White House: HBCU conference scheduled for September is on

WASHINGTON – The White House says it’s going ahead with a September conference on historically black colleges in the face of calls that the event be cancelled.

Some groups and lawmakers want the White House to scrap the Sept. 17-19 conference after President Donald Trump blamed both sides for deadly violence between white supremacists and their opponents during a protest earlier this month in Charlottesville, Virginia. One woman was killed.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that the White House “has no intention of cancelling” the event.

Sanders said conference registration is at capacity.

Congresswoman Alma Adams is among those calling for the conference to be postponed. The North Carolina Democrat says she intends to host a competing conference the same week.