Obama launches educational initiative for Black Americans

President Barack Obama is creating a new educational initiative to bolster African American students.

Obama Educational Initiative

The White House says the office will coordinate the work of communities and federal agencies to ensure that African American youngsters are better prepared for high school, college and career, reports The Associated Press.

Obama will announce his initiative Wednesday night in a speech to civil rights group the National Urban League.

Executive order

Aides say his executive order, to be signed Thursday, will set a goal of producing “a more effective continuum” of programs for African American students.

In his remarks Wednesday, Obama said he is creating the office “so that every child has greater access to a complete and competitive education from the time they’re born all through the time they get a career.”

And that’s why we’re pushing all colleges and universities to cut their costs. Because we can’t keep asking taxpayers to subsidize skyrocketing tuition. A higher education in the 21st century cannot be a luxury. It is a vital necessity that every American should be able to afford. I want all these young people to be getting a higher education, and I don’t want them loaded up with tens of thousands of dollars of debt just to get an education. That’s how we make America great.