEMBERS
ONE AMERICA: KEEPIN* IT REAL WORKING GROUP MEMBERS
Michael Sorrell
Minyon Moore
Ilia V. Velez
Chris Lavery
Cecily Williams
Kevin Moran
Jon Jennings
Mona Pasquil
Elizabeth Harrington
Andrew Mayock
Angelique Pirozzi
Ann Walker
Alison McLaurin
Rob Nelson
Chandler Spaulding
�Cabinet Affairs/Federal Agency Working Group
Goals
• Coordinate with the Federal agencies in five areas: outreach, policy, data collection,
promising practices, and management practices.
• Encourage and track each agency's efforts on this topic.
• Identify strategic opportunities for the Cabinet and Sub-Cabinet to amplify the key messages
of the Initiative.
Process
• Conduct regular meetings and conference calls with the agency liaisons.
• Work with the Communications team to provide talking points, updates on the initiative,
amplification opportunities, and coordination of policy announcements.
• Facilitate communications between the policy team and the Federal agencies in the
development of race-related policies.
Products/Activities
Outreach
• Provide a weekly summary of race-related activities from all Cabinet departments and
agencies.
• Integrate Race Initiative material into agency daily speeches and events.
• Receive from the agencies a memo on potential events and announcements between now and
December 31.
• Work with Cabinet to pro-actively schedule events that highlight the Race Initiative and its
progress i.e., host dinners, regional town halls, roundtable discussions, etc.
• Coordinate press outreach by the Cabinet and Sub-Cabinet i.e., press roundtables, editorial
board meetings, etc.
Policy and Management Practices
• Identify potential policy announcements from the agencies similar to the HUD announcement
increasing enforcement ofthe Fair Housing Act.
• Work with the PMC and NPR to identify a few key management strategies to pursue.
• Work with agencies to support data collection and dissemination of the "facts on race".
Promising Practices
•
Identify and highlight local and regional promising practices.
Resources
• Staff members of PIR and Cabinet Affairs
• Cabinet Affairs systems (daily call for agencies chief of staff, weekly amplification call, biweekly agency chief of staff breakfast)
• President's Cabinet and Sub-Cabinet
�ADVISORY BOARD ACTIVITIES
Goal: To engage the Advisory Board in the active pursuit of the five goals of the
President's Initiative on Race and in providing feedback to inform the President's
Report.
Work Plan:
A . Hold at least nine formal Advisory Board meetings from 10/97 thru 6/98 in nine
different venues around the country, chosen for their geographic, racial/ethnic, and
age diversity, and insure that each meeting highlights a hard question as well as
"promising practices."
B. Have each Advisory Board member make at least one visit per month to a
different venue (cities, suburbs, rural areas, college campuses), preferably in the
region in which they live, and engage in activities in those venues designed to
initiate and buld support for on-going dialogues in those venues.
C. Develop a specific outreach plan to each sector represented by an Advisory
Board member designed to engage that sector in on-going activities to achieve
racial reconciliation.
D. Develop a system for regularly collecting information from Advisory Board
members on their individual activities as Advisory Board members.
E. Develop a plan for Advisory Board members to engage America's youth on a
regular basis (the youth group is working on this, as well).
F. Have each Advisory Board member participate in at least one chat room activity.
G. Have individual members of the Advisory Board participate in editorial board
discussions regarding the progress of the Initiative (the Sperling Group breakfast in
Washington, D.C. would be an appropriate venue for an immediate one).
H. Have the Advisory Board conduct a follow-up meeting with the outreach group
which met with the President in the Yellow Oval Room to discuss the Initiative.
Products:
I . Conduct of public Advisory Board activities in at least 50 venues around the
country.
2 . Participation in the Initiative in yet to be determined ways by the sectors
represented by the Advisory Board members (labor, corporate, religious, academic,
elected officials, professionals).
�3. Documentary evidence of the enormous number activities in which Advisory
Board members are engaged.
4. Feedback for the President's Report.
5. More direct relationship between Advisory Board members and the national
media.
6. Specific involvement of people (and their ownership of some Board activities)
who helped inform the President's decision to create this Initiative.
�FINAL 10/10/97
White House Working Group on
Communications and Media/Press
Work Plan Proposal
The following plan includes a communications element for each of the distinct activity
areas. The function of communications will be to ensure our success by providing the
coordination of all areas of activity. We will be monitoring and enforcing consistency of
message and accuracy of information. Communications products will be developed directly
from information generated by the various activity areas for content.
GOALS
• To convey the President's message to the American Public on the
progress of the President's Initiative on Race.
• To provide information that encourages a national dialogue on race
by implementing creative communication activities that attract the
national media and use various press tactics to reach members of the
public who might otherwise not be interested.
