Spring Break
Want to know Obama's next move? Ask Valerie Jarrett
Hazel Trice Edney/NNPA Editor-in-Chief
Issue date: 12/28/08 Section: Politics
Jarrett knows how the president-elect thinks. It is often said that talking to Jarrett is the same as talking to Obama. That assertion is close to the truth, she conceded.
"Obviously, he is his own person, but we are very close," she said. "I've had the pleasure of knowing both the president-elect and his terrific wife, Michelle, for over 17 years now. They are my very dear friends, so I think we understand each other."
Preparing to lead, they hash out issues daily in the transition office deliberating over the selection of his cabinet and analyzing agency reviews.
CEO of a real estate development and management company, Jarrett brings to the table a plethora of educational and professional experiences that have prepared her for this moment, including degrees from Stanford and the University of Michigan and she has worked for two Chicago mayors, Harold Washington and Richard Daily.
Citing the racially disparate economic impact on job losses and disparate health and health care statistics, Jarrett acknowledges, "They are far more rampant in the Black community than you see in the general population…So, if you're going to say that front and center is the economy and we take initiatives to jump start the economy and the Black community is most fragile, it's going to inure to the African-American community," she said.
Jarrett says Obama's inclusive leadership style will naturally remind America that what's good for African-Americans is good for all.
Still, there are enemies even to that vision. Jarrett laments news of reported racial hate crimes and attacks that have happened in response to Obama's election.
"He has absolutely no tolerance for racial injustice, regardless of the race that it's been directed toward," she said. "He feels very strongly that we have to come together and stop the racial injustice that has ravaged our country in the past." Despite it all, Jarrett is optimistic.
"Our challenges are so immense. We haven't been in this kind of economic crisis since the great depression. We have two wars going on. We have our climate that's in peril, we have our public school system that needs an enormous amount of help, we have an energy crisis in our country, we have a health care problem in our country," she stated. "Change does not come easy. There will be many forces that will want to continue the status quo. We have to rise above that."
"Obviously, he is his own person, but we are very close," she said. "I've had the pleasure of knowing both the president-elect and his terrific wife, Michelle, for over 17 years now. They are my very dear friends, so I think we understand each other."
Preparing to lead, they hash out issues daily in the transition office deliberating over the selection of his cabinet and analyzing agency reviews.
CEO of a real estate development and management company, Jarrett brings to the table a plethora of educational and professional experiences that have prepared her for this moment, including degrees from Stanford and the University of Michigan and she has worked for two Chicago mayors, Harold Washington and Richard Daily.
Citing the racially disparate economic impact on job losses and disparate health and health care statistics, Jarrett acknowledges, "They are far more rampant in the Black community than you see in the general population…So, if you're going to say that front and center is the economy and we take initiatives to jump start the economy and the Black community is most fragile, it's going to inure to the African-American community," she said.
Jarrett says Obama's inclusive leadership style will naturally remind America that what's good for African-Americans is good for all.
Still, there are enemies even to that vision. Jarrett laments news of reported racial hate crimes and attacks that have happened in response to Obama's election.
"He has absolutely no tolerance for racial injustice, regardless of the race that it's been directed toward," she said. "He feels very strongly that we have to come together and stop the racial injustice that has ravaged our country in the past." Despite it all, Jarrett is optimistic.
"Our challenges are so immense. We haven't been in this kind of economic crisis since the great depression. We have two wars going on. We have our climate that's in peril, we have our public school system that needs an enormous amount of help, we have an energy crisis in our country, we have a health care problem in our country," she stated. "Change does not come easy. There will be many forces that will want to continue the status quo. We have to rise above that."
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Fred Harvey
posted 1/10/09 @ 2:36 AM EST
This statement is all well and good for the blacks, but there is no mention of the gay community. How does Obama feel about the gay community? Gays have marched for civil rights for blacks historically but the blacks completely sold the gays to the dogs by voting against gay human rights in California recently. (Continued…)
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