PIR Weekly Report to the President

5:50 PM 12 Dec 1997

from:

to:

Alexander L., Allison J., Ana, Ananias Blocker, Andrew J., Angeligue, Ann F., Audrey M., Beverly J. Barnes, Bob J., Brenda, Cedra D., chandler g. spaulding, Cheryl D. Mills, Claire, David, David K., Dawn M., Diana, Doris O., Edley, Elena Kagan, Elisabeth, Emil E., Evelina, Grace A., Jane T., John M. Quinn, Jon P., Julie A. Fernandes, Laura, Laura Capps, Lin, Linda C., Lydia, Lynn G. Cutler, Maria, Maria E., Marjorie, Marjorie A., Michael, Michael J., Michele, Mickey, Minyon Moore, Mona G., Nelson, Patrick, Paul E., Paul J. Weinstein Jr., Peter, Randy D., Richard, Robert, Robert B., Robert N., Ruby, Scott R., Sidney, Stacie, Susan M., Suzanne, Sylvia M. Mathews, Tamara, Thurgood Marshall Jr., Trooper

Attached is the PIR Weekly Report for December 7 - 12.==================== ATTACHMEN
ATT CREATION TIME/DATE: 0 00:00:00.00

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MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT

FROM: JUDITH A. WINSTON

THROUGH: ERSKINE BOWLES
SYL VIA MATHEWS

SUBJECT: PRESIDENT'S INITIATIVE ON RACE WEEKLY REPORT--
DECEMBER 7 - DECEMBER 12

ADVISORY BOARD ACTIVITIES

K-12 School Visits. This week, five Advisory Board Member visited an elementary or
secondary school in their community that implements programs or policies to encourage
diversity and that face issues related to a diverse student body. These visits were
arranged to give Advisory Board members some preparation for the December 17
Advisory Board meeting at Annandale High School in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Advisory Board Recommendations. As follow up to the November 19 Advisory
Board meeting at which members discussed the continuing problem of discrimination,
Dr. Franklin sent you a letter recommending the enhancement of enforcing civil rights
laws, collection of additional data on discrimination, and implementation of initiatives to
address and prevent hate crimes. (A copy of the letter is attached.)

Council of Negro Women. On December 9, Dr. John Hope Franklin participated in
a Town Hall meeting sponsored by the Council of Negro Women. Dr. Franklin
. spoke to an audience of approximately 600 people. He spoke about the importance
of the organization's efforts to address institutional racism and how the Initiative
can assist those efforts.

Congress of National Black Churches. Dr. Franklin, on December 10, was the
keynote speaker at the Annual Leadership Award Dinner in Shreveport, Louisiana.
He addressed 500 of the nation's leading clergy and public officials about the role
of churches in strengthening communities and the need for them to take strong

1
Hex-DiJmp Conversion -

leadership roles in improving race relations.

Minority Business Opportunity Steering Committee. On December 10, Angela Oh
met with the Los Angeles Minority Business Opportunity Steering Committee. She
discussed issues of race with them and urged them to consider how they could be
involved in the Initiative.

Organization of Chinese Americans. On December 10, Angela Oh spoke to the San
Francisco chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans. She reassured the
audience that the Initiative will be inclusive of aU races and encouraged them to
become leaders in bridging racial divides.

Rockefeller Institute of Government. On December 11, Governor William Winter
spoke at a brown bag forum at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at
RockefeUer College in Albany, New York. Governor Winter urged the faculty and
students to promote the goals of the Initiative and to share their research on the
finances and management of state government and the conditions of urban
neighborhoods.

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Team Harmony. I accompanied the First Lady to the Team Harmony event where
10,000 young people pledged to try to stop prejudice and to speak out against anyone who
seeks to mock or hurt someone of a different race, religion, ethnic group or sexual
orientation. The Team Harmony program is one ofthe original Promising Practices
identified on our Website. It is also referenced in the First Lady's book, It Takes a
Village. (Attached is an article from the Washington Post on the event.)

