President Bush Meets With Faith-Based African American Leaders at the White House
By Mary Wells
WI Staff Writer
Thursday, July 28, 2005
President George Bush met on Monday, July 25 th, with 20 African American leaders of the faith-based community. Included in this group were civic and corporate leaders. They met for 40 minutes in the Roosevelt Room at the White House to discuss four issues of mutual concern.
After the meeting, a teleconference was held with news media, including African American reporters, according to Jim Towey, Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
“The focus of this meeting centered on four issues of mutual consent,” Towey said. The four issues included the results of the GI Summit and Bush’s commitment to Africa ; Medicare drug prescription benefits; accessing corporate and federal grants; and the Faith-based and Community Initiative.
Towey said Bush and Ambassador Tobias spoke at length on the US commitment to Africa on AIDS and HIV treatment and prevention, and how 230,000 Africans are now receiving these anti-retroviral drugs, which came out of the recent G8 Summit at Gleneagles. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice came in at the end and spoke about her recent trip to the Sudan .
Bush opened the meeting discussing the Faith-based and Community Initiative. In that context, Bush spoke of the importance of the Faith-based community being able to accept federal funds and also being able to access some of the corporate and foundation money that is granted each year. Many large corporations have policies that explicitly rule out donations or grants to faith-based organizations that don’t have 501 (C) (3) designations.
Many of these corporations rule out matching gifts programs to faith-based organizations and proselytizing by them.
Towey said Bush wants to see the focus on effectiveness—not on religion, but on results. “We have removed barriers at the federal level, but within the corporate boardrooms and foundation boardrooms there are still barriers in place. Bush is seeking a way to remove these barriers where the religious social programs can be separated from the proselytizing,” Towey said.
The White House will sponsor a summit in March 2006 to reach out to African American pastors and organizations that are on the front lines doing the work and support charitable choice. In answer to a reporter of why the NAACP was not invited to this meeting, Towey said, “The NAACP as an organization does not support charitable choice. We invited the Urban League. I think the President is willing to reach out and continue a dialogue that’s going to achieve goals of mutual interest.”
For a full transcript of this meeting, contact the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives.
The participant list for the President’s meeting with African American leaders and faith-based organizations included: Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, senior pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church; Mrs. Cynthia Ferguson Bolas, director, International Development Center, National Council of Negro Women; Mr. Julius Coles, President, Africare; Mr. Farrah Gray, Chairman, Farrah Gray Foundation: Publisher, INNERCITY Magazine; Mr. Samuel Hamilton, Chairman, National Pan-Hellenic Council; Mrs. Janice Howroyd, Chairman and CEO, AT*1 Group of Companies; Pastor Walter Humphrey, Senior Pastor, Moriah Christian Fellowship Baptist Church, Founder, Bay Area Inner City Leadership Alliance; Pastor Ken Hutcherson, Senior Pastor, Antioch Bible Church; Mr. Ronald Jackson, Executive Director, D. C. Catholic Conference for the Archdiocese of Washington; Mr. Ben Kinchlow, Founder and CEO, African American Political Awareness Coalition; Rev. Fred Lucas, President and CEO, Faith Center for Community Development, Inc.; Mr. Wintley Phipps, President, U.S. Dream Academy, Inc.; Rev. Eugene Rivers, Co-founder and President, National Ten Point Leadership Foundation; Mr. Leonard Robinson, President and CEO, the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa; Mrs. Hope Sullivan, President and CEO, Leon H. Sullivan Foundation; Mr. J. C. Watts, Chairman, J. C. Watts Companies, former member of Congress; and Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr., Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church.