PROCESS
1. Coordinate efforts with the Initiative's primary working groups
throughout the Administration to enable effective delivery of our
message to the public and media. We will work to provide important
and helpful information on action, policy, and progress at various
stages of activity.
2. Develop and implement a proactive communications strategy, which
will reach and engage the general public via the media (print, TV, radio
and the new media) and will focus on specific target audiences and
regional and local markets.
• Communicate with Surrogates by providing them with model
speeches, regular press releases, weekly updates from our
office, and President's speeches on race relations.
• Communications Plan for Local Leaders which would include
sample letters to the editor, talking points, background
information and fact sheets.
• Create Speakers Bureau to provide partnering organizations
with speakers (surrogates and local leaders) for key events.
�3.
Regular Communication Products and Events:
• Columnists Roundtable -(once every two months) to provide
opportunity for pundits to interact with Advisory Board,
Executive Director, and other key Initiative members.
• Radio Press Conference calls including specialty radio
(monthly)
• Mailings
• Weekly Update -blast fax "progress report"
• Monthly Press briefings by Advisory Board, White House
Staff, Cabinet Secretaries, and other Administration officials.
4.
Distributing Communications product ideas.
The above mentioned Communication products should be directed to the
specialty media/publications that regularly cover the following
communities:
African American
Asian American/Pacific Islander
Latino
Native American
White Ethnic
College and Youth Press
Gay and Lesbian Publications that cover Race Issues
Additionally, products will be distributed to mainstream reporters who
cover Race Issues.
5.
Resources:
A. Advisory Board members and their constituencies.
B. PIR staff.
C. White House Staff.
D. Cabinet Affairs.
D. White House volunteers in various locations.
E. Leaders, organizations and individuals anxious to participate in
Initiative.
6.
Communications products ideas attached.
�DRAFT
10/6/97
PROPOSED COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCT IDEAS
SHORT TERM PRODUCTS: 2-4 weeks
Message Piece - 1 page core message of the President's Initiative on Race
Produce as soon as possible. Target date for distribution of final: Friday, October 17.
General Information -Brochure (3 fold with perforated response card attached)
Will include general information about the Initiative and "How to get involved."
Weekly Update -Begin blast fax "progress report" last week of October.
Speaker's kit •
set of documents for Surrogates which would include a model speech, regular
press releases, weekly update, and President's speeches on race relations.
set of documents for Local Leaders which would include sample 1 etters to the
editor, talking points, background information and fact sheets.
MID-TERM PRODUCTS: 4-8 weeks
COMPENDIUM of "Promising Practices"
Quick list of a few promising practices in various sectors. The list could be used by
the President, the Advisory Board members, and the Initiative staff as concrete
examples while the larger list is being developed. It could be updated periodically
with fresh examples. Also could create a video with promising practices being
practiced across the nation. [Content to come from Policy/Promising Practices
Group]
WEBSITE -Daily/Weekly Facts on Race
Short summaries of interesting data on particular areas related to race which can be
accessed by Website, list serve, and fax. This information can be assembled later as
part of fact book. (SEE ATTACHMENT)
How-to-kits
How to start a conversation about race in your community. Provide interested
members of communities with a variety of options, ideas, and helpful tools for ways
in which they can lead a constructive dialogue locally. [Content to come from
Outreach/Dialogue with Communities and Recruiting Leaders Groups]
�PROPOSED LONG TERM -SPECIALIZED COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTS
These products to be developed in cooperation with the appropriate Initiative Working
Groups (e.g., Youth) and Federal Agencies.
EDUCATION/YOUTH FOCUS:
Educational Products "Creating Dialogue in the Classroom" (K-8)
Video for Teachers/Educators to use in the classroom as a starting point for
discussion.
Dialogue guide which provides the educator with guidelines and possible
questions to stimulate dialogue.
High School Debate Topic
High school debaters have a topic that they work on for one year. Work to
make race relations this or next year's topic.
Essay Contest
President issues a challenge to grade schoolers to write the best essay on what
it means to be an American in a diverse society. Top three essays get on WH
Website. Winner gets to come to WH event? Time Magazine has said they
would help sponsor this activity.
Higher Education Products:
Video for Professors/Educators to use in the classroom as a starting point for
discussion.
Dialogue guide which provides the educator with guidelines and possible
questions to stimulate dialogue.
WORKPLACE FOCUS:
"Creating Dialogue in the Workplace"
Much like the educational products for the classroom.