OUTREACH

Urban League of Greater Chattanooga. On December 10, I participated in several
events coordinated by the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga: a breakfast meeting
with business leaders hosted by Chattanooga Mayor Jon Kinsey; a luncheon meeting with
members of the Chattanooga Race Relations Committee; a "One America Conversations
that Bring Us Together" meeting at which I facilitated a conversation among 16 people,
including pastors, students, business people, and educators representing a number of races
who expressed their experiences with people of other races and ideas for you and the
Initiative; and, finally, the day culminated with the Equal Opportunity Day Dinner at
which I gave the keynote address to approximately 1,000 people. I encouraged the
participants to think of themselves as part of the Initiative, work toward achieving the
goals of the Initiative, and recognize that America's diversity is its strength.

At each event, I urged business and community leaders to take active part in the Initiative

2
HexDiJmp Convarsion
and find solutions to issues related to race. Chattanooga-leaders were extremely
supportive of the Initiative and offered to host an event in their city.

YWCA. I met with 30 women leaders of national organizations, including the League of
Women Voters, Coalition of Labor Union Women, National Council of Jewish Women,
and National Organization for Women, that are working with the YWCA to encourage
women to be leaders in promoting the goals of the Initiative.

Corporate Leaders. Working with the Office of Public Liaison, we have scheduled the
next two corporate executives forums, entitled One America: The Business Community
Responds. We will hold the next forum on January 13 in Phoenix, prior to the Advisory
Board meeting there on January 14. The January 13 forum will encompass corporations
located in the South West region of the country. For corporations located in the Far
West region, we plan to hold a forum on January 30 in Los Angeles. We also will hold a
forum in New York and one in Chicago or Cincinnati during the late winter.

Religious Leaders. On December 11, we held a conference call with the religious
leaders who met with Reverend Johnson Cook last month in conjunction with your Prayer
Breakfast. We will schedule four or five forums for religious leaders in different regions
of the country. The first one is scheduled to take place on February lOin Northern
California in conjunction with an Advisory Board meeting that will be held in San
Francisco or Oakland.

Leaders in Education. In partnership with the Association of American Colleges and
Universities and the National Urban League, we will hold a national week of
campus/community dialogue in April.

Public Officials. We are working with the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to
organize "One America Conversations that Bring Us Together" with city and county
officials on the day following our Advisory Board meetings in Phoenix, San
Francisco/Oakland, and Denver.

RESEARCH AND POLICY PLANNING

Data. We are producing a binder of data for the Advisory Board Members to use in
informing the American people about the facts surrounding race. We will include K-12,
higher education and labor data for the Board members as background for the December
17 and January 13 Advisory Board meetings.

Fairfax County Schools. The case study on Bailey's Elementary School in Fairfax
County identifies some of the challenges, successes and lessons learned in a magnet
school that serves an increasingly diverse student body. Linda Chavez-Thompson will
release the study on December 15.

3
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COMMUNICATION

Press Coverage. This week there were eleven articles that covered the Initiative in
major newspapers. (Attached is a column from the Wall Street Journal, "The Race
Initiative: Tough but Worth the Effort.")

WORK TEAMS

ADVISORY BOARD

Advisory Board Meetings. The December 17 Advisory Board meeting will focus on
issues of race in public primary and secondary education. The participants will include
William Bennett, Professor James Comer, author Jonathan Kozol, and Principal Deborah
Meier. We are working with DPC and NEC on potential policy action items such as
school construction, the Hispanic Education Action Plan and 21 st Century Scholars
programs.

The January 14 Advisory Board meeting will focus on employment issues and will be
held in Phoenix.

TOWN HALL MEETINGS

Presidential Town Hall Meeting. The team met to discuss possible dates and formats
for the next Presidential Town Hall Meeting. We will try to schedule a meeting with you
next week to propose some dates and a format for your approval.

Advisory Board Town Hall Meeting. We are working on an Advisory Board Town
Hall meeting in Atlanta in late January.

