{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://adams.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/hbcus-head-meet-white-house-amid-strained-ties", "HBCUs head to meet with White House amid strained ties", "2017-09-29", "2017", "2017-09", "Democrat", "House", "NC", "Alma Adams", "A000370", "adams.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON (AP) \u2013 President Donald Trump on Monday named a lawyer and former NFL player as executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as the administration faces criticism from those institutions of promises unkept.\nJonathan Holifield, who also writes and consults on the topics of innovation and inclusiveness, told leaders and students that HBCUs must contribute more to the American economy.\n\u201cThere is no path to sustain new job creation, shared prosperity and enduring national competition without the current and increased contributions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities,\u201d Holifield told students at the Old Executive Office Building next to the White House.\nHis appointment answers one complaint from the leaders of HBCUs, who are making their second visit to the White House this year amid strains with the Trump administration over unfulfilled promises. Trump has said he would move the office of Historically Black Colleges and Universities from the Education Department to the White House. He promised support for the schools during his presidential campaign and Black History Month meetings, when college presidents posed for pictures with Trump in the White House.\nBut the annual gathering in the nation\u2019s capital for those schools has been reduced to a two-day summit, further aggravating college officials. And Trump was not in Washington to receive the visitors Monday. Instead, he was in New York for the U.N. General Assembly.\n\u201cEveryone\u2019s uptight in this day and age with our current president and with what\u2019s going on,\u201d said Ty Couey, president of the National HBCU Alumni Associations. \u201cThings are out of control.\u201d\nAdvocates for the schools say there has been little to no action from the Trump administration. The institutions have not seen increases in their funding in Trump\u2019s proposed budget, and they had to beat back a White House push to call construction money for HBCUs unconstitutional. All that followed the backlash after school presidents posed with Trump for a photo in the Oval Office.\nThat led to calls from the colleges\u2019 major advocates to postpone the annual National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference.\n\u201cIt has become painstakingly clear that these promises are not being kept,\u201d said Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C., who leads the Congressional HBCU Caucus.\n\u201cIn this current environment, and with zero progress made on any of their priorities, it would be highly unproductive to ask HBCU presidents to come back to Washington,\u201d she said.\nThe week is normally planned by the White House HBCU Initiative\u2019s executive director along with a presidential HBCU advisory board, said Johnny C. Taylor, president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, a nonprofit organization that has supported public HBCUs since 1987.\nResponding to \u201cfeedback from key stakeholders,\u201d the Education Department sent an email Sept. 5 saying it was \u201cpostponing this year\u2019s National HBCU Week Conference\u201d and replacing it with \u201cmore intimate conversations.\u201d\nOmarosa Manigault Newman, a HBCU graduate and assistant to the president and director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison, said in a telephone interview last week that the conference was simply scaled back. She said the White House intended to announce an executive director for the initiative on Monday.\nAlso announced Monday was a lineup of 62 HBCU \u201cAll-Stars\u201d \u2013 students who serve as the initiative\u2019s ambassadors to Black colleges.\nThe leaders were expected to discuss capital financing, improving student outcomes, alliances with the tech sector and post-secondary degrees. Students are getting a tour of the White House, mentoring and a special tour of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.\n\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s commitment to the HBCU Community remains strong and unwavering,\u201d Newman said in a statement. \u201cRegistration remains at capacity and we are looking forward to welcoming HBCU presidents, students and guests.\u201d\nTrump received 8 percent of the African American vote during the election. Since then, he has generated controversy through several statements, including saying last month said there were \u201cvery fine people\u201d among the White nationalists, White supremacists and neo-Nazis protesting the possible removal of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia.\n\u201cThere is legitimate concern that some may want to use this event to protest, boycott or much worse, refuse to work with the Trump Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress,\u201d Taylor said.\nThe White House is not the only game in town, Couey said.\n\u201cA lot of our time is not spent on Trump. He\u2019s just one individual,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have many friends in Congress that we interact with; we have many friends within the federal government. These are the people we\u2019re dealing with, the people who actually get things done.\u201d\nAdams now plans to hold an inaugural \u201cHBCU Brain Trust\u201d meeting during the Congressional Black Caucus\u2019 annual meeting.\n\u201cDespite the ongoing drama and unnecessary distractions of the president\u2019s own making, we plan to move forward with opportunities for HBCU leaders to engage in substantive dialogues that put our schools and students first,\u201d Adams said.\nAssociated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this story.", 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/hbcus-head-meet-white-house-amid-strained-ties"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8547999896109104, "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"}