build america. they jumpstart the capital markets. you're seeing a lot of volume and movement in the capital markets. it is a direct result of what the obama administration did in passing the recovery act. the proceeds of that were designed to be invested in the community. i think it is a misnomer to state it was not just for the private sector. >> the first people to line up for recovery were bankers. they were the ones about a year ago that got the $700 billion on the basis of two pieces of tiny paper that henry paulson gave to president bush. there was no footnote or justification. it was just that they needed $700 billion. the second part was the recovery act that president obama has dealt with. it has not trickled down in the ways we would have expected. . .

>> if we don't figure out how to compete in the private sector, but will fight the same battles that we fought to get where we are. one of the things i am most proud of is that i spent most of

my years in the government and was able to come out and go to work for an african-american company. there are a lot of people that do not have that opportunity. people don't necessarily pursue them. we have to take advantage of the government programs. it is important that we figure them out. we also must how to compete in the private sector. it is not sexy. it is what i have discussed, it is not sexy. people want to look under the hood. if they find things that are inappropriate where they want to be discriminatory, which must learn how to run our business effectively and efficiently. >> it seems like one of the opportunities is in broadbent. -- broadband. it is certainly owned by the

private sector, but it is governed and regulated by the public. should the federal government get more involved in terms of regulating? should there be more of a push for minorities? >> one part of the act is to make sure that everyone has access to broadbent. it was primarily designed to take care of rural areas but there are a number of african- americans in these rural areas that will not have access to broadband. that is all good. i know a number of african- americans who have applied for and received grants to build these out. we almost have to contrast, here. the $100 million project with quincy jones is great, but that is addressing the lower tier. people say that you do not know your company is. that is an error on your part and the media's part to the need

to let us know who you are. the media class are the ones that can take revenge of financial literacy just to take them from the college local and the graduate school level and they can take advantage of all these. that is why it is the internet or broadband that supplies this information. i would like to get my fair share of your $100 million, but it will be buried in with everything else that is on the tv screen. a direct, one-on-one discussion with people who have a real aptitude and can exercise an agribusiness is the advantage. this is important to our survival.

a black eye for norse hire black employees. -- black entrepreneurs hire black employees. again, do not look at us as one single solution we to be working at all levels. >> literacy should start with balancing your checkbook. there are so many people who do not know what happened with part -- with our -- with tarp it cannot stop there. we should be educating our community about everything that is going on so we know what opportunities are there. >> this recession has been a profit center for a whole lot of people.

we need to be clear about those folks who have benefited and are actually in the business of exploitation around this recession. for example, there are people who will help you with your foreclosure. you will give them money and they will be gone and you will lose your home and your money. they have figured out that we are profit centers. folks like him do the work. there are lots of money being made in this recession. frankly, the african-american community is not making as much of the money as other people are. the whole call for financial literacy, as you say, it is not just about credit scores and knowing how to balance the budget, but how we play in this economy, and do we play in the

same way. if we look at people who look at the federal reserve bank in the department of commerce, are we equally represented? do they say that there are opportunities for you? the answer is no. this is not necessarily for anyone to do anything for us, but for us to understand that we have to fully play in this economy, which circles back to education. >> your in a unique position as an economist and educator. when we talk about economic long-term strategy, barack obama talks about this. can you talk about this? >> our nation will not be able to survive unless we fully invested education. china, india and eastern europe are producing more engineers and we are.

if you look at people that are 55-64, 40% of us have either an a or b a degree. in a 30 year period, we have not improved our ability to deliver education to people. it is because the demographics have changed. white people are doing as good as they ever did with a slight shift in white men and white women. two-thirds of our students are women. one-third are men. more importantly, we have created hurdles in barriers for young black people to attend college. yet, we know that china is producing a new university every six months. in india, education is a bigger part of their gdp per capita

than horses. -- than ours is. we need to contribute to our social life. when i graduate from college in 1974, i had $2,000 in student loans. the average student today has $20,000 in student loans. the average african-american has nearly $28,000 in student loans. we need to invest in our young people. we need to make sure that they have an opportunity. it is really about black and brown right now. i am not disrespecting the majority community, but understanding the demographic is changing and folks need to invest in our community. i cannot tell you how passionate i am about the reality that not only does education have the

