“We found it needful to formally document our concerns because the EEOC-issued African American Workgroup report simply left too much unsaid,” stated C4C’s founder Tanya Ward Jordan. “The EEOC reduced the discrimination discourse to “unconscious biases” and totally ignored the reality that some public officials, who establish our nation’s public policies and programs, act quite consciously on their biases.”

Jones, whose job was to investigate mostly private sector workplace complaints, was the only investigator in his office who refused to dismiss all Black complaints as ordered by his managers and supervisors and this is one of the reasons that he was fired.

Jones asserts that any complaint filed by an African American–no matter if they were employed by the city, state, federal or private sector–was labeled a “C” (A “C” means an automatic “DISMISSAL”) and the case or file is thrown into the garbage. Not only did EEOC label ALL complaints by African Americans a “C” – they also violated their own policies and procedures to issue a (PDI) pre-determination interview, when they failed to notify African American complainants that no findings of discrimination were found in their cases. On top of that, ‘Right to Sue’ your employer letters were only issued after 180 days but most of the time African American complainants never received any type of pre-determination notices before their cases were dismissed by the EEOC. Jones stated “since the EEOC is not going to investigate your case anyway, all African Americans and others should always just ask for a ‘Right to Sue’ letter –a few days after filing a complaint with EEOC, which is well in their rights.”
He alleged that the agency gave these cases are always met with “lazy investigative work”. How can the EEOC say that workplace discrimination did not occur simply because the complainants were African Americans and then not even bother to inform complainants of their findings?

July 30, 2012

Dear Ricardo:

Thank you for writing. I have heard from many Americans about ways we can fundamentally rethink, reform, and remake our Government so it meets the demands of our times, and I appreciate your perspective.

My Administration is committed to reform that ensures Government serves the public interest rather than special interests. The day after my inauguration, I signed my first Presidential Memorandum, “Transparency and Open Government,” calling for a more transparent, participatory, and collaborative Government that engages with the American people. That same day, I signed an Executive Order that imposes tougher ethics standards on this Administration than any in history. For too long, lobbyists have wielded undue influence, and this Executive Order helps close the “revolving door” between lobbying firms and Government.

We have continued to deliver on our promise of leading an open and accountable Government by launching Ethics.gov—a centralized online database of lobbying reports, ethics information, and campaign finance filings that gives the public unprecedented access to information about how our Government works. In a single, user-friendly format, anyone can access and search millions of records detailing campaign contributions, White House visitor records, and lobbying registrations and reports. Ethics.gov builds on other resources we have implemented to cut down on fraud, waste, and abuse by tracking Government spending, including Data.gov, Recovery.gov, USASpending.gov, and StopFraud.gov.

Additionally, I established the Campaign to Cut Waste in June 2011, which is aggressively rooting out misspent tax dollars, and sent Congress the Consolidating and Reforming Government Act to reinstate the authority past presidents have had to streamline the Executive Branch and create a leaner, more efficient Federal Government. There are currently six major departments and agencies in the Federal Government that focus primarily on business and trade. Consolidating these agencies along with other related programs would improve efficiency and save money. I will continue to develop proposals to make programs more effective and eliminate duplication, overlap, and excess overhead across our Government—improving services for America’s families and businesses and saving billions of taxpayer dollars.

I am also doing everything in my power to help fight the destructive influence of money in politics and rebuild the trust between Washington and the American people. In April 2012, I was proud to sign the historic STOCK Act into law, which prevents Members of Congress from trading stocks based on nonpublic information obtained from their jobs. While this is a step in the right direction, much work remains. The American people also deserve to know who is spending money to influence their votes, so special interests do not drown out the voices of ordinary Americans. And we should limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they have the power to influence, and make sure people who raise and bundle campaign contributions for Congress are prevented from lobbying Congress.

I am confident that if we continue to join together in pursuit of a fairer society, our Government can uphold our Nation’s founding principles while meeting the demands of the 21st century. To learn more about how we are bringing change to Washington, please visit http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/21stCenturyGov. Thank you, again, for writing.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

Following law school, Michelle worked as an associate in the Chicago branch of the law firm Sidley Austin in the area of marketing and intellectual property. There in 1989, she met her future husband, Barack Obama, a summer intern whom she was assigned as an adviser. “I went to Harvard and he went to Harvard, and the firm thought, ‘Oh, we’ll hook these two people up,'” Michelle said. “So, you know, there was a little intrigue, but I must say after about a month, Barack…asked me out, and I thought no way. This is completely tacky.” Initially, she refused to date Obama, believing that their work relationship would make the romance improper. Eventually she relented, and the couple soon fell in love.

After two years of dating, Barack proposed. “We were at a restaurant having dinner to celebrate the fact that he had finished the bar,” Michelle remembers. “Then the waiter came over with the dessert and a tray. And there was the ring. And I was completely shocked.” The couple married at Trinity United Church of Christ on October 18, 1992.

High-Profile Work in Chicago
Michelle soon left her job to launch a career in public service, serving as an assistant to Mayor Daley and then as the assistant commissioner of planning and development for the City of Chicago.

In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit leadership-training program that helped young adults develop skills for future careers in the public sector.

Michelle joined the University of Chicago in 1996 as associate dean of student services, developing the University’s first community service program. She then worked for the University of Chicago Hospitals beginning in 2002, as executive director of community relations and external affairs.

In May 2005, she was appointed vice president of community relations and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she continues to work part-time. She also manages the business diversity program and sits on six boards, including the prestigious Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools

Joseph Ray Terry had all the right credentials: as a lawyer, he had spent many years fighting discrimination against minorities. His employer, the EEOC, had consistently given Mr. Terry “superior” and “excellent” performance reviews. But Mr. Terry was white, and he was forced to repeatedly sue the EEOC in order to win a promotion for which he had been applying for over 10 years!

Mr. Terry is a white, Louisiana-trained lawyer. In 1984 he submitted his first application within EEOC to become a district director for EEOC. Over the next 10 years EEOC repeatedly turned Terry down because he is white, and EEOC promoted many “disadvantaged minorites” ahead of Mr. Terry, one of whom did not even have a high school diploma. District Director Opus Perry a Black attorney never found any Race (Black) discrimination in New Orleans LA and he was promoted to District Dirctor of a larger Black community of Los Angelas CA.