::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

  NATIONAL LUNG CANCER AWARENESS MONTH, 2022   - - - - - - -   BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA   A PROCLAMATION     During National Lung Cancer Awareness Month, we are inspired by the courage and fight of the millions of patients, survivors, caregivers, doctors, researchers, and advocates battling this terrible disease -- the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.  For the loved ones we have lost and all those we can save, we recommit to investing in cutting-edge screening, prevention, and treatments, making them more affordable and effective, and uniting this country in our movement to end cancer as we know it.      Over the past three decades, lung cancer case and death rates have decreased dramatically nationwide -- an encouraging trend we owe largely to lower smoking rates and improved immunotherapies that use the body's own immune system to attack cancer.  But lung cancer is still an overwhel...

  MINORITY ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT WEEK, 2022   - - - - - - -   BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA   A PROCLAMATION      Every day, America's 9.2 million minority business enterprises deliver essential goods and services to their customers and help power the United States economy.  They develop cutting-edge technologies, provide social services to people in need, construct roads and bridges, operate restaurants and retail shops, and make vital contributions to all industries.  Minority business enterprises also provide proprietors and employees a sense of purpose, a source of dignity, and for some, a valuable asset to pass down through generations.  During Minority Enterprise Development Week, we celebrate the ingenuity and dedication of America's minority entrepreneurs, and we recommit to helping all Americans access the resources they need to build thriving businesses and a fairer, more prosperous ...

  BLACK MUSIC APPRECIATION MONTH, 2022   - - - - - - -   BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA   A PROCLAMATION      Music has the power to lift our spirits, comfort our souls, and inspire our hearts.  It gives a voice to the human spirit, creating a common language that unites people and breaks down barriers.  Perhaps no music has had as profound and powerful an impact in shaping America's musical score as Black music.  Intricately woven into the tapestry of our Nation, Black music enriches our lives and pushes the boundaries of creativity.  Throughout the decades and across the country, Black music has fueled a myriad of genres -- from rhythm and blues to jazz, gospel, country, rap and more.  This month, we celebrate the extraordinary legacy of Black music on American culture and recognize the indelible impact it continues to have on the world.       For generations, Black music h...

    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA   A PROCLAMATION Forty years ago, the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime was established to help those who had experienced crime and their families -- an important step toward the protection of and support for victims' rights.  Over the years, crime victims' rights have evolved.  Dedicated professionals have worked to develop support and services for survivors that are more holistic, trauma-informed, and effective at overcoming systemic barriers that certain communities face in prosecuting offenders and obtaining justice.  However, more work remains to be done to advance these goals.  During National Crime Victims' Rights Week, our Nation renews our commitment to providing survivors of crime the support they need to heal.  We honor the dedicated victim service providers who support crime victims, and we continue to advance this important cause for all people.    ...

  In January 2021, on my first day in office, I directed the Department of Education to pause federal student loan repayments through September of that year. At the time, our economy was barely growing. Fewer than 1 percent of Americans were fully vaccinated. Millions of Americans were struggling to stay afloat. Because of that pause in repayments, 41 million Americans were able to breathe a little easier during some of the toughest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, America is stronger than we were a year ago—and we will be stronger a year from now than we are today. Thanks to our plan to build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, the economy has created 7.9 million jobs since I took office—the greatest year of job growth on record. We’ve seen the fastest economic growth in nearly 40 years. More than 217 million Americans are now fully vaccinated, and 2 out of 3 eligible adults are boosted. We have the tools we need to move forward safely and return to more normal...

Each February, National Black History Month serves as both a celebration and a powerful reminder that Black history is American history, Black culture is American culture, and Black stories are essential to the ongoing story of America — our faults, our struggles, our progress, and our aspirations.  Shining a light on Black history today is as important to understanding ourselves and growing stronger as a Nation as it has ever been.  That is why it is essential that we take time to celebrate the immeasurable contributions of Black Americans, honor the legacies and achievements of generations past, reckon with centuries of injustice, and confront those injustices that still fester today. Our Nation was founded on an idea:  that all of us are created equal and deserve to be treated with equal dignity throughout our lives.  It is a promise we have never fully lived up to but one that we have never, ever walked away from.  The long shadows of slavery, Jim Crow,...