Done on this wonderful conference and also want to thank the secretary for her leadership in helping us land the meeting and i want to thank all the individuals in the room, leaders, president s, professors, administrators, people who have a tireless commitment to the success of the community. Last, i want to say thank you to my beloved alma mater, howard university. [cheering] i learn ou learned our motto, tn the service. That history and legacy is what brings me here today. I have the honor of serving our country in the highest office of our American Government as a Deputy Assistant tthedeputy asse president of the United States. [applause] today i would like to tell you what i know to be true about president of trump. Recently a close friend asked me to brief a group of africanamerican interns on the hill and in that conversation i was asked to describe President Trump in three words and without hesitation, i replied it was funny, he has the biggest heart and hes oldschool. In my role i get to see a side of President Trump that is not always covered in the media. I see a person who loves his country and loves our people. The president did not run on helping them but he did promise to help the forgotten communities which ive witnessed him do time and time again. For example, i was on the team that was working on passing the First Step Act. [applause] which addressed unfair sentencing disparities and created a new federal prison system that focuses on getting prisoners the skills they need to reduce their risk of going back to prison. While working on the First Step Act for the president , there were individuals that mentioned the criminal Justice Reform could aid in winning over the africanamerican voters the president replied he wasnt doing this to win votes, he was doing it because he knew that it was the right thing to do. [applause] i can also confidently say that it was President Trump who worked closely with senator Mitch Mcconnell to secure time on the floor which gave us the opportunity to get this bill passed. Since then, more than a thousand africanamerican men and women have come home from prison and because of the First Step Act, thousands more will be part of a new federal prison system that will give us the tools and skills to be productive members of society. President trump has also worked to bring new investment for the most distressed communities through qualified Opportunity Zones. Under the president s leadership which created the Opportunity Revitalization Council which includes over 16 different federal agencies tasked with delivering Community Development tools such as them for education and workforce Economic Development, entrepreneurship and safe communities and to these designated Opportunity Zones this funding helps the Administration Partner with state and local leaders to Work Together to revitalize our cities, cities such as atlanta, birmingham, charlotte, detroit, and chicago. Of course many more. While also providing shared prosperity for the people who live in those communities. Nearly half are located in Opportunity Zones and the president wants to leverage the power to create more public and private partnerships. Remember we put more than a month into this administration the president signed me to sign his executive orders and was at that moment when he promised my administration will make these a priority again. And we moved the initiative into the white house. Whether you are a democrat or republican, black or white, liberal or conservative, its important that we all Work Together to empower the institutions into power the community and the nation to be competitive in the 21st century. This is a vision of President Trump and the purpose of the summit. Thank you mr. President for your leadership and for the opportunity to serve with you. I would like to introduce to you all president donald trump, the president of the United States. [applause] it is a great honor to be here with you. You are a special person, great friend of my daughter and my soninlaw and hes done an incredible job. Its wonderful to be with these unbelievable leaders of the nations historically black colleges and universities. It was a very important trip for me t to be with you today. A couple people are not happy as i had to cancel them but thats okay, we dont find. I am truly honored to be here today to celebrate the role of the hpc you. Together we will ensure we continue to thrive and prosper and flourish for the countless generations to come. Weve done a lot and we will do a lot more for more than 180 years they strengthened the country and called americans to greatness. Your institutions have been pillars of excellence in Higher Education and the engines of advancement for africanamerican citizens have been incredible job that they have done. [applause] you have shaped american leaders, trained legend, pioneered american innovation, empowered American Workers, those American Communities and youve made all of america. How to view an the view and thee done and all those great students have learned so much from your wisdom, thank you so much. This nation owes a profound and enduring debt of gratitude. [applause] that is why we gather to pay tribute to this remarkable legacy and renew our commitment to protecting, promoting and supporting hbcus like never before come and i thin think yoe seen this administrations commitment bigger and better and stronger than any Previous Administration by far. So, thats very important. My administration is