�DRAFT
October 6, 1997
MEMORANDUM FOR ANN LEWIS, JUDY WINSTON, AND CLAIRE
GONZALES
FROM:
KEVIN MORAN
PIR COMMUNICATIONS STAFF
(DAVID CHAI, ALLISON KING, TAMARA MONOSOFF,
MARIA SOTO)
SUBJECT:
ONE AMERICA WEB SITE DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS
In an effort to enhance the One America home page -especially in ways that actively
engage the public and make the site more interactive and dynamic -the
Communications team has put together the attached list of proposed website
development ideas that can be implemented in the short term. If we do even a portion
of what is suggested, we will be well on our way to making a great site -one that will
add significant value to PIR and one that will do quite a bit to foster real on-line
dialogue.
Wherever possible, we developed ideas that involve a moderate amount of start up
work and little effort to maintain. We also worked to develop ideas that provide real
oppormnities for a wide range of people to participate, but in ways that allow us to
moderate the participation to ensure that the involvement stays within reasonable
bounds. Please review the list and let us know which options you would like us to
pursue and in what order. We are ready to start as soon as we get your sign-off.
(Also, just so you know, we are already working on some general site modifications,
including: adding a visitor counter, redoing the top page to make What's New
material more prominent, adding more photos, building an Advisory Board meeting
site, etc..)
�ONE AMERICA WEB SITE DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS
Talk of the Nation: Share the publics' best thoughts and ideas on race by posting two
or three e-mail messages every day. To help drive conversation, the Talk of the
Nation section could pose specific questions each week. If these questions were
coordinated with agenda items for upcoming meetings, this section could produce
excellent fodder for Advisory Board members before Town Hall and Advisory Board
meetings. (Indeed, when we announce our meetings, we could advertise the web site
address in the Federal Register and in our press releases. We should take every
opportunity to encourage people to visit the site and share their ideas to help engage
more people in the process.)
Advisory Board Column: Help people get to know the Advisory Board members and
better understand the work they are doing. Post a weekly letter from one of the
Advisory Board members. The letter should be short (five to six paragraphs) and
should focus on an issue or experience the member has dealt with while working with
the Initiative. If they wanted we could offer people the opportunity to respond to these
letters and could post and forward the feedback to the Board Members.
The Face of America: Create an educational element that provides demographic
information about the racial and ethnic make up of the United States. (We talk much
about using this Initiative to teach the facts of race...this would be a good concrete step
toward doing so.) Much of this material is already available through the Census and
organizations. We could use the Department of Education to format the material for
schools and also to promote the element.
Profiles of Success: Highlight outstanding success stories in schools, businesses,
government institutions, families, and other areas of our national community, where
people are taking action to create "One America." (This could be PIR's equivalent of
"Faces of Hope.") In the element we could ask the public to "nominate" stories for
our consideration. This would also be a way for us to forward best practices...but in
a less structured format.
PIR Staff Column: Help people get to know the staff of the President's Initiative on
Race. Post a weekly column that highlights a different office or person in PIR. The
column should give the public a personal feeling for the people who are driving the
Initiative and should help the public understand how the Initiative is set up and what
it is doing day to day. (If desired, the White House Photo Office could take digital
photos of the PIR staff that could be posted with the columns.) The column idea
dovetails with our original concept of a regular letter from the Director, but spreads
the amount of work through the entire office.
Reflections: Create a series of week long exhibits that explore and reflect America's
diversity through the arts. Invite well known poets, writers, painters, photographers,
song writers, etc... to share pieces of work that highlight America's unity and
�diversity. If done well these materials could be compiled at the end of the year as a
book.
Reading List: Post a list of books on the subject of Race and reconciliation suggested
by the Advisory Board members.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Michael Waldman
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Michael Waldman was Assistant to the President and Director of Speechwriting from 1995-1999. His responsibilities were writing and editing nearly 2,000 speeches, which included four State of the Union speeches and two Inaugural Addresses. From 1993 -1995 he served as Special Assistant to the President for Policy Coordination.</p>
<p>The collection generally consists of copies of speeches and speech drafts, talking points, memoranda, background material, correspondence, reports, handwritten notes, articles, clippings, and presidential schedules. A large volume of this collection was for the State of the Union speeches. Many of the speech drafts are heavily annotated with additions or deletions. There are a lot of articles and clippings in this collection.</p>
<p>Due to the size of this collection it has been divided into two segments. Use links below for access to the individual segments:<br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+1">Segment One</a><br /><a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=43&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2006-0469-F+Segment+2">Segment Two</a></p>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Michael Waldman
Office of Speechwriting
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1993-1999
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0469-F
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
Segment One contains 1071 folders in 72 boxes.
Segment Two contains 868 folders in 66 boxes.
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Race Initiative
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Office of Speechwriting
Michael Waldman
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 61
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36403"> Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763296">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0469-F Segment 1
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Preservation-Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
6/3/2015
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
7763296
42-t-7763296-20060469F-Seg1-061-011-2015