Black lawmakers were among those leaving Thursday with President Barack Obama aboard Air Force One on a historic trip to Africa, which marks the first time a sitting U.S. president has traveled to Kenya and Ethiopia.
The visit underscores the president’s familial ties to Kenya, where he has already met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, spent time with members of his father’s family, and will attend a summit with young African leaders.
The visit also marks the first time that a sitting U.S. president addresses the African Union. He will attend bilateral meetings in Ethiopia and Kenya, attend additional meetings at the African Union, and address the sixth Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), the first to be held in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The Global Entrepreneurship Summit will highlight the president’s commitment to promoting entrepreneurship globally, particularly opportunities for women and girls,” National Security AdvisorSusan Rice said earlier this week at a White House press briefing, according to a statement.
Rice, foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes, and White House spokesman Josh Earnest joined him on the trip.
Rice also said that the president would have an opportunity to pay tribute to the victims and the survivors of the 1998 embassy bombings, which targeted U.S. embassies not only in Nairobi, but also in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Also joining him at various times on the six-day trip aboard Air Force One are about 20 lawmakers, including Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), president of the Congressional Black Caucus; Representatives Barbara Lee and Karen Bass, Democrats from California; Representatives Gregory Meeks and Charlie Rangel, Democrats from New York; Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.); RepresentativesEddie Bernice Johnson, Al Green and Sheila Jackson Lee, all Democrats from Texas; Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.); Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio); Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.); Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.); Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.); Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.); Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.); and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).
Source: Chicago Defender
