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NewsOne’s PolitickerOne blog tackles some of the most important topics in politics: Election 2016, moves by the Obama administration, voting rights, lawmaking, and the way that elected officials represent our communities. Three times a week, we will go beyond the mainstream media’s “pack” coverage of politics to highlight the underreported aspects of how politics and policy affect you and the people you care about. In between, follow the conversation on Twitter at #PolitickerOne.

President Barack Obama has long made it known that he is a great admirer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During his first term in office, he added a sculpture of King’s to the Oval Office.

The bust made history during President Obama’s first term when it became the first image of an African American in any public space in the White House.

So it is only fitting that during his final Black History Month as President of the United States, Obama welcomed four members of King’s family to view the bust in the Oval Office for the first time.

Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor and assistant to the president for public engagement and intergovernmental affairs, tweeted a touching photo of the moment. The bust is juxtapose beside an image of George Washington and beneath a photo of the outstretched arm of the Statue of Liberty.

The unveiling came on the same day that the president and first lady Michelle Obama hosted the Black History Month reception at the White House, which was attended by PolitickerOne. It was a festive occasion marked by jokes and serious reflections about race in America. 

“We are so proud to honor this rich heritage,” Obama, flanked by the first lady, said at the reception. “Black History Month should not be treated as though it is somehow separate from the rest of American History. It is somehow just boiled down to a compilation of greatest hits, from the March on Washington or some of our sports heroes.”

“Preach,” an audience member shouted out.

“There are well-meaning attempts to do all around us in classrooms,” the president continued, “corporate ad campaigns, but we know that it should be more than a commemoration of people or events. It’s about the lived and shared experience of all African Americans.”

Watch the video below:

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Twitter 


Sanders Accuses Clinton Of Using Obama To Draw Black Voters

In an interview with BET, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders accused rival Hillary Clinton of cozying up to President Barack Obama in order to win “pander to African Americans,” reports CNN.

The Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate also broke with Obama, asserting that the president “is wrong on certain issues.”

His comments come as the Democratic race shifts out of the overwhelmingly-white Iowa and New Hampshire and to states where minority voters play a much larger role.

“Hillary Clinton now is trying to embrace the President as closely as she possibly can. Everything the president does is wonderful. She loves the president, he loves her and all that stuff,” Sanders said in an interview with CNN contributor Marc Lamont Hill, which will air on BET at 10 a.m. Sunday, according to excerpts from that interview provided by the network.

Do you agree with Sen. Sanders? Let us know in comments.

SOURCE: CNN

SEE ALSO

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Obama On Jokes: “We Know It Is Black History Month When…”

MLK’s Family Visits Oval Office To View Sculpture Of The Slain Civil Rights Icon, Sanders Accuses Clinton Of Using Obama To Draw Black Voters  was originally published on newsone.com