The event—the fourth and final “White House African American Regional Policy Forum”— vacillated in tone between the Administration’s buoyant promotion and subdued skepticism from audience members.
On the one hand, administration officials touted a number of initiatives—from boosting Pell grants to enabling mortgage modifications—that they contend staved off worse economic woes than what they say would have otherwise befallen many African-Americans in the aftermath of the recession that commenced toward the tail end of the Bush administration.
