By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The six Black members of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet are meeting for a Black History Month event Thursday highlighting their roles in the administration, some of which are historic firsts.
Actor Taraji P. Henson and athletes Sloane Stephens and Nneka Ogwumike will also be on hand for a separate discussion of the importance of mental health and wellness in the Black community.
The White House said the six heads of big federal departments and smaller agencies would take part in a moderated roundtable discussion to highlight the importance of Black leadership in the military, foreign affairs, the economy and other key policy areas.
Scheduled to appear during the livestreamed event are Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the first Black person in the post; Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge; Environmental Protection Agency chief Michael Regan, the first Black man in that role; U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield; and Cecilia Rouse, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. Rouse is the first Black woman to lead the council.
Also scheduled to participate is Shalanda Young, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Young is awaiting a vote by the Senate to confirm her as director. She would be the first Black woman to lead the office if confirmed, which is expected.
Biden promised the most diverse Cabinet in U.S. history.
The event with the Cabinet members will be followed by a separate livestreamed discussion on the importance of mental health and wellness in the Black community, hosted by Susan Rice, Biden’s domestic policy adviser, and Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, who oversees the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Henson, tennis pro Stephens and WNBA player Ogwumike will share personal stories about mental health and wellness, the White House said.
Biden issued a proclamation in January designating February as National Black History Month. He wrote that the observance “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.”
Biden and his wife, Jill, and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, and other members of the Cabinet will host commemorative activities throughout February focused on the theme “Black Health and Wellness,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
U.S. Secret Service agents hustled Emhoff away from a Black History Month event within minutes of his arrival Tuesday at Dunbar High School in Washington because of a bomb threat.
