April 2016 marked the eighth and last White House Correspondents Dinner that President Obama would lead. It's usually a time of smart one-liners, big laughs from comedians and over all fun times. This year didn't dissappoint. And in a move that many classic entertainers might do, Mr. President left the stage by dropping the mic and saying "Obama out."
So taking a look back over the past 8 years, we look at what President Barack Obama has done--this time specifically for us--Black America.
1. Gave Money Back To Black Farmers
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President Obama’s administration oversaw the $1.2 billion settlement awarded to Black farmers who have been denied loans and assistance by the Agricultural Dept. for decades.
This is the second round of settlements in a case filed in 1997, which alleged that thousands of black farmers had been discriminated against between 1983 and 1997. This round is directed at farmers who were not awarded payment because of missed filing deadlines.
This agreement provided overdue relief and justice to African American farmers, and "bring us closer to the ideals of freedom and equality that this country was founded on,” Obama said in a statement.
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2. Focus On Black Males
In February 2014, President Obama introduced My Brother's Keeper, to specifically focus on improving the lives of young African American males. The initiative is encouraging nonprofits to raise $200 million in five years for programs focused on young men of color. Though My Brother's Keeper is not a federally funded government program, no such effort has existed before under any American President. [Update] President Obama has given funding to MBK for specific mentoring initiatives across the country.
TAKE A LOOK: 44 Things That The 44th President Of The United States Has Done
3.Expanded Funding For HBCUs
In February of this year, President Obama signed an executive order increasing funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to $850 million over the next 10 years. The funding is being administered through the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. By the way, this is the most funding any administration has given to HBCU's.
4. Signed The Crack Cocaine Bill (Fair Sentencing Act)
Crack users are disproportionately sentenced to longer jail terms than those who use powder. This unfair sentencing practice punished African Americans more severely than their white counterparts. With the signing of the Fair Sentencing Act, though, President Obama narrowed that disparity significantly.
President Obama signed into law the Fair Sentencing Act, which narrows the huge disparity in punishment given to those convicted of possessing crack cocaine versus those found with the drug in powder form.
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Under the old law, someone convicted of possessing five grams of crack cocaine received a mandatory five years in prison. Those convicted of possessing powder cocaine had to be holding 100 times that amount to get the same mandatory sentence. Not to mention, he was also the only sitting President to visit a maximum security prison
5. Improved Graduation Rates Among African American High School Students
In 2013, the President introduced a new initiative meant to help more African American students finish...... high school and graduate from college.
The program, called the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, coordinates with several federal agencies to create a range of education programs for black students. The program works with the White House’s initiative on historically black colleges as well. The program seems to have worked. Upon entering the White House, the graduation rates of African Americans were 63.5%, they have since jumped all the way up to 70.7%.
6. Helping Black Businesses
President Obama cut taxes for small business owners 18 times, and signed into law $200 billion in tax relief and incentives that benefited American businesses over the last three years to encourage them to create jobs and invest in growth.
The President’s Small Business Jobs Act made 4.5 million small businesses eligible for a larger tax break on new investments in equipment and machinery. It also put more capital into the hands of Black-owned businesses, supporting more than $12 billion in small business loans, 21 percent of which went to minority-owned businesses.
7. Changed The Face Of The $20 Bill
It was the Obama administration that pushed for the face of the $20 bill to change to that of a Black woman. Harriet Tubman's face will the face of the new $20 bill coming in 2020. In the face of those who don't even recognize that slavery every existed, the Obama admisitration put a former slave on the most popular bill in the country.
8. Passed The Affordable Care Act
We can't forget the Affordable Care Act. Before the Affordable Care Act, nearly one-third of African Americans did not have health care. When the highly debated health care reform bill was signed into law in March of 2010, millions of African Americans benefited.
The Affordable Care Act expands insurance coverage by a number of mechanisms the some examples include establishing the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, which is working to make health insurance coverage available to individuals who have been uninsured for at least six months and have been denied health insurance because they have a pre-existing condition.
ACA made the 4.1 million African Americans making less than $14,403.90 and a family of four making less than $29,326.50 eligible for Medicaid. In addition, individuals without dependent children or who are not pregnant are now eligible for Medicaid.
Because of the ACA, health plans are now required to cover certain preventive and immunization services without charging a deductible, co-pay or coinsurance. Specifically, new health plans will have to offer consumers 45 free screenings and other preventive services, mainly ones that disproportionately impact African-Americans including:
• Blood pressure testing
• Cardiovascular screening
• Cervical cancer screening
• Cholesterol measurement
• Colorectal cancer screening
• Depression
• Diabetes screening
• HIV testing
• Immunizations and vaccines
• Mammograms
• Obesity screening and counseling
• Screening newborns for sickle cell disease
