Thousands of African-Americans are now taking advantage of President Barack Obama’s $792 billion economic recovery initiative, of which $112 billion has been used to create 150,000 new jobs since Obama took office, according to the White House.       

Administration officials said new economic resources in the areas of housing, energy and health care are now available for many African-American communities from middle-class neighborhoods to those living in public housing.   

"President Obama's recovery package is providing opportunities today for African-Americans to prepare for the opportunities of tomorrow," Corey Ealons, a White House spokesman, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

As the nation’s unemployment rate continues to rise, a White House report, entitled "100 Projects, 100 Days," said black Americans are now benefiting from new government programs in cities like Macon, Georgia, where a portion of the federal stimulus package funds have put up to 89 unemployed people from ages 16 to 24 to work for six weeks, and in Tennessee, where a federal grant program will provide funding for two years to health centers to increase health center staffing, extend hours and expand services.
 
White House aides said the range of economic recovery programs that will provide assistance for African-Americans include $5 billion in temporary assistance for needy families; $2.3 billion for child care and child vaccinations; $1 billion for neighborhood policing programs; $8.4 billion for public transit; $500 million for training in green jobs and $155 million for community health centers across America.

The commitment to create more green jobs will also ensure that African-Americans find meaningful employment in the months ahead, according to Obama's senior advisors.

Van Jones, an environmental activist and author, has started a new position with the White House Council on Environmental Quality and will direct the administration’s efforts to create environment-related jobs. Jones said he will also focus on the nation’s most vulnerable communities, which includes many African-American neighborhoods.

Last week, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced new agency partnerships to foster green jobs growth for middle-class Americans and those living  in public housing.

The U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, for example, are partnering to train and employ thousands of public housing residents, many of whom are black.

"Our workers are our nation’s greatest asset, and investing in our nation’s workforce is critical during these tough economic times," Solis said in a statement. ".. The Department of Labor is committed to helping workers from all backgrounds through difficult restructuring times and pave pathways to rebuild a stronger middle class."

Solis’ remarks come as the Department of Labor released statistics last week that showed the unemployment rate continuing to rise, increasing from 8.9 to 9.4 percent. The number of unemployed Americans increased by 787,000 to 14.5 million in May.

Republicans quickly blasted Obama, saying the president has failed to jump-start the economy.

"Today’s unemployment numbers confirm that the Democrat economic stimulus bill is not creating the jobs President Obama promised," Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in a statement. 

"Despite President Obama’s claim last week that the economy has turned a corner, his reckless and ineffective economic stimulus bill isn’t creating jobs for American families," Steele said. "Americans need jobs, not presidential happy talk.”

But Duncan, the Secretary of Education, said new partnerships between federal agencies are working to create jobs for many Americans.

"Schools must prepare students for college and careers, and adults must have affordable opportunities to continue learning if our country is to drive the global economy recovery," Duncan said in a statement.

"Partnerships such as this one demonstrate how .....

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Uncletom....The only LIAR is YOU.You have so much hate in you,that you post on here everyday the whinning and complaining all because there is a black man in the whitehouse.Your obcession with the President only shows how misersble your life is.you're not convincing us or anyone else with your lies.
GET A LIFE AND GET OVER IT!

by   
Tgn222
June 8, 2009, 3:27 pm
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Uncletom....The only LIAR is YOU.You have so much hate in you,that you post on here everyday the whinning and complaining all because there is a black man in the whitehouse.Your obcession with the President only shows how misersble your life is.you're not convincing us or anyone else with your lies.
GET A LIFE AND GET OVER IT!

by   
Tgn222
June 8, 2009, 3:26 pm
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I don’t and won’t always respond to obvious idiocy; I’ll make an exception today. Who was it that launched the personal war to settle personal debts with Hussein -who had committed no crimes against America; ignoring the murders of Americans by his business partners the Bin Ladens?

by   
Sevennotrump
June 8, 2009, 3:20 pm
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Seventroup, You are a liar, and you know it. Obama is an amateur, but you have to much emotions for him to see that he is ruining our economy. There was never a surplus when Bush took office, it was a PROJECTED surplus. But 9/11 and the war took care of those PROJECTED surpluses. America WILLwake and understand that they made a mistake last November.

by   
Uncletom
June 8, 2009, 11:49 am
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I would suggest that the Caucasian klansman who calls himself, “uncletom” take a reality check & get over it. We’re in; you repugnican LOSER’S are out! The economy wasn’t in shambles when Bush took office, there was a surplus. When the damage done by you repugs is massive, it can’t be healed overnight, but it will be healed, as long as we keep you racists merely complaining on blogs and out of the white House.

by   
Sevennotrump
June 8, 2009, 11:13 am
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An absolutely biased article. No where in this article does in mentioned that the net loss SINCE the passing of the recovery act is well over 2 Million jobs. Nor did this article mention that unemployment is at its highest in 25 years at 9.4%. I would suggest that Michael H. Cottman stop campaigning for Obama and report the real news of the failing Obama economic policies.

by   
Uncletom
June 8, 2009, 8:12 am
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