President Obama Accepts Nobel Peace Prize 12/10/2009

Image is screenshot of live webcast of President Obama's Nobel lecture given in Oslo.

THE PRESIDENT:  Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:
 
I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility.  It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations — that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate.  Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice. READ MORE

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the 44th U.S. president for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” said Thorbjørn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Oct. 9 when announcing the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. “The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world free from nuclear weapons.” List of all Nobel Laureates

Turkey Pardoning at the White House 11/26/2009

During the ceremony Wednesday, the president acknowledged that despite having reasons to be thankful, many families, this year, are also hurting financially.
“There’s no question this has been a tough year for America,” he said. “We’re at war. Our economy is emerging from an extraordinary recession into recovery. But there’s a long way to go and a lot of work to do.”

In an era of “new perils and new hardships,” Obama said Americans are “a people of endless compassion, boundless ingenuity, limitless strength. We’re the heirs to a hard-earned history and stewards of a land of God-given beauty. We are Americans. And for all this, we give our humble thanks — to our predecessors, to one another, and to God.”

Archived Chat: What Are Digital Editors Looking For? 11/20/2009

Archived Chat: What Are Digital Editors Looking For?.

Howard University President: Research Center Will Not Close 11/18/2009

In a Nov. 16 letter  posted on the university Web site, Howard President Sidney A. Ribeau reaffirmed the college’s commitment to keeping the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center open. The letter was posted in response to a recent article in the student daily newspaper, the Hilltop, that questioned the facility’s future. The center houses thousands of bound volumes, journals, manuscripts and other data chronicling the lives of African descendants throughout the Diaspora.

“ This story sparked articles and outcries across the country. We have received your letters, emails and Facebook messages. Please be assured that the University will not close Moorland-Spingarn and there were never plans to do so,” Ribeau said. “Despite recent budget cuts across the University to weather the economic downturn, we have not reduced funding to the Center. In fact, a national search will begin shortly to find a permanent director to continue the stellar work Dr. Thomas Battle has done for more than two decades. The new leader will also expand the ‘Friends of MSRC’ fundraising program launched in 1996 and explore ways to attract additional financial support for a stronger Moorland-Spingarn.”