determined to fight for you and the institutions you represent each and every day. We are grateful to be joined by a tireless supporter secretary betty thats here someplace. Thank you. [applause] i also want to recognize our terrific executive director of the White House Initiative jonathan holyfield. And i want to tell you a vendor holyfield is a friend of mine and he can fight. It he may be 50 pounds lighter but you knew it was going to be a tough fight out there for you. Keethe key was something. I just spoke with my board of advisors and let me thank the amazing chairman johnny, thank you very much. [applause] and also the board member here today, we have a few of them phyllis, thank you. Great job. Rodney, thank you. Marshall grigsby. Thank you. [applause] nicholas justice. Ronald johnson. [applause] harold martin. Thank you very much. Bernard milano. [applause] connie and billy hawkins. Thank you all. Billy, i will always remember the talladega marching band in my inaugural parade. That was something. It was a great group. Thank you very much. You were fantastic. This afternoon we are also thrilled to be joined by more than 40 students were selected as the 2019 white house competitiveness scholars would you please stand so that we can congratulate you and applaud. [applause] thats what its all about when you get right down to it. The inspiring tradition dates back when abolitionists and men and women that escaped slavery founded many of the first colleges and universities for africanamericans. A long time ago. In 1861 a free africanamerican woman mary peek top 20 students under an oak tree near union base in virginia. That tree still stands tall and mighty on the campus of hampton university. [applause] in the face of hardship and painful injustice your school rose to the pinnacle of academia, becoming many of americas finest and most acclaimed institutions of higher learning. Tremendous respect everybody has for the work that many of you have done, almost everybody in this room has done. I can tell you, hbcus graduates have uplifted and improved every teacher in american society, your holes came those like booker t. Washington, rosa parks, ida b. Wells, Supreme CourtJustice Thurgood marshall, mathematician catherine johnson, acclaimed inventor lonnie johnson, air force general daniel james junior, nfl hall of fame jerry rice and legendary coach eddie robertson. He was a good coach. [applause] he won more games than anybody is true . And by the way we have scott turner, speaking of good football players. He is leaving such a great charge with the opportunities. Thank you. [applause] great gentleman. We wil will say there is a squad hhe will say six cities have one time and the opportunity have really caught on. Its incredible. Thank you. During world war ii, be a University Trained the Young Americans woul who would becomee legendary tuskegee airmen. That was a great group of people, reverend Martin Luther king jr. Graduated from morehouse college. And africanamerican students helped plan the montgomery bus boycott in the basement of another hbcus Alabama State university. [applause] our historically black colleges and universities have always challenged our nation to be better and braver to do what is right, to dream big, aim high and always be pulle bold in purf what is just decent and true. Hbcus represents only 3 represef americas Higher Education institutions. [applause] that is an incredible achievement pickle my administration is deeply devoted to advancing this amazing legacy of success and contribution termination for, we have never stop working to improve this country as a government you just have to keep going for go you really do deserve a government that never stops working for you. And you never stop working for it. There is amazing people in this room getting ready to graduate. Thats why my first six weeks in office i took action to make hbcu a top priority once again. I signed an executive order to move the feral Hbcu Initiative to the white house right where it belongs. [applause] over the past two and half years, we have listened and learned from you. We have taken very major action percolating you know that i signed legislation to increase federal funding for hbcu by a record 13 percent go the highest ever done. [applause] when members of the Thurgood Marshall college ask us to lift the ban on pell grants for summer classes i included the change in my budget and we worked with congress until we got it done. [applause] we had a little opposition to getting that done i must say but we got it done. The fall of 2017, we met with leaders of hbcu devastated by Hurricane Katrina at dillard university, Southern University in new orleans, tupelo college, xavier and less than one year later my administration took action to fully forgive their disaster loans so these colleges could get out of debt and back to their Critical Mission to educate our nations future leaders. Congratulations. [applause] last year my administration also worked with you and cf and key members of congress to provide capital loan finance department to 13 hbcu that had rigorous plans for growth. In total over the last two and a half years through the Capital Financing program we have provided more than 500 million of loans to hbcu. [applause] with a very good Interest Rate i might add. [laughter] we addition to grant additional 15 million to the only federally charted hbcu a great school with a great reputation that was already mentioned once today, howard