         | April 6, 1998The President's Initiative on Race (PIR) is an effort to move the country closer to a stronger, more just, and unified America, one that offers opportunity and fairness for all Americans. It is a chance for every citizen in our country to be a part of a great national conversation about America's racial diversity and about the strength it brings our nation. One America on the Move is one of the ways in which we will inform the American public about the Initiative's progress. VICE PRESIDENT, CABINET & ADVISORY BOARD ACTIONS - On April 2, Vice President Gore announced a business roundtable series during an appearance on Black Entertainment Television. The series will be chaired by the Vice President and will consist of four meetings with business leaders. One component will be the Business Mentoring Initiative to be co-chaired by Treasury Secretary Rubin and SBA Administrator Alvarez.
- On March 18, the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans convened for the first meeting of the Inter-Departmental Council for Hispanic Educational Improvement. The Council developed working groups on education and employment that will be staffed by selected personnel from federal agencies.
- On March 16, the Department of Labor announced their first of $15 million in Welfare-to-Work grants to help Indian and Native American tribal governments. The Indian and Native American Welfare-to-Work grants are part of a $3 billion national effort to combat dependency among welfare recipients who face the most difficult obstacles to employment. One percent of the $3 billion is set aside for Indian and Native American tribal governments.
- On March 12, the Department of Housing (HUD) announced publication of the final rule that consolidates Native American housing assistance into a single formula block grant. The rule implements the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996.
- On March 10, in a move to increase urban and minority home ownership, Secretary Cuomo announced that HUD will investigate the problem of mortgage lending discrimination in America's cities.
- On March 9, the Administration submitted a supplemental appropriations request that includes funding to boost USDA's lending programs by $75 million. Without the increase, some of USDA's key loan programs will run out of money, leaving an estimated 1000 farmers without credit this year, many of whom are small and minority farmers.
UPCOMING EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS - On April 6-9, over 500 colleges/universities throughout the nation, have responded to our invitation to participate in the Campus Week of Dialogue. On April 8, Governor Kean will host a town hall meeting at Drew University in which Education Secretary Riley and Advisory Board member Angela Oh will participate; Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez will host a town hall meeting at UCLA; and Attorney General Janet Reno will host a meeting at Temple University. Interior Secretary Babbitt will participate in an event at Oberlin College on April 7. On April 6, Advisory Board member Linda Chavez Thompson, PIR Executive Director Judith Winston and Assistant Secretary of Education David Longanecker will participate in a town hall meeting at Howard University which will involve members from other local Washington, D.C. schools.
- On April 14, in Houston, Texas, President Clinton will hold his second National Conversation on Race with representatives from the sports community to be broadcast live on the ESPN network from 8:00 - 9:30 pm EST. The meeting will also be simulcast on the ESPN radio network. The ESPN Forum will allow us to look at how race-related issues are being examined in the sports world -- the successes, challenges and lessons learned.
- On April 30, PIR and the YWCA are working collaboratively in Statewide Days of Dialogue. More than 100 YWCA's in 37 states and the District of Columbia have agreed to participate. Each YWCA will conduct a conversation on race-related issues in their community.
- The One America Dialogue Guide was completed. It is a manual to assist groups in holding constructive dialogues on race in their communities. Please contact the Initiative if you would like to receive a Dialogue Guide.
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