YOUTH

Call to Action Letter. We have been receiving approximately 100 letters a day in
response to your "call to action" letter to youth. The response has been overwhelming
and very positive. The majority of the letters are coming from white youth. Even
though many of them are in the middle of final exams, they have taken the time to
respond quickly and enthusiastically to your call to action. Weare in the process of
setting up a call-to-action column on the website and will post a letter each week. We
plan to respond to each student by thanking them for their support and offering them
further guidance on steps to take to further the goals of the Initiative. We also plan to
inform them about upcoming events in their area.

4
He~"Oump Conversion
FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIVITIES

One America Conversations that Bring Us Together. Twenty-nine One America
Conver
sations
have
been
held
around
the
countr
y.
There
are 62
more
conver
sations
schedu
led to
be held
by the
end of
the
year
and
this
numbe
r
continu
es to
grow.

Department of Justice (DOJ)

New Jersey Housing Discrimination Case. On December 8, DOJ filed suits against
the owners and managers of two apartment complexes in Clark, NJ, for race
discrimination in their rental practices. The evidence was developed under DOJ's
fair housing testing program. African Americans inquiring about apartments at
the complexes were told that no apartments were available when, in fact,
apartments were available.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

5
H~xDiJmp Conv~rsion .

Minority Farmers. On December 17, Secretary Glickman will participate in a meeting
with you and small and minority farmers at the White House.

Puerto Rican Farmers. On December 2, in a ceremony in Puerto Rico,
USDA's Farm Service Agency made a multi-year commitment to increasing the
participation of Puerto Rico's socially disadvantaged rural residents in agriculture
and in USDA programs, committing $320,000 as the first installment of a
multi-year outreach project directed at small farmers on the island. USDA will
work with the University of Puerto Rico to create programs to lessen some of the
financial problems and obstacles to credit which hinder limited-resource farmers.
The goal is to ensure that small, disadvantaged, beginning, and youth farmers
participate in USDA credit programs, obtain training in farm operations and
management, and receive program and technical information.

Native American Outreach. The American Indian Program Group, comprised
of outreach program specialists from six USDA agencies, is developing program
training for the four Native American outreach specialists who will be hired by the
Intertribal Agriculture Council using funds provided by USDA by January 15.

National Scholars Program. On December 5, Secretary Glickman announced that
USDA is accepting applications for its 1890 National Scholars Program for the 1998
school year. The program is aimed at undergraduate students studying agriculture or
related subjects at the 17 historically black 1890 land-grant universities.

Native American Food Distribution. The National Association of Food
Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations has nominated 25 Native
American tribal organizations for expansion of a pilot project which provides
fresh produce as an alternative to canned fruits and vegetables under the Food
Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. The new sites will be added
throughout the fiscal year, and will potentially more than double the number of
participating tribes.

One America Conversation at Tuskegee. On December 8, following his speech on
civil rights at Tuskegee University, Secretary Glickman served as the host for a
conversation on race with community leaders. The ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates in
Montgomery, AL, Alabama Public Television, AP (both print and photo), Montgomery
Advertiser (both print and photo), the NBC affiliate in Birmingham, Birmingham News
Print, and the ABC affiliate in Columbus covered the Secretary's speech and conversation
on race; print reporters included AP and the Birmingham and Montgomery daily
newspapers.

Department of Labor (DOL)

Diversity Task Force. This week DOL's Diversity Task Force began a series of

6
H~l(:tJ\lrtlfJ Conversion

visits to each DOL region to meet with REC members, union officials, special
interest groups, special emphasis program managers, representatives of the Federal
Labor Managers Association, supervisors, managers, and employees to learn
first-hand the ideas and concerns of DOL field employees in achieving a model
workplace that promotes inclusiveness, fairness and full participation of all
employees. Over the next two weeks, Task Force members will visit regional offices
in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, New York City, Philadelphia, San
Francisco and Seattle.

National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). On December 9, Secretary Herman
addressed the NCNW. She discussed details of her National Welfare-to-Work fact
finding mission, amplified your One America in the 21st Century message, and
made reference to the 50th anniversary of Human Rights Day. Media present at
the luncheon included: UPI, BNA, WHUR, Alabama National Radio (70+ stations),
Washington Informer, Final Cali, and a photographer from Jet, Vibe, and
Sister-to-Sister magazines.