university. [applause] and i signed a farm bill that included 100 million with that excellence of at historically black colleges and universities that are land grant institutions 100 million. [applause] and thinks to secretary t 14 to have unnecessary regulatory burdens so you can innovate and give more flexible options to the students and you are giving a lot of great options i looked at these before a lot of great options. Today i am thrilled to announce another major action we are taken to protect hbcu. Previously federal law restricted more than faithbased hbcu and seminaries from fully discussing support for Capital Improvement projects. These institutions which have made such extraordinary contributions to america were unfairly punished for their religious beliefs. Does everybody know that . Not good. This week our department of justice has published an opinion against discriminatory restrictions as unconstitutiona unconstitutional. [applause] that is a big step. So from now on faithbased hbcu will have equal access to federal support. [applause] when i came into office i directed the entire federal government to support historically black colleges and universities today 32 federal departments and agencies have released a priority to help institutions receive resources and support that you deserve. For just a few examples nasa is expanding outreach to hbcu students who want to become scientists, engineers, and even astronauts. I dont want to be an astronaut does anybody want to be an astronaut out there . I dont want to i dont see that many hands theres one great person over there. Thats great. But what we have done there is terrific if you want to be an astronaut and the other wonderful things it is now possible. Department of labor and education are working with t2 hbcu to increase apprenticeship opportunities and to prioritize hbcu in the plan to give more students access to stateoftheart training with high demand fields such as science, technology, engineering and math and we want to help each student to get a tremendous job and enjoy a rewarding career and our great effort to rebuild america forgot that is what we are doing. [applause] the fierce dedication to strengthening hbcu is a core part of my administration unwavering focus with a project of national renewal. We are working every day to make decisive decisions so we can avoid many of the failures of the past. So many failures that did not work with a lot of that has been our governments fault. They did not allow that to work. We are fixing decades of mistakes made by politicians in both parties to put the needs of other countries before our own and put special interest before the interest of every day hardworking americans. Past leader spend trillions of dollars in the middle east , but let our citizens suffer in the middle class languishing on the old neighborhoods to fall into total disrepair and did not take care of our colleges at different levels. They didnt take care of a lot of things. The washington establishment enacted trade policies that devastated millions of hardworking families and inflicted economic pain where many africanAmerican Communities. People from both parties china and other nations loot our jobs and read the factories to shatter the dreams of our citizens. China would take out of our country more than 500 billion per year for many years and steal our intellectual property. Things are much different today. More than half a million africanamericans lost good paying manufacturing jobs and after the disaster of nafta and china instituting wto with the wto. That is when it all began to happen. You will all make better deals than that when you are up here at different times of course are up here. [laughter] you will be up here at different times you will be much better than the past. But under this administration the era of economic surrender is over. We are bringing back our jobs in our wealth and we are bringing back our dignity. The stock market it seems getting ready to hit the 118th record of the highest point and three weeks ago they said recession. They hope for a recession because maybe that would hurt the chances to do all the things that we are doing but we are getting ready to head another great milestone all time record which means jobs more than anything else. After years of building up other countries we are finally building up our country and standing up for our workers and finding one fighting for our forgotten communities the highest duty of government is to take care of its own citizens. Africanamericans built the nation through generations of blood and sweat and tears. And you, like all citizens are entitled to a government to put your needs and interest in families first. [applause] the first agenda in the America First agenda is the sacred bond of love and loyalty that is why we are joining forces with hbcu to invest in the workforce of the future. Our pledge to the American Worker has already secured commitments for 13 million employment and training opportunities for american citizens and has been an incredible success getting people off of the sidelines and back into the game and last month alone nearly 600,000 americans enter the labor force to unleash Small Business creation to produce millions of jobs we pass massive tax cuts and launched a regulatory Reduction Campaign with more regulations than any president in history even though they have been there a lot longer than i have. The economy is booming and wages are rising and its very much