WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian American community was represented last week at a White House “One America” conference to help foster a national dialogue on race aimed at encouraging racial reconciliation and expanded opportunities for racial and ethnic minorities.

The conference was organized by the White House Office on the President’s Initiative for One America, and chaired by Ben Johnson, the Director of the office and a Special Assistant to President Clinton. Leaders of over twenty different ethnic groups participated in the program, which was held in the historic Indian Treaty Room.

“We thank President Clinton for welcoming the Armenian American community’s contribution to this vital undertaking,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, who participated in the conference. “The President, Ben Johnson, and the One America team deserve a great deal of credit for creating this opportunity for Armenian Americans to work with our friends in our nation’s diverse ethnic communities to promote greater cross-cultural understanding and increased cooperation on the many issues that we share in common.”

Among those joining the ANCA at the conference were leaders of the American Jewish Committee, Sons of Italy, Portugese American Leadership Council, Arab American Institute, Congress of Romanian Americans, Serbian American Leadership Council, Anti-Defamation
League, National Italian American Foundation, Federation of Polish Americans, Hellenic American Women’s Council, Hungarian American Coalition, the National Albanian American Council, German Society, National Federation of Croation Americans, and the Lithuanian
American Community.

President Clinton, in announcing the One America initiative in June of 1997, asked “the American people to join him] in a great national effort to perfect the promise of America for this new time as we seek to build our more perfect union… That is the unfinished work of our time, to lift the burden of race and redeem the promise of America.” Over the past two years, the President has organized programs to advance this agenda in the fields of civil rights, education, economic opportunity, fair housing, crime, health, and child care.

For more information regarding the Clinton Administration’s One America initiative, visit the website:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/Initiatives/OneAmerica/america.html

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