power to transform individual lives, but it has the power to transform communities in the power to maintain the competitive edge for our nation. investment in these programs is not about an investment in black people, it is about an investment in america. absent the ability to transform lives, we say that they are running over us because their priorities are different than ours. our priorities have been about being the world crop. -- the world's top -- the world's cop. >> harvey lawrence? >> there is a difference between literacy and of japan during -- and entrepreneurial

development. entrepreneurial ship is something that i think that we need to develop in our levels to let young folks know that there are different pathways and not everyone needs to know how to be a lawyer and a doctor, but you can be an entrepreneur. when we think about microsoft and some of these other companies such as google, they were started by individuals who had a vision or a commitment. they were able to leverage into other things such as finance. we have to develop the instinct for entrepreneurship and nurture people to become entrepreneurs. >> how do you do that?

he said that it is not about being doctors and lawyers, but what is wrong with encouraging our doctors and lawyers and our business people who were truly the building blocks to become entrepreneurs? >> i am not saying that we shouldn't. i am saying that in addition to that, we should be engaged in all the areas. >> but sometimes those doctors and lawyers and accountants have the resources that helps them become entrepreneurial and build some well and give it back to the community. >> the level of our school, when you speak to students, their range of options is limited to this model of success. this ranges from being a rap star, a basketball player -- a

basketball player or a lawyer. if you have tim, maybe one will say that they are to open up a business. that is what i am addressing to look at the options. >> i want us to come away with some nugget of inflammation that lets us know -- information that lets us know how to not let this pass by the community that deserves it that was in a depression before the general public was. can we, in wrapping up, tap into that? >> back to education, with all due respect, microsoft was started by an entrepreneur, but he left harvard. thifacebook was started by an auction or that left harvard.

that puts people in the position to really take advantage of the opportunities when they present themselves. i think that the economic recovery act gives us the responsibility to make sure we are educating our people to take advantage of that. >> just as a general comment, i agree with everything she said. we cannot miss the fact that as we talk about the challenges, we have made tremendous progress as entrepreneurs and business owners in this country. one thing that relates to the charter block, we have to develop a culture of giving in our communities. we do not give to our colleges, but your charitable institutions, and those institutions become dependent on the entities that we're going to and asking them to open doors.

we have to take on and develop a sense of a culture of giving as part of their responsibility, not just as african-americans, but as members of society. >> in fact, this sunday, there is a business plan contest that is a tv show where college students present business plans to venture-capital lists in order to get funding. -- capitalists in order to get funding again, i know that a lot of people think it is exciting. there is a way to do it, but i do understand that you all will not watch, and that is fine, but i think we need to have places online where people really care

and people to easily find a permission to go to the next step. >> one thing is absolutely clear, financial literacy, the language of money, it was a math class, you would teach math. money is emotional. if you have low self-esteem, you will run yourself into the ditch. the language of money is a new civil rights issue. it is the new civil rights issue. if you do not understand the language of money and if you do not understand the code of capitalism and you do not have a bank account, you were in economics late. that has to be the starting point -- you are an economic slave. that has to be the starting point.

if 5 percent of rome models -- will models, why are you a doctor? because you saw a doctor pint. this is not rocket science. why do i have self-esteem? because my mother told me she loved me every day. what is the problem in our community? the role model level is 3.7%. that is why kids want to be rap stars, sports stars and drug dealers. these kids are not stupid. they are smart. our modeling what they see. we're teaching financial literacy and all that is important, but that little girl in the third row is looking at you and saying, "i can be you." she has never been seen a black

woman that was successful. if you can give one hour a month, 12 hours a year to go into the school and teach a course in dignity or go to a college and teach a course, and show yourself, give the real model 5%. why are we doing this? we're just assuming that the h1n1 is corps to take over. why do we not have a positive in academic -- a positive epidemic and make smart sexy again. i am aggravated. it's easy to say that it is the government's problem. president obama is not going to raise your children. he is not making your mortgage payment or your car payment. he cannot even afford to be black anymore.

