President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with African American leaders in the Oval Office at 11:45 a.m. today “to discuss the economy and jobs.” The expected attendees include:
- Dr. Dorothy I. Height, the 97-year-old Chair and President Emerita, National Council of Negro Women
- Benjamin T. Jealous, President, NAACP
- Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League
- Rev. Al Sharpton, President and Founder, National Action Network
I will update the list as the information becomes available. But so far, there are no African American business leaders or small business owners in the mix.
By contrast, the Dec. 4, 2009, Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth list of 130 participants included Cabinet officials, “small business owners, experts from green jobs sector, business leaders, academics, Mayors and representatives from nonprofits.”
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden opened the forum. This time, Biden is a no show. Instead, he “will meet with senior advisors. These meetings are closed press.”
While the December jobs summit was streamed live at WhiteHouse.gov, today’s jobs summit “urban economy summit” with civil rights leaders is closed to the press.
