The White House announced this week that President Obama will buy about $285 million worth of American automobiles from Detroit—a huge boon to an industry spiraling toward bankruptcy and causing sky-high levels of unemployment in the state of Michigan and across the country. From the mothership: The purchase is slated to include 2,500 hybrid sedans,…

POTUS and SOS hanging on the playground on the South Lawn of the White House Thursday. READ ABOUT the encounter here. —DAYO OLOPADE Covers the White House and Washington for The Root. Follow her on Twitter.

Another busy day at the White House: First Lady Michelle Obama hosted students from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, who helped her plant and water the brand-new White House garden. She and Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack spoke to the students about the healthy fruits and veggies that would grow there. “It’s all brain food,” Obama…

The “first” first family is proving themselves worthy of the title, indeed. In addition to seeding the first ever White House vegetable and herb garden (I’ll have more on today’s planting festivities, which are set to kick off momentarily) the AP reports that the Obamas are hosting a Seder tonight to celebrate the first night…

Yesterday, key members of the Congressional Black Caucus returned from a four-day trip to Cuba, during which they met with both current President Raul Castro and his brother, longtime American nemesis Fidel Castro. Designed to gather input from Cuban ministers and officials and send a message of Obama-era outreach from the United States, the trip…

I’m really glad Kai Wright wrote about a boarding school experiment for kids in poor public schools. He frets about disconnecting teens from their families—which could have particularly pernicious effects in black households. I dissent: Having attended boarding school hundreds of miles from home from age 14 on, I think the experience is well worth…

Over at the mothership, Krissah Thompson has a story examining the lively debate among black Americans regarding how best to criticize Barack Obama—if they do so at all. Her rather didactic thesis: As the nation’s first black president settles into the office, a division is deepening between two groups of African Americans: those who want…

It’s encouraging to see that the dynamic between France and the NATO alliance is resuming a military footing. Last week, French troops rejoined the organization, which is currently supporting US-led efforts in Afghanistan—a break with 40 years of policy under president Nicolas Sarkozy’s predecessors. This cooperation with Barack Obama may, however not translate to the…

Denist Stewart’s piece in THE ROOT today describes the truly difficult and ungainly process of raising coin that is going on at historically black colleges and universities nationwide. Though schools in general, and HBCUs in particular—which tend to have a higher percentage of students on financial aid and suddenly hard-to-obtain loans—are being ravaged by the…