Dr. Dorothy Height. On December 10, the Secretary represented the
Administration in the nation's farewell to President and CEO Dr. Dorothy Height
and served as the Mistress of Ceremonies at the NCNW's Gala in Washington, DC.

National Council of Black State Legislators. On December 11, Secretary Herman
will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she will address the National Council of
Black State Legislators on themes of both welfare-to-work and racial reconciliation.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Housing Discrimination. On December 5, HUD filed housing discrimination
charges against a Lake Charles, LA landlord. The landlord is accused of telling an
African American man: "I don't like to rent to you people ... brown, black, colored,
whatever you call yourselves." This filing of federal civil charges against the
landlord is piut of a nationwide crackdown on housing discrimination that you
ordered.

Department of Transportation (DOT)

Race Relations Roundtable. On December 12, RSPA will hold a Race
Relations Initiative Roundtable discussion among RSPA senior managers The
roundtable will facilitate discussion on race issues within RSPA and be
instrumental in developing internal race initiative program components. The
discussion will center on favorable interaction between races and examine the
reasons behind the instances when interaction is not favorable. This discussion
will be part of an ongoing dialogue regarding race issues.

7
HexDiJm~ ConvE:;"sion

National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) Conference. On
November 18-23, a diverse team of Coast Guard military personnel attended the
25th Annual NABSE Conference in Reno, Nevada. The team distributed Coast
Guard literature and promotional material to conference attendees, and arranged
to visit numerous schools and NABSE affiliates throughout the U.S. to talk with
students and NABSE members about Coast Guard job and career opportunities.
The team also laid the initial ground work for collaboration between NABSE and
Coast Guard Recruiting to create a more diverse officer and enlisted workforce.
NABSE has 140 affiliates, and is one of the premier African-American educator
organizations dedicated to the qualitative improvement of education for
African-American students.

One America Conversation. Assistant Secretary Charles A. Hunnicutt will
conduct a conversation with the members of the Anti-racism Task Force of the
National Capital Presbytery, Presbyterian Church (USA) in early January.

Department of Energy (DOE)

One America Conversation. On December 5, Secretary Pefia held a "One America
Conversation" with college students at San Diego State University's Aztec Center to
amplify your message on the importance of bridging racial divides. The discussion was
observed by approximately 100 college and high school students.

Department of Education (DOEd)

Florida Higher Education. For the past year and a half, DOEd's Office for Civil Rights
(OCR) has been working in partnership with Florida to resolve higher education
desegregation concerns. Although there has been significant progress, critical issues
remain unresolved, including agreement on the applicable legal standards and the need
for affirmative action programs to satisfy "strict scrutiny." On November 19, OCR sent a
letter to the governor's office indicating that if OCR and the state are unable to resolve
these issues within the next few weeks, OCR will initiate a more traditional civil rights
investigation of statewide higher education issues.

Florida Discrimination Complaint. On December 1, DOEd's OCR received Title VI
complaints from nine white families alleging that the Palm Beach County School District,
in order to achieve racial balance, is discriminating against their children, on the basis of
race, by forcing them to attend a school that has an enrollment of approximately 69
percent black students, instead of allowing them to attend one of two high schools closer
to their neighborhood. OCR is currently evaluating the complaint, which has received
some media attention.

Ohio Higher Education. DOEd's OCR recently wrote to the Ohio Governor's office
regarding the long-standing civil rights case involving Ohio's only historically black

8
Hax-Dump (;C/nVi::iSIOn

school, Central State University.. Last July, the state legislature passed a bill that
addresses many of OCR's concerns, which involve funding disparities between Central
State and Ohio's other public universities; OCR's letter indicates that, in light of the
legislation and the state's plans to continue addressing OCR's concerns, OCR will not
resume investigation until Spring 1998.