he has to be president to all people. it is easier for a white person to be president. you're going to have to take care of you. this has never changed. it drives me nuts. i grew up in south central l.a., in compton california. my mom had an eight grade education. she went and got a high school diploma at 85 and was proud about it. i was homeless for six months of my life and live in a jeep and lost everything and everybody wrote me off. but god don't make derek -- derek -- bdirt. an entrepreneur or works 18 hours a day to keep from getting a job. i am not yawning because i am

bored, i am yawning because i got on a 630 flight in new york because i am in a commitment to be here and i have to leave here and go back to new york to meet with president clinton and then i have to be back here tomorrow morning and then i have to go back -- do you get my point? that is why everybody is up here hustling for a purpose. >> my brother has a lot of frequent flyer miles and we love him dearly for his work. in closing, what i think is that we all have to deal with change from the outside and from the inside. we know that the state of black america is shaky. we know it because we see the numbers and we see the disparities and we see the educational disparities, the economic disparities. of poverty in our community has

gone up again. we have the patience for social change. lauren knows that i value all of my brothers and sisters. it cannot be easy to be those kind of leaders. this talks about leaving the pour out. we need to talk about credits for homeowners. we know that half of black people are winners. what do we do for renters? what we do for communities? what do we do this a whole lot more sophisticated that a lot of people cannot figure out? we need a movement that is phenomenal, fierce and empowered. some people have the audacity to believe that people can get that. the second part needs to be a change within us. that is a different piece of it.

let me leave my educational had an read my bible. you will put your faith in me and you'll protect me from evil. what i interpret that as, is that they were asking the lord for the upgrade. we all asked for an upgrade. we'll ask for an upgrade we go to the airport. the upgrade is in our thinking. what if racism were fixed tomorrow. would he be a participant? when you close your eyes, what is inside. i do not do the either/or. we have to fix them both. this is an opportunity for black

people to engage in social movement in ways we have never been able to do before. barack obama is not the president of black america. he cannot be. the poor child cannot even it knowledge jimmy carter when jimmy carter said it was racism. we can say it and we need to keep on saying it. the point is that there is an opportunity moment with a progressive, brilliant man. where are we in terms of our external mode -- external moment. it allows us to go inside and claim an internal moment, which used the we will no longer, ever again make excuses for ourselves. some people don't apply to college because they did not know they could get in. if you do not apply, you will

never get in. community college is damn near free. if you cannot go to somebody's community college, you are saying that you want to be sidelined. we have to decide that we will no longer ever again be sidelined people. >> take the initiative. [applause] >> before we get to harvey lawrence, we need to acknowledge the dean of the congressional black caucus, the hon. john conyers. [applause] >> we love you. thank you, congressman conyers. >> i appreciate the comment about hustling. as the president and ceo of my development corp., a large part of my job is hustling.

i always hustling to bring money into our organization. i am always hustling the message that i have to impart is to our staff and constituents. you have to be responsible, individually. you have to take ownership of your circumstances. in fact, money or support may not be there. you have to be resourceful and you have to be reliance. that does not mean that we are not there to support and to guide, but that you to take ownership of that part of your life -- you have to take ownership of that part of your life. as african-americans, historically, we have found a way. we have taken little and made

much. that is the message of self- reliance. not necessarily waiting for someone to bring resources, but taking responsibility and being creative about how you move forward in your life and how you correct the wrongs and the things in your neighborhood. in addition to to people like myself, bringing the resources and fighting the battle for changes in public policy, we are very much aware of the health deficiencies in our community whether it be diabetes, hiv aids, these are not intellectual exercise is.

this is a real-life issue for us. the one thing that we do in addition to providing health care, we have to educate people that you have to make choices about what you do, what you eat, how much exercise to engage in, so that you can make a difference in your own life. i think that that message translates across the spectrum in terms of financial literacy and entrepreneurship. that is where it starts and where it ends. >> thank-you very much, r lawrence. we have a little bit more time. i wanted to ask dr. mauro, something you said that i thought was interesting. you said that your school was able to do a $20 million expansion, continuing the renaissance that was started by

dr. coles. how did you do that in these economic times? was it something in the recovery act? >> god is good. i stand on a very powerful shoulders terms of that. what happened a few decades back was that we had a loan that cover our entire campus. dr. cole said she was giving this problem to me. she told me what all my problems were going to be. we had to partition a loan so that we have equity. once we have equity, we were able to pull out money to basically borrow against a program in the federal government.

what i must say is that there are some very interesting things -- if the date is right, about one-quarter of your graduates. the way the government deals with this is fascinating. we are treated as stepchildren. all of the north carolina organizations -- when one college went under, other colleges paid for it if we had borrowed from the program, if your next-door neighbor defaulted on their loan, and you had to pay. that is what was happening. these are the challenges we had to deal with. thankfully, the development center was able to cut through red tape. >> which is a message.

