Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) released the following statement after the House approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump:
When recognizing the immensity of what the House did today, we must commend the Democrats from competitive districts who had the courage to do what’s right. They put country first.
In 2020, we must have their back.
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) released the following statement after the House approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump:
Today is a sad & sobering moment for the country. After embarking on a path for facts & the truth, the House has presented us with evidence that the President abused his power for personal gain, compromised our national security & obstructed the investigation into his misconduct.
Before the historic votes took place to impeach Trump on obstruction and abuse of power charges, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., spoke on the House floor to voice his support for the articles of impeachment against President Trump as only he can.
Fair Chance Act, included in NDAA, would give formerly incarcerated individuals a fairer chance at finding a job.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan bill authored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) to give individuals with past convictions a better chance to find employment passed the U.S. Senate today as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved NDAA and the bill now awaits President Trump’s signature.
“After many fits and starts, we are finally about to give formerly incarcerated individuals a second chance by eliminating a major hurdle they face when job-searching,” Sen. Booker said. “This legislation will immediately change lives by allowing thousands of qualified people with criminal records to more meaningfully integrate into life outside prison walls. Getting this over the finish line was truly a collaborative effort, and I’m grateful to our bipartisan, bicameral coalition and the many stakeholder groups for their tireless advocacy. I know my late colleague, Chairman Elijah Cummings, is smiling down on us today because together, we have made a small, but important step in ensuring our criminal justice system better lives up to our ideals as a place for redemption and rehabilitation.”
“Getting people back to work improves the safety of our communities, strengthens families, and reduces government dependence – goals that all Americans share,” Sen. Johnson said. “If someone getting out of prison wants to work and be a productive member of society, we should do everything possible to facilitate that. Today’s passage of the Fair Chance Act is an important step in that direction.”
The Fair Chance Act would give formerly incarcerated individuals a better chance to find employment by prohibiting the federal government and federal contractors from asking about the criminal history of a job applicant prior to the extension of a conditional offer of employment. Criminal records reduce the chance of a callback or job offer by nearly 50 percent for men in general, making it difficult for individuals to move on from past convictions and contribute to society. Black men with criminal records are 60 percent less likely to receive a callback or job offer than those without records. For individuals trying to turn the page on a difficult chapter in their lives, a criminal conviction poses a substantial barrier to employment.
Earlier this year, Booker and Johnson testified on this bipartisan and bicameral legislation before two subcommittees of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
The Fair Chance Act builds upon the First Step Act, the most sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system in a generation, which was signed into law last December. Booker was a key architect of the landmark bill and successfully fought to include provisions that effectively eliminated the solitary confinement of juveniles in federal supervision and the shackling of pregnant inmates. He also fought to include provisions that require healthcare products be provided to incarcerated women.
The Fair Chance Act would:
Prevent the federal government—including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches—from requesting criminal history information from applicants until they reach the conditional offer stage.
Prohibit federal contractors from requesting criminal history information from candidates for positions within the scope of federal contracts until the conditional offer stage.
Include important exceptions for positions related to law enforcement and national security duties, positions requiring access to classified information, and positions for which access to criminal history information before the conditional offer stage is required by law.
Require the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in coordination with the U.S. Census Bureau, to issue a report on the employment statistics of formerly incarcerated individuals.
This legislation has been endorsed by ACLU; American Conservative Union; FreedomWorks; Justice Action Network; JustLeadershipUSA; Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; National Employment Law Project; R Street Institute; Safer Foundation; and Brett L. Tolman, Former U.S. Attorney, District of Utah.
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| Union County College Foundation trustee George L. Cook III and some of the young men helped by the Close The Gap Fund. |
More About the Close the Gap – Seeing the growing achievement gap among our African-American students, four volunteers knew that something had to be done. Working with local governmental officials and community leadership they developed the Close The Gap Campaign to provide financial assistance to students approaching graduation as well as resources for other academic needs. This program has already had an impact on student success which has translated into nearly doubling the African American male graduation rate in one year. For more information on this program please click here
More about the Union County College Foundation The Union County College Foundation was established in 1977 with the mission of supporting the educational needs of Union County College students by providing resources not available through public funding. Foundation dollars provide support for scholarships, equipment, facilities, academic programs and special projects. The mission of the Union County College Foundation is to develop private financial resources to support Union County College programs and students.
MICHIGAN-Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officers are asking for the public's help with finding a missing woman.
22-year-old Crystal Shauntal Walker was last seen by family members at Reed Street in Kalamazoo on Saturday November 16th, 2019. It's unclear if she was with someone else when she later went missing.
Walker is described as a black female who is about 5 foot and three inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds. Walker also has star tattoos found on her upper chest area.
Anyone with information regarding Walker is urged to contact Kalamazoo Public Safety at (269) 337-8369 or Silent Observer at (269) 343-2100.
Reginald DesRoches, the dean of Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering, has been named the Rice University’s new provost.
