By Gail Meadows
Miami artist-lawyer Xavier Cortada, whose energy is
enviable, recently returned from Washington, D.C., where he unveiled Stepping into the
American Dream, a 96-inch-by- 96-inch mural he painted for the White House Conference
on Minority Home Ownership.
President Bush's goal is to have 5.5 million new minority
homeowners in the nation by 2010.
Cortada, whose works have been displayed in cultural venues
worldwide, included images that represent downpayment assistance and mortgage financing
and the like.
''This mural is a representation of our commitment,'' said Mel
Martinez, secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