respected the Unemployment Rate for African Americans hit yet another alltime historic low is the lowest number weve ever had. [applause] it is very exciting for those that are so great and so smart africanamerican youth unemployment has reached the lowest ever in the history of our country. So its a good time to be looking for a job . For the First Time Ever most new hires are minorities and dominated by women. Thats a big statement. Minorities and women. The africanamerican thats a lowest poverty way these are pretty good numbers. Who will be these numbers . We are working on the Economic Opportunities including those who have been released from prison so that they get a new shot at life. [applause] it has never been like this before. If you get out of prison and then they couldnt find jobs. Nobody would hire them a lot of that has to do with the fact the employment numbers are just about record low for our country and its been incredible the success has been incredible in the quality. So Many Employers that i wish i would have known about this i wouldve started it years ago. It has been an incredible time in no time like it as far as people getting out of prison and getting a real shot at life. We are very proud of that. This is just one more way we live by those crucial rules of by american and higher american. [applause] for this reason we are pursuing Immigration Reform for American Workers especially those we are fighting to give every parent and every Student Access to School Choice because no american child deserves to be trapped in a failing school. [applause] to remedy unfair sentencing laws that disproportionately hurt africanamericans proudly i signed criminal Justice Reform into law as a bipartisan first stepped act. We sign that just recently. [applause] we got it. Taking historic action to confront the Opioid Crisis we saw the first decline in Drug Overdose death and more than 30 years. My Administration Knows it is a big problem for the country and countries all over the world. The drug problem. My administration has also launched an Unprecedented Campaign to spur investment and revitalization to the most underserved communities. Under this initiative the governors have designated nearly 9000 communities as Opportunity Zones. About half of all the hbcu are located in the Opportunity Zones. Come up here for a second. This guy is so unbelievable. [applause] the job he is doing they ask me do you sleep . May be less than i do. [applause] thank you mister president and very briefly opportunities with this initiative are called Opportunity Zone is really unprecedented in our nations history. You take private capital and you partner with public advancement to bring about real revitalization and transformation in our communities. Is not just Economic Development but Community Development. Poverty has no favorite. Poverty is in the black community and in the White Community and urban and rural and tribal and suburban. Thirtyeight cities in the last 15 weeks and i have seen some of the worst cities in our country from coast to coast and even in the heartland one thing i have learned is poverty does not care what you look like. Doesnt care where you come from. But i have a c loan a saying that we say we fight fire with fire. This is the white house opportunity and revitalization counsel. Revitalized to imbue with new life. Reinvigorate, reenergize. Revitalization has no party. Revitalization starts in the heart of every man and every woman and our goal and our mission for President Trump in the administration for the courage and the vision job creation and new business the eradication of poverty as a systemic problem crippling this nation we spoke at the hbcu conference yesterday we need everyone in this room to pray for our leadership for what we are doing and to see you can get involved to bring about revitalization where you live. It is a matter democrat or republican. That starts in the heart. I am grateful to be a part of this council and i want to reach as many people as we can. Because at the end of the da day, long after the glory , this has to have a generational impact. The history that tells the story. [applause] thank you scott. Is that he great . What a job you are doing. Thank you very much. What a job. I know each and every one of you shares the same commitment to improving communities and building a future of limitless opportunity and nearly two centuries historically black colleges and universities have done exactly that to empower millions of students to thrive in their careers, start a business, own a home and raise proud and strong and loving families. That is your magnificent legac legacy, and that is the mission to help you carry on. We are right by your side. So together with the historically black colleges and universities we will power this nation to new heights like nobody would have imagined. B will reward hard work in every field. We Will Champion freedom and justice and equality and opportunity for all. We will pursue greatness together as communities and citizens and one United States of america. Every day of my presidency i will strive to give every child every religion and color and creed to have the beautiful american dream. To always support the institutions to help make these goals possible the wonderful hbcu we will never let you down. We will never stop fighting for you. I just want to thank everybody for being here today. Its a great honor god bless you and god bless america. Thank you very much. [applause]