White House correspondent April Ryan’s new book discusses a topic that is bound to make some Americans uncomfortable—race relations and the White House.
Ryan, an 18-year media veteran for the American Urban Radio Networks, is the author of “The Presidency in Black and White,” a book that analyzes the past three presidents and takes all three administrations to task on their handling of race relations.
April Ryan with President George W. Bush. (Photo courtesy of April Ryan)
“I think everybody talks about [race], but we talk collectively with those who are like us a lot of times instead of joining in a conversation together,” Ryan said. “I’m 150 feet from the seat of power daily, and it says something when you hear these stories and they’re not told—race is important and we have to talk about it.”
>>> Read More: Rand Paul: Democrats Taking African-American Vote ‘For Granted’
Ryan said former President Bill Clinton paved the way for diversity when it comes to a presidential administration, an example she says President George W. Bush followed.
“What Bill Clinton did left a mark for many politicians,” Ryan said. “He was at that time the standard bearer engaging a community that felt like they were not always heard or at the table.”
April Ryan with President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office. (Photo courtesy of April Ryan)
In the book, Ryan talks about the special relationship she shared with the 43rd president. She says a defining moment in the Bush presidency came when rapper Kanye West commented during a Hurricane Katrina telethon in 2005, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
>>> Read More: How Newt Gingrich Would Win Black and Hispanic Votes
“That Kanye West moment kind of defined [President Bush]. That was not the George W. Bush that I knew,” said Ryan. “George W. Bush was a man who was well aware of his party—he was well aware of people. The thing is, African-Americans just at that time did not particularly care for the Bush administration.”
“George W. Bush has a heart for the community,” Ryan added.
When it comes to the current occupier of the White House, President Obama, Ryan believes what she calls racism stems from disrespect for the office of the president.
“When a president stands up in the well of the House, no matter what you feel about him, and someone screams out, ‘You lie,’ it’s about decorum,” Ryan said. “You wonder would that have happened with George W. Bush. Would that have happened with Bill Clinton?”
