奥巴马总统关于在全美划定首批5个地区为"希望区"的演讲
Well, welcome to the White House,everybody. And that was one of the best introductions I’ve ever had. (Applause.) So we’re so proud of Kiara for the introduction and for sharing yourstory, and you’re just so poised. And Iknow Geoff Canada is just out there all excited — (laughter) — and proud, andI know your mom is proud. I know she is. She should be.
Kiara and the rest of these youngpeople grew up in a 97-square-block section of Harlem. It’s a place where the odds used to bestacked against them every single day, even just graduating from high schoolwas a challenge. But with the help ofsome very dedicated adults and a program called the Harlem Children’s Zone,they’re right on track to go to college. Together, students, teachers, administrators, parents, community, they’rechanging the odds in this neighborhood. And that’s what we’re here to talk about today -– changing the odds forevery American child so that no matter who they are, no matter where they areborn, they have a chance to succeed in today’s economy.
Now, the good news is that,thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the American people all across thecountry over the last five years, our economy has grown stronger. Our businesses have now created more than 8million new jobs since the depths of the recession. Our manufacturing, our housing sectors arerebounding. Our energy and technologyand auto industries are booming. We’vegot to keep our economy growing. We’vegot to make sure that everybody is sharing in that growth. We’ve got to keep creating jobs, and then we’vegot to make sure that wages and benefits are such that families can rebuild alittle bit of security. We’ve got tomake sure this recovery, which is real, leaves nobody behind. And that’s going to be my focus throughoutthe year.
This is going to be a year ofaction. That’s what the American peopleexpect, and they’re ready and willing to pitch in and help. This is not just a job for government; thisis a job for everybody.
Working people are looking forthe kind of stable, secure jobs that too often went overseas in the past coupleof decades. So next week, I’ll join companies and colleges and take action toboost high-tech manufacturing — the kind that attracts good new jobs and helpsgrow a middle class. Business owners areready to play their part to hire more workers. So this month, I’m going to host CEOs here at the White House not once,but twice: First to lay out specificsteps we can take to help more workers earn the skills that they need for today’snew jobs; second, they’re going to announce commitments that we’re making toput more of the long-term unemployed back to work.
And on January 28th, in my Stateof the Union address — which I want all the legislators here to know I’m goingto try to keep a little shorter than usual — (laughter) — they’re cheeringsilently — (laughter) — I will mobilize the country around the nationalmission of making sure our economy offers every American who works hard a fairshot at success. Anybody in this countrywho works hard should have a fair shot at success, period. It doesn’t matter where they come from, whatregion of the country, what they look like, what their last name is — theyshould be able to succeed.
And obviously we’re coming off ofa rancorous political year, but I genuinely believe that this is not a partisanissue. Because when you talk to the American people, you know that there arepeople working in soup kitchens, and people who are mentoring, and people whoare starting small businesses and hiring their neighbors, and very rarely arethey checking are they Democrat or Republican. There’s a sense of neighborliness that’s inherent in the American people– we just have to tap into that.
And I’ve been very happy to seethat there are Republicans like Rand Paul, who’s here today, who are ready toengage in this debate. That’s a goodthing. We’ve got Democratic andRepublican elected officials across the country who are ready to roll up theirsleeves and get to work. And this shouldbe a challenge that unites us all.
I don’t care whether the ideasare Democrat or Republican. I do carethat they work. I do care that they aresubject to evaluation, and we can see if we are using tax dollars in a certainway, if we’re starting a certain program, I want to make sure that young peoplelike Kiara are actually benefiting from them.
Now, it’s one thing to say weshould help more Americans get ahead, but talk is cheap. We’ve got to actually make sure that we doit. And I will work with anybody who’swilling to lay out some concrete ideas to create jobs, help more middle-classfamilies find security in today’s economy, and offer new ladders of opportunityfor folks to climb into the middle class.
And, personally, I hope we startby listening to the majority of the American people and restoring theunemployment insurance for Americans who need a little help supporting theirfamilies while they look for a new job. And I’m glad the Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are workingtogether to extend that lifeline. I hopetheir colleagues in the House will join them to set this right.
Today I want to talk aboutsomething very particular, a specific example of how we can make adifference. We are here with leaders whoare determined to change the odds in their communities the way these kids andtheir parents and dedicated citizens have changed the odds in Harlem. It’s now been 50 years since PresidentJohnson declared an unconditional War on Poverty in America. And that groundbreaking effort created newavenues of opportunity for generations of Americans. It strengthened our safety net for workingfamilies and seniors, Americans with disabilities and the poor, so that when wefall — and you never know what life brings you — we can bounce backfaster. It made us a better country anda stronger country.
In a speech 50 years ago,President Johnson talked about communities “on the outskirts of hope where opportunitywas hard to come by.” Well, today’seconomic challenges are different but they’ve still resulted in communitieswhere in recent decades wrenching economic change has made opportunity harderand harder to come by. There arecommunities where for too many young people it feels like their future onlyextends to the next street corner or the outskirts of town, too manycommunities where no matter how hard you work, your destiny feels like it’salready been determined for you before you took that first step.
