A year after violence sparked by white supremacists in Charlottesville claimed the life of a young civil rights activist and touched off a national conversation about race relations, the city's new mayor, Nikuyah Walker, says she is still so personally angered by President Trump that she has not been able to bring herself to even refer to him by name. The mayor holds him responsible for encouraging the rise of hate in America.
African American news blog that features news that may get little or no coverage in the mainstream media
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Noose found at National Museum of African American History & Culture
A section of the National Museum of African American History and Culture was temporarily shut down on Wednesday after a noose was found on the floor of the exhibition, the Smithsonian said.
U.S. Park Police arrived on the scene after the noose was discovered and removed it, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The exhibition was reopened within three hours.
"The noose has long represented a deplorable act of cowardice and depravity — a symbol of extreme violence for African Americans," museum director Lonnie Bunch wrote in an email to staff. "Today's incident is a painful reminder of the challenges that African Americans continue to face."
The incident marked the second time within the past week that a noose had been discovered on Smithsonian property. Another one was found on Friday hanging on a tree outside the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden just across the National Mall from the African American History Museum.
The latest noose was found on the floor of the section of the museum dedicated to segregation.
“The Smithsonian family stands together in condemning this act of hatred and intolerance, especially repugnant in a museum that affirms and celebrates the American values of inclusion and diversity,” Smithsonian Institution Secretary David Skorton said in email to Smithsonian employees.
“We will not be intimated. Cowardly acts like these will not, for one moment, prevent us from the vital work we do.”
Thursday, November 10, 2016
NAACP STATEMENT ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
From the day that General George Washington accepted the people’s charge to become their first commander-in-chief, to the day that we elected Barack Obama as our country’s first African-American president, America has come together to ensure a peaceful transition of power. This most recent presidential election must meet this distinctly American standard. President-Elect Trump’s victory speech avoided a divisive tone and thus invoked this standard.
The NAACP stands ready to work with a new administration to realize the racial justice concerns that not only compelled millions of people to go to the polls on Election Day but also inspired millions to protest in the streets in the preceding days and months. Depending upon the new administration’s fidelity to America’s ideals of liberty and the NAACP’s agenda for justice, we will either be at its side or in its face. We will not let this election distract or dissuade us; the NAACP will continue to stand strong at the frontlines, advocating for voting rights, criminal justice reform and equality for all.
This election comes as a surprise to many, an affirmation to some and a rejection to others, and yet it is also a defining moment for the NAACP and the nation. Let us come together as a country – come together with the principled and practical unity that the needs of our nation and the need to govern demand.