>> we want people to take that to help their colleges. it has not been easy. i had no clue that this was what i was going to be doing. on october 16, we will be breaking ground on a new dormitory, the first new construction in 20 years. if i could dance, i would. >> that is the opportunity we are talking about. we promised a distinguished panel and that is what we got. a really dynamic discussion today. [applause] john hope bryant, george burrell, jonathan rodgers dr. julien volvo, and r lawrence. -- and harvey lawrence. >> president obama was at the congressional black caucus ceremony. some of the topics he touched on included the economy, equal

employment opportunity for minorities, education and health care. this lasts about half an hour. ♪ [hail to the chief] ♪ [applause] >> they did not want me to be on the right. [laughter] >> this is cbc.

[applause] >> to all the outstanding guest here tonight -- guest here tonight -- a guests here tonight, to the chair of the congressional black caucus, barbara lee, please give her a big round of applause [applause] ] to her outstanding foundation share -- chair, please give them a round of a applause. the house majority whip, george cliburn is in the house. chairman of thedcc is in the

house. and my great friend and the chair of the dnc, tim kane, please give him a big round of applause, the governor of the commonwealth of virginia. [applause] i want to begin by congratulating all of the recipients of the phoenix award for outstanding contributions to american life. i have to single out one of tonight's honorees for whom i can personally vouch, our ambassador to the united nations, susan rice. [applause] susan is doing a fantastic job as ambassador, especially in this past week when we were at the united nations. we are all lucky to have her representing us there. please give her a big round of applause.

[applause] i look out at all of you tonight, on members of congress, on state and local officials, leaders of all kinds, and i am reminded of the extraordinary tax of public service from african-americans today. i am reminded of the difference that each of you is making at every level of government. the neighborhoods of our small towns, the bustling streets of our big cities, but i am also reminded that it was not always this way. i am reminded of a time long before the cbc was born, when just a lone african-american was serving in the united states congress, north carolinian by

both, a child of slaves -- by birth, a child of slaves. he was a member of the first generation of african-americans elected to congress in the aftermath of appomattox. in the 1800's, when desegregation of the supreme court hammered down a separate but equal. strange fruit was growing on the popular trees -- on the poplar trees. once again, neither the house nor the senate would be occupied by a single african-american member. in the end of an aspiring farewell address, the gentleman from north carolina said, "this, mr. chairman, is perhaps the

negro's temporary farewell to the american congress. but let me say that he will rise up some day and come again." [applause] members of the cbc, all of the gathered here tonight, this is a fulfillment of that promise. while george henry white may not have seen the exact details of montgomery and the south, while he might not have seen the precise outlines of the civil rights act and the voting rights act and the struggles to come, he knew that someday, african- americans would sit in our city halls and statehouses. he knew that, someday, the halls of congress would be what by representatives and senators of every creed and color -- be

walked by representatives and senators of every creed and color. [applause] more than a century has passed since congressman white left congress. in that time, we have based tests and trials as a people in the nation. -- past test -- passed tests and trials as a people and nation. we are not the first generation to be tested, but tested we have been. most recently, we were tested by a new economic crisis unlike any we have seen since the great depression.

i have to say that some folks seem to have forgotten how bad things were when i took office. [applause] they seem to be exercising some selective memory. let's just take a stroll down memory lane. [applause] our economy was shedding 700,000 jobs every single month, more than the entire population of baltimore losing work every month. credit had dried out. everything from college to cars were nearly impossible to come by. aaron tiner -- our entire financial system was on the brink of collapse. you remember that.