With this appointment becomes the first African American provost in Rice's history.
DesRoches will assume one of the university’s most important leadership posts. Together with the deans and vice provosts, the provost’s office supports excellence in all of the university’s academic, research, scholarly and creative activities.
“I could not be more grateful and excited that Reggie has agreed to serve as our next provost,” Rice President David Leebron said. “He is an accomplished scholar and a proven academic leader. During his years as dean of engineering at Rice, he has demonstrated in numerous ways that he shares the high aspirations and values of the university. His commitment to excellence extends to every part of our endeavors.”
DesRoches has served as the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering since 2017, leading a school with nine departments, 140 faculty and 2,500 students. Effective July 1, he will assume the duties now fulfilled by interim Provost Seiichi Matsuda, Rice’s dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies, who succeeded Provost Marie Lynn Miranda.
“I am deeply honored and excited,” DesRoches said. “Serving as dean of engineering for the past 2 1/2 years has been among the most rewarding times in my career. It is an absolute privilege to serve as the next provost and I look forward to working with President Leebron, the faculty and staff to enhance the university’s stellar reputation.”
As dean, DesRoches led a comprehensive strategic planning process for the School of Engineering, expanded the engineering faculty by nearly 20% and strengthened collaborations with the Texas Medical Center. Under his leadership, the school launched a new minor in data science as well as the Center for Transforming Data to Knowledge, which provides students immersive learning opportunities working with companies and community organizations. DesRoches also established a Master of Computer Science online program and led several international initiatives in China and India to bolster research and recruiting efforts.
Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in the New York City borough Queens, DesRoches credits his love of science and math and his interest in “tinkering with things” with leading him to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. As a student earning his doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley, he witnessed firsthand the structural damage wrought by the historic 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco.
“I became fascinated with studying structural engineering and how we could design structures to perform better in earthquakes, and I ended up studying that for my master’s and Ph.D.,” he said.
DesRoches is a nationally recognized expert on earthquake resilience who has testified before U.S. House and Senate subcommittees. He has also participated in Washington, D.C., roundtables for media and congressional staffers on topics ranging from disaster preparedness to challenges for African American men in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
DesRoches came to Rice from Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where he became an assistant professor in 1998. In 2002, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given to scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers. DesRoches became a professor in 2008, and in 2012 he was named the Karen and John Huff School Chair and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. At Georgia Tech, he oversaw a $13.5 million renovation of the engineering school’s main facilities and doubled the number of named chairs and professors.
DesRoches is a recipient of the Distinguished Arnold Kerr Lecturer Award in 2019, the John A. Blume Distinguished Lecturer award in 2018 and the 2018 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Distinguished Lecturer Award, one the highest honors in the earthquake engineering field. He is also a recipient of the 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Charles Martin Duke Lifeline Earthquake Engineering Award, the 2010 Georgia Tech Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Advisor Award, the 2007 ASCE Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize and the 2008 Georgia Tech ANAK Award, the highest honor the undergraduate student body can bestow on a Georgia Tech faculty member.
DesRoches serves on the National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee and chairs the advisory board for the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure Simulation Center. He has chaired the ASCE Seismic Effects Committee as well as the executive committee of the Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering.
DesRoches’ wife, Paula, is the director of occupational health at Houston Methodist. They have three children: Andrew, Jacob and Shelby (Sid Rich ’23).
Houston’s incumbent mayor won a second term on Saturday night, holding off a millionaire trial lawyer whose previous support of President Donald Trump had become one of the main campaign issues.
Mayor Sylvester Turner defeated Tony Buzbee during Saturday’s runoff election. Unofficial results released by the Harris County Clerk’s Office on Sunday morning show Turner capturing just over 56% of the vote. More than 200,000 votes were cast.
Mayor Turner said he accomplished a lot in his first four years, but says there's a lot more to be done in Houston.
"And that’s why we asked you for a second term," he said.
While talking to supporters, Mayor Turner said everyone needs to work together to make the city safer, saying it's "not just the responsibility of 5,300 police officers. Making our city safe is all of our responsibility."
"We have to make sure that we are patrolling our own streets, what goes on in our own homes, what’s happening in our own neighborhoods," he said. "So I want to say to our 5,300 police officers and those that will be added – we stand with you, we uplift you, we pray for you and we 100 percent support you every single day."
Mayor Turner will be sworn in with other elected officials on January 2.
Earth, Wind & Fire made history on Dec. 8 as the first African American Group to be inducted into Kennedy Center Honors, which recognizes lifetime achievement in the arts.
The group were announced as recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors over the weekend at its 42nd event, which took place at Washington, D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Earth, Wind & Fire’s original members Verdine White, Philip Bailey, and Ralph Johnson, paid tribute to the group’s late founder and co-lead singer Maurice White, who passed away in February 2016 at his home in Los Angeles, California, due to complications from Parkinson’s disease.
