President Oba
ma on Friday hosted an off-the record luncheon for leading black talk radio hosts, all of whom have big audiences in national markets. It came against a backdrop of slipping poll numbers among black Americans, and a recent barrage of criticism from black Members of Congress for the President's failure to act on poverty and employment issues for African Americans. It also comes ahead of the President speaking on Saturday evening at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington.The luncheon was not listed on the President's daily schedule. As reported by Politico, included on the guest list were Yolanda Adams of The Yolanda Adams Morning Show; Joe Madison, a talk show host on Sirius XM's "The Power" and a former leader of the NAACP; April Ryan of National Public Radio; Michael Eric Dyson; Russ Parr and Warren Ballentine, all of whom host eponymous shows.
Also invited was the Rev. Al Sharpton, but he didn't make it. The President hosted a similar gathering for black journalists in October of 2010.
The President has frequently hosted closed-press lunches for all kind of journalists; he hosted a similar luncheon in October of 2010 for black journalists.
*Photo of President Obama in the rose Garden on Monday by Pete Souza/White House
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