President Joe Biden hosted the first official celebration of Black Excellence on Friday with a brunch on the White House's South Lawn.
Invitees included prominent Black actors, actresses, authors, television personalities, journalists, writers, activists, influencers, and artists.
The Black Excellence Brunch series was founded in 2018 by Trell Thomas, and has clearly grown enough to be hosted at the ultimate venue of all. The brunches are meant to evoke the tradition of family-style dinners -- originally begun in the days of chattel slavery -- that are a staple of the Black community in Thomas' home state of South Carolina.
In his remarks, President Biden said he wanted to acknowledge Black history as well as the strides made by Black Americans under his administration, including "the lowest Black unemployment rate on record" and more Black Americans having health care than at any time before.
"I also wanted to host this brunch because we have progress to celebrate," President Biden said. "Together, we're making the most significant investments in Black America in all of American history. We've centered racial equity as the center of everything we do."
The President, who chose Kamala Harris to be his Vice President and then shrewdly set her up to be our first Black woman President of South Asian descent, also reminded the attendees of the "commitment" the pair have made to make their administration "look like America... and it does."
"The bottom line is the Black community has always had my back, and I've always had yours," President Biden said.