By Kenya King (www.atlantadailyworld.com)
On Sunday, Jan.15, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 83rd birthday, President Barack Obama sent one of his most trusted advisers, Valerie Jarrett, to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to deliver a message that reverberated Dr. King’s call to action of service and of being “thy brother’s keeper.”
“I believe that if Dr. King were here with us today, he would join us in celebrating the progress we’ve made. And he’d also challenge us to do more, for there is far more left to do,” said Jarrett, who serves as President Obama’s senior adviser.
In 1963, conceivably no one would have dreamt that 48 years after Dr. King penned the book “Why We Can’t Wait,” detailing the countless rationales why African Americans deserved equality, the first African-American president would launch his second presidential bid fighting for those who still can’t wait. Today, the “we” not only includes African Americans, but can include anyone of any race who strives to find impartiality and equal opportunity.
When Dr. King launched the Poor People’s Campaign, he advocated for economic equality. Jarrett
said that King’s leadership serves as an inspiration to Obama today, and is confident that the president “has felt that we must all pick up the baton and run the next leg of the race” with a “fierce urgency of now. I think it is embedded in president Obama’s attitude each and every day,” she said.
Jarrett affirms that the president is unceasingly diligent and remains stirred to make a difference on behalf of those who have struggled and have been impacted by the Republicans’ refusal to pass the American Jobs Act.
She also made a fervent petition for everyone to do his or her part in fighting for continued change.
“This country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share, when everyone plays by the same rules,” said Jarrett in quoting Obama. “We simply cannot return to this brand of ‘you’re on your own’ economics if we’re serious about rebuilding the middle class – and we have to be – this kind of gaping inequality gives lie to the promise that it’s at the very heart of America: that this is a place where you can make it if you try,” she added.
President Obama has stated that “fighting for a nation that reflects our most deeply held values is what it means to carry on the legacy of Martin Luther King.” Jarrett says the White House encourages individuals to demonstrate their gratitude for Dr. King’s contributions through service to others. Those needing a place to volunteer each year can search online at www.MLKday.org, and can join the MLK Service Network to stay informed.
President Obama, Mrs. Obama, and others in the administration participated in the MLK Day of Service. “It’s a perfect way to pay tribute to his life’s work, and as he said, everyone can serve,” Jarrett added. “It’s something anyone can do, in any community.”
During her speech, Jarrett received a wave of audience buzz when she tendered remarks about the plight of being able to
pay back student loans.
President Obama recently made reforms with student loans that aim to lessen the financial burden for students in light of the economic downturn. Starting this month, students can consolidate different types of loans, which should lower their interest rates. For many students who are graduating from college this spring, there is the added option of not having loan payments larger than 10 percent of one’s (discretionary) income.
Obama also ended subsidies to banks involved in the student loan process, freeing up $40 billion for students over the next 10 years. In addition, Pell Grant funding increased by 50 percent and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) received $850 million in added funding.
Overall, the Obama administration’s changes in education boasts ‘the largest investment in higher education since the G.I. Bill,’ according to a recent campaign report.
In an interview after her speech, Jarrett mentioned that the administration has developed an initiative that forgives student loans after 10 years of work in public service and caps loan payments at 30 percent of one’s income for existing loans.
“So many people want to go into careers such as public service careers but they can’t afford it because they’re burdened by so much debt.
“We want people to be able to choose a career of their calling, particularly in public service, without having to worry about paying it back,” said Jarrett.
Jarrett, who also chairs the first ever White House Council for Women and Girls. She says another priority of the administration is to bring more equity for women in the workplace.
“The first bill that the president passed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and out of that, we also created an Equal Pay Task Force, and so the administration is looking for ways that we can level the pay playing field. Because right now women still only earn 77 cents on a dollar, when a country as great as ours, that should not be,” said Jarrett.
The White House Council for Women and Girls includes representatives from each federal agency, said Jarrett, and that the council encourages women, when they are young, to enter fields in which they are underrepresented such as science, technology, engineering and math.
Jarrett said that President Obama is committed to the White House Council for Women and Girls, as he desires for his two daughters to be able to reach their full potential. With this in Obama’s purview, Jarrett echoed Dr. King’s words and belief that everyone is joined together in a “single garment of destiny, whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly,” she said.
Jarrett offered reassurance of Obama’s support. “Let me tell you, President Obama stands firmly with you,” she exclaimed. While Jarrett said that Dr. King’s path proved that change never came fast or easy, she contended that now was not the moment to slow down, and that the fight is parallel to the biblical walls of Jericho.
“This is not a time to be weary,” said Jarrett. “Nor is it a time to sit idle and expect the president alone to solve all of our problems, because we know that if we work together with steadfast determination, those walls will crumble, and crack and shake. And for as Dr. King said, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
The stories of everyday people keep the president encouraged, said Jarrett.
She said she is certain there is great opportunity to make a difference for those who stand with him to answer the call.