VIA:  NewsOne.Com

On Friday, President Obama signed a renewal of the executive order that assists historically black colleges.  While the executive order itself follows the form of orders in previous administrations, the head of the Obama administration’s effort for the colleges said that the executive order would set off a change in philosophy on how the government could work with the institutions.

In his remarks, Obama noted the financial challenges facing black colleges (and just about all of higher education) these days, and also their role. “It was because of these schools that America’s middle class was filled with black doctors and educators and judges and lawyers and engineers and entrepreneurs,” he said. “And today, it’s because of these schools that one out of every two wide-eyed freshmen who arrives on their campuses with big backpacks and bigger dreams is the first in his or her family to go to college.”

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July 2nd, 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.  The signing of this act was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since reconstruction.  The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion or national origin.  See President Johnson’s remarks on the signing of this bill:

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On October 1, 1962 James Meredith became the first African American student to enroll at the University of  Mississippi.  President Kennedy had to send 5,000 federal troops after rioting broke out.  Check out some footage from that day below:

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Two days before Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2008, our President Barack Obama had the privilege to speak at Dr. Kings church in Atlanta, Georgia.  See his inspiring speech below:

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First African American Female Cabinet Minister

Check out our gallery of African American Political Firsts.  Without the work of the late great Dr. Martin Luther King none of this would be possible!  Enjoy!

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There are several African Americans that have made strides for us in media, check out this gallery that pays tribute to a few of those people:

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