#dipnote

This month people across the United States are celebrating the first civil rights law that protected Americans with disabilities: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Written into law in 1977 after historic activism by the disability community and leaders, such as Judith Heumann, Section 504 says that no program receiving federal funds may discriminate against a person with a disability. Read more on DipNote: https://go.usa.gov/x5N7U.

The mission of the State Department is to shape and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, just, and democratic world and foster stability and progress for the American people and people everywhere. We here in Bureau of Public Affairs are charged with connecting the State Department to domestic audiences, directly engaging the American people to explain the Department’s policies and priorities at home and abroad. Learn 10 ways that you can stay connected to the Department on #DipNote: https://go.usa.gov/x5e2d.

In the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, the United States has embraced its role as a global leader by demonstrating strength and decisiveness on the world stage.  Read more on DipNote: https://go.usa.gov/x5Efr.

The United States and Nepal recently brought together over 30 countries to train a new generation of peacekeepers, with support from the United States Government’s Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI). In all, 68 U.S. and 540 Nepalese Army personnel participated in the exercise, along with 460 personnel from 32 other nations. Read more on DipNote: https://go.usa.gov/x5EfX.

Since 1963, the White House has honored America’s small businesses by celebrating National Small Business Week. We want to highlight how the Department of State uses commercial diplomacy to support the 28 million American small businesses. Read more on DipNote: https://go.usa.gov/x5G2p.

As dawn broke in Bataan, the Philippines, on April 9, 1942, 21-year-old Jesse M. Baltazar saw his Filipino comrades holding sticks with white handkerchiefs tied to them. “We’ve surrendered,” they muttered. Within hours, soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army arrived to round up 76,000 Filipino and American POWs for a 65-mile trek to Camp O’Donnell in what became known as the Bataan Death March. Read more about the life of Jesse M. Baltazar on DipNote: https://go.usa.gov/x5Mbj.

On May 4, the State Department hosted the Emerging Young Leaders Award ceremony where 10 international honorees were recognized for their extraordinary efforts in reducing crime, expanding civic engagement, improving education, and promoting interfaith dialogue within their communities. Read more on DipNote: https://go.usa.gov/x5GFS.

Tomorrow, the State Department commemorates its 51-year partnership with the U.S. Navy Seabees. A Memorandum of Understanding, signed between the Department and U.S. Navy Support Unit on April 21, 1966, officially detailed Seabees to the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) to perform construction, installation, renovation, maintenance, and repair projects in sensitive areas of U.S. Department of State facilities abroad. Here’s the story of one brave Seabee doing her part to support the DSS mission: https://go.usa.gov/x5bty.