As Karine Jean-Pierre prepares to make history as the first Black press secretary at the White House, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have continued to ensure that African Americans \u2013 particularly Black women, helm crucial posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alongside Jean-Pierre, there\u2019s chief of staff to Kate Bedingfield, Khanya Brann, outgoing press secretary Jen Psaki\u2019s chief of staff, Amanda Finney, and senior regional communications director, Rykia Dorsey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, there\u2019s Erica Loewe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Loewe\u2019s all-too-important job as director of African American media, she has ensured that the Black Press and other media of color have enjoyed unprecedented access to the White House and top administration and cabinet officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPresident Biden and Vice President Harris promised an administration that looks like America, and they have fulfilled that promise,\u201d Loewe said during a recent visit to the National Newspaper Publishers Association\u2019s (NNPA) headquarters at the Thurgood Marshall Center in Northwest, Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There, Loewe sat for an interview with NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., for his PBS-TV show, \u201cThe Chavis Chronicles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has valued diversity, empowered Black voices, and taken a whole-of-government approach to advance racial equity,\u201d she told Dr. Chavis during the episode scheduled to air later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Loewe grew up in Miami after her mother gave birth to her in South Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She attended the University of Florida and later interned at the White House for President Barack Obama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A prolific volunteer, Loewe has worked as press secretary and deputy communications director for U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and as deputy communications director for Congressman James Clyburn (D-S.C.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJim Clyburn is one of my favorite bosses, and he\u2019s been very clear that I need to tell people that I\u2019m from Charleston even though I grew up in Miami,\u201d Loewe stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a great man, and I\u2019ve learned a lot from him,\u201d she remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her early influence came from her parents, particularly her mother and grandparents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Loewe\u2019s father worked in the nonprofit sector and helped her to gain a focus on economic empowerment and business development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her mother worked for a city commissioner, allowing Loewe to spend time at City Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have always been around people who lead and serve, to some extent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy parents split up, but I lived with my mom and grandparents in a house full of love and laughter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While working in the Obama White House, Loewe lived with her family and worked under the director of African American outreach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, as director of African American media, she said her life had come full circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m back at the White House, and my mother lives with me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Loewe said her mother battles Alzheimer\u2019s disease, but \u201csomewhere inside, she\u2019s there, proud of me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Loewe said she has enjoyed returning to the White House and tries to stay out of the crosshairs of secret service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have fun. They take their jobs very seriously and we do as well,\u201d Loewe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fulfilling part of her job is allowing access to Black media and the American public, Loewe offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing like being able to grant access to the White House for the very first time,\u201d Loewe declared. \u201cIt\u2019s a building people have seen on television and thought they may never get inside. But, our job is to provide access to people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She exclaimed that the Biden-Harris administration had provided access never before experienced by the American public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The administration also has remained the most inclusive in American history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNever has there been an administration that has uplifted and supported Black women as much as President Biden and Vice President Harris,\u201d Loewe asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a fact. Numbers don\u2019t lie. The Honorable [Kamala] Harris is a Black woman who has lived experiences\u2026 She attended Howard University, and she\u2019s a member of the Divine Nine, the Black Church, and an advocate for Black maternal health and accurate home appraisals for Black people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Loewe continued:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are more Black people in first time positions in the President\u2019s cabinet. You have the war in Ukraine and Gen. Lloyd Austin, the first Black to head the Department of Defense and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Two Black people you see every day making sure that we\u2019re providing aid to Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She noted the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s Michael Regan as the first Black person to lead there, and HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, as examples of other Black appointees in the administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese are not symbolic positions,\u201d Loewe concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Karine Jean-Pierre prepares to make history as the first Black press secretary at the White House, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have continued to ensure that African Americans \u2013 particularly Black women, helm crucial posts. Alongside Jean-Pierre, there\u2019s chief of staff to Kate Bedingfield, Khanya Brann, outgoing press secretary Jen Psaki\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[30,1491,1338],"class_list":["post-2416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-black-women","tag-karine-jean-pierre","tag-white-house","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2416"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2417,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416\/revisions\/2417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}