{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://adams.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/ex-nfl-player-named-head-black-college-initiative", "Ex-NFL Player Named Head of Black College Initiative", "2017-09-29", "2017", "2017-09", "Democrat", "House", "NC", "Alma Adams", "A000370", "adams.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2014 The White House announced Monday that former Cincinnati Bengals running back and tech entrepreneur Johnathan Holifield will lead its initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, a move that garnered praise from some who had expressed concern over the Trump administration's commitment to those schools.\nSpeaking to a packed room of over 200 students, college presidents and administration officials during the opening ceremony of the annual White House summit on HBCUs, Holifield expressed his optimism for the initiative and said he is thankful for the opportunity to serve.\n\u201cThere is no patent to sustain new job creation, shared prosperity, and enduring national competitiveness without the current and increased contributions of historically black colleges and universities,\u201d Holifield said.\nIn a statement, President Donald Trump praised Holifield's business experience and said Holifield will \u201clead the movement to strengthen the capacity of HBCUs to provide a high-quality education.\u201d\nOmarosa Manigault Newman, assistant to the president and director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison, said Holifield was chosen because he has \u201cexperience, temperament, is incredibly engaging, and knows his stuff.\u201d\nHolifield is co-founder of ScaleUp Partners, a company that aims to advance \u201cinclusive competitiveness throughout the U.S\u201d and former president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Cleveland as well as a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He is an alumni of West Virginia University, the University of Cincinnati, and a graduate of The University of Oklahoma's Economic Development Institute \u2014 none of which are HBCUs.\nAhead of the official White House announcement,\u00a0some stakeholders\u00a0were skeptical of Holifield's lack of educational experience with HBCUs.\nBut on Monday, Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, said he was pleased with the Trump administration's choice.\n\u201cWe look forward to learning how [Holifield] will champion meaningful actions to advance HBCUs and ensure that more African-American students have the opportunity to go to and through college,\u201d Lomax said in a statement.\nManigault Newman said it's hard to find a candidate everyone can agree on, but that everyone can agree that \u201che has the experience and skills to carry out the job he\u2019s been asked to do.\"\n\u201cHe will oversee the day-to-day management of the office. He will manage the staff and the resources. I don\u2019t think you have to be from an HBCU to be a great manager and to carry out what\u2019s been outlined in the executive order,\u201d she said, referencing the order Trump signed nearly eight months ago declaring HBCUs \"a priority\" of his administration.\nBut since the order's signing, critics have decried Trump's administration for seeming to put the issue on the back-burner.\nLomax had initially requested that the HBCU summit be postponed \u201cdue to lack of progress by the Trump administration on policy initiatives that serve the best interests of HBCUs.\u201d\nRep. Alma Adams, the Democratic founder and co-chair of the Congressional Bipartisan Historically Black Colleges and Universities Caucus, had also called for the postponement of the summit. But she conceded Holifield's appointment was a \u201cfirst step\u201d by the White House to repair its relationship with Congress and HBCU leaders and said she looked forward to \u201cworking with [Holifield] to advance meaningful change for our HBCUs.\u201d\nIn the conference's opening ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Holifield welcomed the new class of the White House Initiative on\u00a0HBCUs All-Star program\u00a0\u2014 62 college students who were selected for \u201ctheir dedication to academics, leadership, and civic engagement.\u201d Chosen from 56 HBCUs, the students will serve as ambassadors to the initiative for one year and act as a liaison between their school and the White House, providing outreach to their fellow students. The All-Star program was created in 2014 under the Obama administration.\nOn Friday, Trump signed a proclamation declaring this week National HBCU Week. The HBCU initiative was started in 1980 by former president Jimmy Carter and expanded under former president Ronald Reagan. Since its creation, the office of the executive director of the initiative has been located at the Department of Education. But Holifield will work in the White House \u201cso that he will be able to better advocate for the initiative, and as well carry out the executive order,\u201d a senior administration official said.\nHolifield will meet with HBCU presidents, students, and other administration officials about the funding and educational needs of HBCUs during the two-day summit. He officially starts Oct. 2.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://adams.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/ex-nfl-player-named-head-black-college-initiative"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8408247958868742, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}