This Day In American History: Feb. 27

Feb. 27, 2017 is the 58th day of the year, with 307 days remaining. The moon is in a new moon phase, during which time the moon is too close to the sun to be visible in the sky.

"My Brother's Keeper" Initiative

One Thursday afternoon in 2014, President Barack Obama took to the East Room of the White House to sign a Presidential Memorandum announcing the My Brother's Keeper Initiative, an enterprise intended to address "persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people can reach their full potential."

Obama told reporters, staff and other attendees the story of 18-year-old Christian Champagne, a then-senior in high school, who had introduced Obama prior to the president's remarks on MBK. Champagne, as the president explained, had belonged to Becoming a Man, a program that helped young men with exhibited potential and troubled circumstances. A cataloged report of progress made with the My Brother's Keeper Initiative is available through the Obama Administration archives.

1951 - The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, limiting U.S. presidents to two terms.

The 22nd Amendment Limits Presidents to Two Terms

The 22nd Amendment of 1951 saw the setting of term limits for U.S. presidents following the unprecedented four-term service of Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose term as the nation's 32nd president extended from 1933 to 1945. Congress passed the amendment on March 21, 1947, and ratification — by the requisite of 36 of the then-48 states — was completed on Feb. 27, 1951. Arizona, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Washington and West Virginia took no action.

Discussion on the amendment's repeal emerged during President Obama's first term in office. New York Rep. Jose Serrano, a Democrat, introduced a bill (H.J.RES.5) proposing the repeal of the 22nd Amendment. Repealing the amendment would require ratification by three-fourths of the states, but as of current day, active discussion on the amendment's repeal has fallen to the wayside.

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