that is why we acted boldly. that is why we acted swiftly to put in place a recovery act was passed with the help of members of congress that are here tonight and as a consequence of those early actions, we are cutting taxes for 95% of working families. and now for the rich folks, but for ordinary folks, putting some money in their pockets. we are extending unemployment insurance for 12 million americans to help them weather this economic storm. we are making cobra 65% cheaper so americans do not lose their health care coverage while they are looking for work. [applause] we are saving the jobs of teachers, police officers that

americans rely on across the nation and we're putting americans to work, rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges and schools and waterways with the largest investment in our infrastructure since the interstate highway system was built in the 1950's. because of the action we have taken so far, we have stopped the bleeding in our economy. the next time some of these folks come up and asking what the recovery act has done, you tell them it has prevented us from going into a much worse place. that much we know. that has been confirmed. but we also know that we have a long way to go. the progress we have made has been uneven. this recession has hit communities of color with particular ferocity. today, nearly one in seven

african americans are out of work. more than two out of tin are living in poverty. and this has become much worse. we all know that these problems have been there for a long time. communities were struggling to catch up long before this economic storm came ashore. one study that looked at trends in this company over the past few decades found that while roughly seven out of every 10 middle-class white children in that surpassing their parents' income, roughly seven out of every 10 black children do not. think about that. for the majority of some americans, of for mobility, for the majority of mothers, stagnation or even downward mobility.

that was before the economic crisis. that is unacceptable in the united states of america. [applause] bringing hope and opportunity to places where they are in short supply is not easy. it will take a focused and sustained effort to eradicate the structure will equalities -- a deep structural -- the structual access to our communities. we need a comprehensive approach to anti-poverty to give people the tools to pull themselves up. that is why i have built an office of government affairs.

that is why my administration, under the leadership of attorney general eric holder is serious about enforcing civil rights laws and kiran down barriers to people ought to paternity -- barriers to equal opportunity. for all the barriers still standing in 2009, few are more and just, you are more entrenched, if you are more in humane than the barriers to a healthy life and a good education -- few are more humane than the barriers to a healthy life and a good education. barriers that can and must and shall be overcome. for the sake of every american living today, and those yet to be born, we must bring together

a better health care system in this country through the knot in 10 years, not in five years, not in one year, [applause] this year . [applause] there are voices that say we are moving too fast. they're telling us to slow down. it they are telling us to wait. -- they are telling us to wait. there is a woman who discovered a lump in her breast in june and she was told it would be six months before she was eligible for health insurance that would cover the cost to remove it. we are telling her to wait? how are we supposed to tell a man to wait?

he was left to frantically searched for another option or face $10,000 $10,000 in out-of- pocket costs. we have been waiting for health reform since the days of teddy roosevelt. we have been waiting since the days of harry truman. we have been waiting since johnson and nixon and clinton. we cannot wait any longer. there comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over. there comes a time to remember the fierce urgency of right now. now is the time to reform health care in the united states of america. now is the time to offered stability and security to americans who have insurance. now is the time to make it affordable for those who do not have health insurance. now is the time.

that is the kind of reform that we need. now is the time. that is why so many members of congress tonight and across the country are working so hard to produce. many of you are probably familiar with our plan. but i just want to go over some things so you know what to tell your friends and neighbors and folks in the community that asked about this because they may be seeing some misinformation. i was up at the g-20 and some of you saw the big fines and all the world leaders coming in. michelle and i were shaking hands with them. one of the leaders comes up to me and we take a picture and we go behind and he says, brought -- tell me about this helps the

day. they're putting a hitler moustache on you. that does not make sense to me. explain that to me. [applause] he did not understand. let me just clarify. if you already have health insurance, under the plan we have developed, you will not, i repeat, you will not have to change your coverage or your doctor. we are not requiring those changes in this legislation. what we will do is make insurance were better for everybody. it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a pre- existing condition. [applause] it will be against the law for insurance companies to grab your coverage when you get sick or

water it down when you need it the most. they will not be able to place some arbitrary cap on how much coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime. we will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out- of-pocket expenses. in the united states of america, nobody should go broke because they got sick. [applause] we will make it easier to identify health care disparities and work to close them. that is long overdue. insurance companies will be required to cover routine checkups and preventive care like mammograms and colonoscopy is at no extra charge. there is no reason we should not fight breast cancer before it gets worse. that saves lives and it saves money. that is what we are going to do. [applause] that is what we do for the folks with health insurance. and we will finally offered the