I’m not just talking aboutpockets of poverty in our inner cities. That’s the stereotype. I’mtalking about suburban neighborhoods that have been hammered by the housingcrisis. I’m talking about manufacturingtowns that still haven’t recovered after the local plant shut down and jobsdried up. There are islands of ruralAmerica where jobs are scarce — they were scarce even before the recession hit– so that young people feel like if they want to actually succeed, they’ve gotto leave town, they’ve got to leave their communities.
And I’ve seen this personallyeven before I got into politics. Infact, this is what drove me into politics. I was just two years out of college when I first moved to the South Sideof Chicago. I was hired by a group ofchurches to help organize a community that had been devastated when the localsteel plants closed their doors. And I’dwalk through neighborhoods filled up with boarded-up houses and crumblingschools, and single parents and dads who had nothing to do with their kids, andkids who were hanging out on the street corners without any hope or prospectsfor the future.
But these churches cametogether. And then they started workingwith other non-profits and local businesses. And the government — local, state and federal — participated. And we started getting some things done thatgave people hope. And that experiencetaught me that government does not have all the answers — no amount of moneycan take the place of a loving parent in a child’s life. But I did learn that when communities andgovernments and businesses and not-for-profits work together, we can make adifference. Kiara is proof — all theseyoung people are proof we can make a difference.
For the last 17 years, the HarlemChildren’s Zone — the brainchild of Geoffrey Canada, who’s here today — hasproven we can make a difference. And itoperated on a basic premise that each child will do better if all the childrenaround them are doing better. So in Harlem,staff members go door to door and they recruit soon-to-be parents for “BabyCollege,” preparing them for those crucial first few months of life; makingsure that they understand how to talk to their child and read to their child,and sometimes working with parents to teach them how to read so they can readto their child and give them the healthy start that they need.
And then, early childhoodeducation to get kids learning at four years old. And then a charter school that help studentssucceed all the way through high school. And medical care and healthy foods that are available close tohome. And exercise. I was very pleased to hear that — Michellewas very pleased to hear that — (laughter) — that they’ve got a strong PhysEd program. And then students gettinghelp finding internships and applying to college, and an outstanding, dedicatedstaff that tries to make sure that nobody slips through the cracks or fallsbehind.
And this is an incredibleachievement, and the results have been tremendous. Today, preschool students in the HarlemChildren’s Zone are better prepared for kindergarten. Last year, a study found that students whowin a spot in one of the charter schools score higher on standardized teststhan those who don’t. In a neighborhood where higher education was once justsomething that other people did, you’ve got hundreds of kids who’ve now gone tocollege.
And Harlem is not the onlycommunity that’s found success taking on these challenges together. In Cincinnati, a focus on education hashelped to make sure more kids are ready for kindergarten. In Nashville, they’ve redesigned high schoolsand boosted graduation rates by almost 20 percent over the past 12 years. In Milwaukee, they’ve cut teen pregnancy inhalf.
Every community is different,with different needs and different approaches. But communities that are making the most progress on these issues havesome things in common. They don’t lookfor a single silver bullet; instead they bring together local government andnonprofits and businesses and teachers and parents around a shared goal. That’s what Geoffrey did when he started theHarlem Children’s Zone. Government wasinvolved — so don’t be confused here, it has an important role to play. And already there are government resourcesgoing into these communities. But it’simportant that our faith institutions and our businesses and the parents andthe communities themselves are involved in designing and thinking through howdo we move forward.
And the second thing is they’reholding themselves accountable by delivering measurable results. We don’t fund things, we don’t start projectsjust for the sake of starting them. They’vegot to work. If they don’t work weshould try something else. And sometimesthose of us who care deeply about advancing opportunity aren’t willing tosubject some of these programs to that test: Do they work?
In my State of the Union addresslast year, I announced our commitment to identify more communities like these– urban, rural, tribal — where dedicated citizens are determined to make adifference and turn things around. Andwe challenged them. We said if you candemonstrate the ability and the will to launch an all-encompassing,all-hands-on-deck approach to reducing poverty and expanding opportunity, we’llhelp you get the resources to do it. We’lltake resources from some of the programs that we’re already doing andconcentrate them. We’ll make sure thatour agencies are working together more effectively. We’ll put in talent to help you plan. But we’re also going to hold you accountableand measure your progress.
And if you’re doing real stuffthat is making a difference in the lives of young people like Kiara, then we’regoing to be there. Your country willhelp you remake your community on behalf of your kids, family by family, blockby block.
We call these communities PromiseZones. They’re neighborhoods where wewill help local efforts to meet one national goal — that a child’s course inlife should be determined not by the zip code she’s born in, but by thestrength of her work ethic and the scope of her dreams.
So we’re here today to announcethe first five Promise Zones in America. And I could not be prouder to be joined by Mayor Eric Garcetti of LosAngeles; and Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia; and Councilwoman Ivy Taylorfrom San Antonio; Chief Gregory Pyle, one of our tribal leaders, and JerryRickett from the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation — some of theleaders from these neighborhoods who are helping to make it happen.