One America Conversations. On December 11, Secretary Riley hosted a "One
America: Conversations that Bring Us Together" event with fifth grade students in
Laurel, MD. On December 12, Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary
Education Tirozzi is scheduled to host an event at T.C. Williams High School in
Alexandria, VA. On December 18, Secretary Riley will host his second "One America
Conversation" in a Baltimore elementary school. .

Small Business Administration (SBA)

One America Conversations. Several SBA appointees convened One America
Conversation events during the Thanksgiving holiday. The Administrator, Deputy
Administrator and Chief Advocate are planning to hold roundtable discussions. The
Chief of Staff has encouraged all agency appointees to participate in this effort.

Office of Personnel Management

Pittsburgh. On December 14, Director Lachance will host a "One America:
Conversations that Bring Us Together" in Pittsburgh, PA at the St. Benedict of the Moor
Catholic Church.

PIR Weekly Report to the President

5:50 PM 12 Dec 1997

Attached is the PIR Weekly Report for December 7 - 12.==================== ATTACHMEN
ATT CREATION TIME/DATE: 0 00:00:00.00

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The following is a HEX DUMP:

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Hex-Dump Conversion

MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT

FROM: JUDITH A. WINSTON

THROUGH: ERSKINE BOWLES
SYLVIA MATHEWS

SUBJECT: PRESIDENT'S INITIATIVE ON RACE WEEKLY REPORT.:...
DECEMBER7-DECEMBER12

ADVISORY BOARD ACTIVITIES

K-12 School Visits. This week, five Advisory Board Member visited an elementary or
secondary school in their community that implements programs or policies to encourage
diversity and that face issues related to a diverse student body. These visits were
arranged to give Advisory Board members some preparation for the December 17
. Advisory Board meeting at Annandale High School in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Council of Negro Women. On December 9, Dr. John Hope Franklin participated in
a Town Hall meeting sponsored by the Council of Negro Women. Dr. Franklin
spoke to an audience of approximately 600 people. He spoke about the importance
ofthe organization's efforts to address institutional racism and how the Initiative
can assisUhose efforts.

Congress of National Black Churches. Dr. Franklin, on December 10, was the
keynote speaker at the Annual Leadership Award Dinner in Shreveport, Louisiana.
He addressed 500 ofthe nation's leading clergy and public officials about the role
of churches in strengthening communities and the need for them to take strong

1
_,.,-J)ump Conversion
leadership roles in improving race relations.

Organization of Chinese Americans. On December 10, Angela Oh spoke to the San
Francisco chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans. She reassured the
audience that 'the Initiative will be inclusive of all races and encouraged them to
become leaders in bridging racial divides. .

R~ckefeller Institute of Government. On December 11, Governor William Winter
spoke at a brown bag forum at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at
Rockefeller College in Albany, New York. Governor Winter urged the faculty and
students to promote the goals of the Initiative and to share their research on the
f"mances and management of state government and the conditions of urban
neighborhoods.

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Team Harmony. I accompanied the First Lady to the Team Harmony event where
10,000 young people pledged to try to stop prejudice and to speak out against anyone who
seeks to mock or hurt someone of a different race, religion, ethnic group or sexual
orientation. The Team Harmony program is one of the original Promising Practices
identified on our Website. It is also referenced in the First Lady's book, It Takes a
Village. (Attached is an article from the Washington Post on the event.)

OUTREACH

Urban League of Greater Chattanooga. On December 10, I participated in several
events coordinated by the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga: a breakfast meeting
with business leaders hosted by Chattanooga Mayor Jon Kinsey; a luncheon meeting with
members of the Chattanooga Race Relations Committee; a "One America Conversations
that Bring Us Together" meeting at which I facilitated a conversation among 16 people,
including pastors, students, business people, and educators representing a number of races
who expressed their experiences with people of other races and ideas for you and the
Initiative; and, finally, the day culminated with the Equal Opportunity Day Dinner at
which I gave the keynote address to approximately 1,000 people. I encouraged the
participants to think ofthemselves as part of the Initiative, work toward achieving the
goals of the Initiative, and recognize that America's diversity is its strength.