tens of millions of americans who do not have health insurance some affordable choices. we will do this with a new insurance exchange, a marketplace where small businessmen and individuals can shop for affordable insurance plans that work for them. that is one big group, so they will have leverage to get a better deal than they get right now. a much better deal. that is going to save the money. -- the money -- them money. there will be some that will suggest that they will lose their choices. we are talking about expanding choices. i want everybody to remember that they said the same thing when we tried to pass social security. they called fdr all kinds of things that we cannot repeat here, today. they said the same thing about lyndon johnson when we try to pass medicare. they are saying the same things

now, trying the same tactics, but we are going to get this done this year thanks to the members of the cbc and members of congress all across the country. and thanks to you at the grass roots level but are going to stand up and insist that we cannot afford to wait any longer. [applause] the key to progress for all americans is not just healthy bodies, it is also a well educated mind. [applause] we know that the african- american community will fall behind in the united states and the united states will fall behind in the world in lost be due -- and less we educate our sons and daughters. unless we close the achievement gap.

unless we reach all the students that are dropping out of school and giving up on their future. today, almost one-third of students drop out of high school. a disproportionate number of them are african-american or hispanic. that is not just a loss to the african-american or hispanic community, that is a loss for all americans. a good education is a prerequisite for success. the jobs for tomorrow require a bachelor's degree or more, countries will compete as tomorrow. we need success for all our children, not just some. we need to prepare every child in america to compete with any worker in the world. there are a number of things government can do to offer our kids a 21st century education.

we could increase tell grants, perkins loans and simplified financially. -- a financial aid -- simplified financial aid. [applause] it can improve quality in early learning initiatives. it could rebuild our crumbling schools. it could offer all of our children a complete and competitive education from cradle to classroom through college and through a career. that is what government can do, that is what government must do and that is what we are beginning to do. i have said before and i know i may sound like a broken record but i am going to say it again. government, along, cannot get our children to the promised land. government can't put away the playstation. government can put our kids to bed at a reasonable hour.

government cannot attend those parrot teacher conferences. government cannot read a book to your child at night. government cannot help them with their homework. government cannot make sure they leave for school on time. this is being is that a mother can do and a father can do. these are things that a parent can do. we need to except our responsibilities -- accept our responsibilities as parents and community leaders. we need to be good role models and encourage excellence in all of our children, every last one of them. we need to let them know that there are no expert uses -- no excuses. we need to push our kids to aim higher. i don't want all of our kids to be dollars and rappers --

ballers and wrappers. i want them to be supreme court justices and the president of the united states of america. [applause] i want them to have their sights set high. no excuses or mediocrity. if they come home with a b, do not tell them that's great. i know that some of the all do that -- some of you all do that. [laughter] tell them to work harder and get an eight. -- get an a. set their sights high. affordable quality health insurance, jobs and opportunity,

all of us except in responsibility for ourselves, our children and our common future. that is how we will make life better for the african-american community and make life better for the larger american community. that is how we will build a new foundation for our economy that shares prosperity. that is how we will take up the cause for freedom and justice and equality in our time just as earlier generations of americans took it up in theres. and remember as george wide bid for well to congress. the last african-american to serve their fourth quarter of a century. remember the taunts and the threats and the attacks made by whites.

brave by chisholm. remember all that they did and so many others did to make it possible for us to be here tonight and to make it possible for you to be here tonight and to make it possible for me to be here tonight because i know that if we can act as they did with the same sense of unity, the same sense of possibility, the same determination, the same sense of purpose, that we will not only help america's peoples live healthier lives, we will not just help america's children live out their dreams, but it will be said of us as it was set up our forbearers that when the need was great in the moment was hard and the odds seem against us, we did our part to perfect our nation. -- you and god bless the united states of america. [applause]

-- god bless you and god bless the united states of america. [applause] ♪ >> this is c-span, public affairs programming provided by america's cable companies. coming up next on "newsmakers," rep back this. and general david petraeus on military actions in afghanistan.

and then richard baker talks about his work in shows some rare photos. -- and shows some rare photos. >> tomorrow on "washington journal," steven cochrane talked-about his company's report on housing prices. former defense secretary william cohen talks about obama 's and administration. williams ouchi, and dr. creighton phelps, the director of the alzheimer's disease program has the latest on research on the disease. lyders 7:00 a.m. eastern on c- span.