In the East Side neighborhood ofSan Antonio, nearly four in 10 adults don’t have a high school diploma. The violent crime rate is 50 percent higherthan the rest of the city. So schoolsand community members are focused on getting more kids into pre-K, boostingmath and science in high school, and they’re putting more cops on foot patrolto make their neighborhoods safer. It’sa project worth investing in.
In a section of L.A. thatstretches from Pico-Union to Hollywood, the population decreased by 13,000people in just 10 years. So developersare working to build more affordable housing; technical schools and communitycolleges are helping more people get the training they need to get jobs. It’s a project worth investing in.
In Philly, nearly four out ofevery 10 kids lives below the poverty line –- and a lot of them are on the WestSide of the city. So a local universityis helping connect middle and high school students with mentors to get themready for college. You’ve got asupermarket that’s being planned that will create jobs and provide healthy foodwhere there’s been too little of both. We’re going to invest in that.
In Senator Mitch McConnell’s homestate of Kentucky, there are communities that have been struggling for decadeswith shutdowns and layoffs. So they’retaking steps, locally initiated, to attract new businesses and create new jobsin new industries. You’ve got a localcollege that’s stepping up to expand technical training and help more kids geta higher education.
And in the Choctaw Nation ofOklahoma, where up to half of the residents in some areas live in poverty,community leaders are determined to change things. And they’re making financing available tohelp women start their own businesses; they’re investing in new water and sewersystems that will make the area more attractive for companies looking to locatethere; and they’re helping farmers and ranchers create more jobs, and morefamilies thereby get access to healthy foods.
So these are America’s first fivePromise Zones. And over the next threeyears, we’re going to help launch 20 in all. And each of these communities is designing from the bottom up, not thetop down, what it is they think they need, and we’re working with them to makethat happen. And each of thesecommunities is prepared to do what it takes to change the odds for theirkids. We will help them succeed — notwith a handout, but as partners with them every step of the way. And we’re going to make sure it works, and we’regoing to hold them accountable to make sure it is making a difference in thelives of kids.
As a nation, we’ve got plenty ofreasons to hope. And I just want to endwith one story just to give you a sense of what we’re talking about here. Roger Brown came here today from Harlem. Where is Roger? There he is right here. I used to have a haircut like that –(laughter) — and maybe after I’m done with the presidency, I’m going back tothat. (Laughter.)
Growing up — I want you tolisten to Roger’s story, because it’s unique and it’s special, but it’s alsorepresentative. Growing up, Roger spentsome time in the foster care system before going to live with his mom, who wasworking two jobs to make ends meet. WhenRoger was in 6th grade, his mom entered his name in the Promise Academy CharterSchool lottery and prayed. And Roger wona spot.
Now, the way I hear it, Roger,you were still having some problems sometimes. He was the class clown and acting out, and almost got himselfexpelled. But the teachers and the staffdid not give up on him. They sawsomething in him. They kept pushinghim. And then one summer when Roger washome visiting his foster family, he looked around the room and he realizednobody in that room had gone to college, and nobody in that room had ajob. And at that moment, somethingclicked. And Roger decided he wantedsomething better for himself — and for his mom and for his two sisters thatlooked up to him.
So Roger buckled down. He went from failing his classes to passinghis classes. He became a member of thefirst graduating class at the Promise Academy. (Applause.) And today Roger is asophomore at Hunter College in New York, one of the best colleges in thecountry — the first person in his family to get that far. And now he wants togo to medical school and become a neurologist. (Applause.)
If you want to know why I careabout this stuff so much, it’s because I’m not that different from Roger. There was a period of time in my life where Iwas goofing off. I was raised by a singlemom. I didn’t know my dad. The only difference between me and Roger wasmy environment was more forgiving than his. That’s the only difference. If Iscrewed up, the consequences weren’t quite as great.
So if Roger can make it, and if Ican make it, if Kiara can make it, every kid in this country can make it. But we’ve got to believe in that. We can’t just give lip service to it. And it can’t just get caught up in a bunch ofpolitical arguments.
There are legitimate questionsabout how the best way to do this is, how we can best make progress. And there are legitimate debates to be hadabout how big of a role is government in that process, how big of a role is theprivate sector. And there’s nodisagreement that there has to be individual initiative — it’s got to startinside. Roger had to have a change ofattitude. I had to have a change ofattitude. Kiara — she probably didn’tneed a change in attitude. (Laughter.) She was focused thewhole time.
We don’t dispute that, but we doknow that sometimes we talk about this stuff as if we care and then we don’tdeliver. We don’t follow through. We don’t make the effort. It’s not sustained. We lose interest. And then we say to ourselves, well, maybenothing can be done, and we put up with it. And as a consequence, a lot of our kids get lost. And we can’t allow that to happen. That’s what the Promise Zones represent.
I want more kids to have thechance that Roger got. I want more kidsto have the chance this country gave me. We should all want every one of our kids and their families to have ashot at success. If you are willing todream big and work hard, you should grow up with the same opportunities in lifeas any other child living in any other place.
That’s what we’re fighting for.That’s what America is about. So let’sact. Let’s make it happen this year, allright?
Thank you. God bless you. God bless America. (Applause.)
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