At each event, I urged business and community leaders to take active part in the Initiative

2
Hex-Dump Conversion

and find solutions to issues related to race. Chattanooga leaders were extremely
supportive of the Initiative and offered to host an event in their city.

Religious Leaders. On December 11, we held a conference call with the religious
leaders who met with Reverend Johnson Cook last month in conjunction with your Prayer
Breakfast. We will schedule four or five forums for religious leaders in different regions
of the country. The first one is scheduled to take place on February 10 in Northern
California in conjunction with an Advisory Board meeting that will be held in San
Francisco or Oakland.

Leaders in Education. In partnership with the Association of American Colleges and
Universities and the National Urban League, we will hold a national week of
campus/community dialogue in April.

Public Officials. We are working with the Office of Intergovemmental Affairs to
organize "One America Conversations that Bring Us Together" with city and county
officials on the day following our Advisory Board meetings in Phoenix, San
Francisco/Oakland, and Denver.

RESEARCH AND POLICY PLANNING

Fairfax County Schools. The case study on Bailey's Elementary School in Fairfax
County identifies some of the challenges, successes and lessons leamed in a magnet
school that serves an increasingly diverse student body. Linda Chavez-Thompson will
release the study on December 15.

3
Hex-Dump Conversion

COMMUNICATION

Press Coverage. This week there were eleven articles that covered the Initiative in
major newspapers. (Attached is a column from the Wall Street Journal, "The Race.
Initiative: Tough but Worth the Effort.")

WORK TEAMS

ADVISORY BOARD

The January 14 Advisory Board meeting will focus on employment issues and. will be
held in Phoenix.

TOWN HALL MEETINGS

Advisory Board Town Hall Meeting. We are working on an Advisory Board Town
Hall meeting in Atlanta in late January.

YOUTH

Call to Action Letter. We have been receiving approximately 100 letters a day in
response to your "call to action" letter to youth. The response has been overwhelming
and very positive. The majority of the letters are coming from white youth. Even
though many of them are in the middle of final exams, they have taken the time to
respond quickly and enthusiastically to your call to action. We are in the process of
setting up a call-to-action column on the website and will post a letter each week. We
plan to respond to each student by thanking them for their support and offering them
further guidance on steps to take to further the goals of the Initiative. We also plan to
inform them about upcoming events in their area.

FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIVITIES Hex-Dump Conversion

Department of Justice (DOJ)

New Jersey Housing Discrimination Case. On December 8, DOJ med suits against
the owners and managers of two apartment complexes in Clark, NJ, for race
discrimination in their rental practices .. The evidence was developed under DOJ's
fair housing testing program. African Americans inquiring about apartments at
the complexes were told that no apartments were available when, in fact,
apartments were available.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

5
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Minority Farmers. On December 17, Secretary Glickman will participate in a meeting
with you. and small and minority farmers at the White House.

Puerto Rican Farmers. On December 2, in a ceremony in Puerto Rico,
USDA's Farm Service Agency made a multi-year commitment to increasing the
participation of Puerto Rico's socially disadvantaged rural residents in agriculture
and in USDA programs, committing $320,000 as the first installment of a
multi-year outreach project directed at small farmers on the island. USDA will
. work with the University of Puerto Rico to create programs to lessen some of the
financial problems and obstacles to credit which hinder limited-resource farmers.
The goal is to ensure that small, disadvantaged, beginning, and youth farmers
participate in USDA credit programs, obtain training in farm operations and
management, and receive program and technical information.

Native American Outreach. The American Indian Program Group, comprised
of outreach program specialists from six USDA agencies, is developing program
training for the four Native American outreach specialists Who will be hired by the
Intertribal Agriculture Council using funds provided by USDA by January 15.

Native American Food Distribution. The National Association of Food
Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations has nominated 25 Native
American tribal organizations for expansion of a pilot project which provides
fresh produce as an altemative to canned fruits and vegetables under the Food
Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. The new sites will be added
throughout the fiscal year, and will potentially more than double the number of
participating tribes.

One America Conversation at Tuskegee. On December 8, following his speech on
civil rights at Tuskegee University, Secretary Glickman served as the host for a
conversation on race with community leaders. The ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates in
Montgomery, AL, Alabama Public Television, AP (both print and photo), Montgomery
Advertiser (both print and photo), the NBC affiliate in Binningham, Birmingham News
Print, and the ABC affiliate in Columbus covered the Secretary's speech and conversation
on race; print reporters included AP and the Binningham and Montgomery daily
newspapers.

Department of Labor (DOL) ,

Diversity Task Force. This week DOL's Diversity Task Force began a series of

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visits to each DOL region to meet with REC members, union officials, special
interest groups, special emphasis program managers, representatives of the Federal
Labor Managers Association, supervisors, managers, and employees to learn
....rst-hand the ideas and concerns of DOL ....eld employees in achieving a model
workplace that promotes inclusiveness, fairness and full participation of all
employees. Over the next two weeks, Task Force members will visit regional of....ces
in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, New York City, Philadelphia, San
Francisco and Seattle.

National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). On December 9, Secretary Herman
addressed the NCNW. She discussed details of her National Welfare-to-Work fact
rmding mission, amplified your One America in the 21st Century message, and
made reference to the 50th anniversary of Human Rights Day. Media present at
the luncheon included: UP/, BNA, WHUR, Alabama National Radio (70+ stations),
Washington Informer, Final Call, and a photographer from Jet, Vibe, and
Sister-to-Sister magazines.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Housing Discrimination. On December 5, HUD fIled housing discrimination
charges against a Lake Charles, LA. landlord. The landlord is accused of telling an
African American man: "I don't like to rent to you people... brown, black, colored,
whatever you call yourselves." This riling of federal civil charges against the
landlord is part of a nationwide crackdown on housing discrimination that you
ordered.

Department of Transportation (DOT)

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One America Conversation. Assistant Secretary Charles A Hunnicutt will
conduct a conversation with the members of the Anti-racism Task Force of the
National Capital Presbytery, Presbyterian Church (USA) in early January.

Department of Energy (DOE)

One America Conversation. On December 5, Secretary Pena held a "One America
Conversation" with college students at San Diego State University's Aztec Center to
amplify your message on the importance of bridging racial divides. The discussion was
observed by approximately 100 college and high school students.

Department of Education (DOEd)

Florida Higher Education. For the past year and a half, DOEd's Office for Civil Rights
(OCR) has been working in partnership with Florida to resolve higher education
desegregation concerns. Although there has been significant progress, critical issues
remain unresolved, including agreement on the applicable legal standards and the need
for affirmative action programs to satisfy "strict scrutiny." On November 19, OCR sent a
letter to the govemor's office indicating that if OCR and the state are unable to resolve
these issues within the next few weeks, OCR will initiate a more traditional civil rights
investigation of statewide higher education issues.

Ohio Higher Education. DOEd's OCR recently wrote to the Ohio Governor's office
regarding the long-standing civil rights case involving Ohio's only historically black

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school, Central State University. Last July, the state legislature passed a bill that
of
addresses many OCR's concerns, which involve funding disparities between Central
State and Ohio's other public universities; OCR's letter indicates that, in light of the
legislation and the state's plans to continue addressing OCR's concerns, OCR will not
resume investigation until Spring 1998. .

One America Conversations. On December 11, Secretary Riley hosted a "One
America: Conversations that Bring Us Together" event with fifth grade students in
Laurel, MD. On December 12, Assistant Secretary for Elementary arid Secondary
Education Tirozzi is scheduled to host an event at T.C. Williams High School in
Alexandria, VA. On December 18, Secretary Riley will host his second "One America
Conversation" in a Baltimore elementary school.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

Office of Personnel Management

Pittsburgh. On December 14, Diredor Lachance will host a "One America:
Conversations that Bring Us Together" in Pittsburgh, PA at the St. Benedid of the Moor
Catholic Church.

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