“You can’t play any Earth, Wind & Fire songs without Maurice’s DNA being on it, so he’s always here and we’re always celebrating him and his vision,” Johnson, 68, told Billboard. “People are still coming together and having fun.”
Hinting toward a possible duets album in the future, Bailey said: “We’re making a list, and checking it twice. And you’ll hear about it soon.”
“There are so many more African American acts that are deserving and perhaps this can be the first of many more to come,” he added.
Other honorees recognized at the event included Oscar-winning actress Sally Field, singer Linda Ronstadt, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, and the long-running children’s TV show “Sesame Street.”
UNCF (United Negro College Fund) announces the awarding of Liberal Arts Innovation Grants to four institutions participating in the UNCF Career Pathways Initiative (CPI). The initial investment from UNCF provides up to $300,000 to each institution to create a campus-based or virtual liberal arts innovation center that focuses on merging the technical discipline of STEM, healthcare, education, and finance into the liberal arts. The development of these Liberal Arts Innovation Centers (LAIC) will enable the institution to expand the research, provide training and development opportunities to faculty and staff and to incubate and test approaches to implementing embedding technical disciplines into the liberal arts.
STEM Liberal Arts Innovation Center
Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, will foster collaboration with industry and intuitional partners; promote interdisciplinary instructional strategies across STEM and liberal arts disciplines; and drive improved liberal arts student development of digital literacy skills and improved STEM student development of liberal arts/human-centered skills.
Healthcare Liberal Arts Innovation Center
UNCF-member institution Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina, will proactively identify the intersections and highlight the critical impact that liberal arts and multidisciplinary studies theory and practice have on healthcare access and equity for minority and rural populations. Through their center, Voorhees will offer online certificate programs such as Abuse Prevention and Education Certification, HIV Prevention Counselor I, SC Community Health Worker Certification, etc.
Education Liberal Arts Innovation Center
Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama, a UNCF member-institution, will institute an interactive professional learning process for faculty, which will lead to increased student learning and retention. Professors will study student responses to active learning strategies during technology-enhanced lessons using a variety of techniques to include training models focusing on critical‐thinking, communication, and problem‐solving skills.
Finance Liberal Arts Innovation Center
Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, which is also a UNCF member-institution, will introduce a new learning model, Humantics, that blends technical and social skills to develop higher-order mental skills in students that will prepare them to effectively function in and move between jobs and tasks. Professors at Dillard will embed lessons on conflict negotiation and resolution, verbal and written communication, content creation, empathy, planning, teaching and leadership into their courses while also teaching students how to fully utilize programs necessary for data analytics.
We’re extremely excited to begin the work that will result in innovations from each of our participating institutions to advance the knowledge and skillsets of their students and their transition from post-secondary education to careers in their chosen fields,” said Dr. Samaad Wes Keys, strategist for UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building. “Higher education has forever been a foundation for innovative thought, entrepreneurial action and the building of best practices. The LAICs are UNCF’s response to the liberal arts community that will strengthen the influence that liberal arts have on other professions and career paths. We look forward to working together with these institutions to build their capacity to provide mentorship, solutions-based career pathways, and experiential learning to their students.”
“The economic mobility for students who have a base in a liberal arts education is evident. UNCF is eager to cross-pollinate liberal arts pedagogy into professions that will provide the all-encompassing skill sets that 21st-century employers value,” said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, UNCF president and CEO. “These critical skills that can fuel students’ careers forward with higher earning potential. Thank you to the Lilly Endowment for entrusting UNCF with this very important initiative.”
Since their inception, liberal arts institutions have provided a broad-based education that adequately prepares students for a wide range of professions.
The UNCF CPI, funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., is a three-pronged comprehensive approach to delivering career pathways for students: guided pathways, curricular enhancements, and integrated co-curricular engagement. The goal of the CPI is to help students find meaningful employment in their desired career fields. Awarded to UNCF in 2015, the $50 million Lilly Endowment gift marked the second largest gift in UNCF history. Currently, 24 HBCUs or predominantly black institutions actively participate in the UNCF CPI.
Learn more about CPI, visit UNCF.org/cpi
In a Washington Post op-ed, former US Attorney General Eric Holder took current US attorney, William Barr, to task for not only being partisan but unfit to hold the office itself.
Read excerpts of the piece below:
As a former U.S. attorney general, I am reluctant to publicly criticize my successors. I respect the office and understand just how tough the job can be.
But recently, Attorney General William P. Barr has made a series of public statements and taken actions that are so plainly ideological, so nakedly partisan and so deeply inappropriate for America’s chief law enforcement official that they demand a response from someone who held the same office.
...Virtually since the moment he took office, though, Barr’s words and actions have been fundamentally inconsistent with his duty to the Constitution. Which is why I now fear that his conduct — running political interference for an increasingly lawless president — will wreak lasting damage.
The American people deserve an attorney general who serves their interests, leads the Justice Department with integrity and can be entrusted to pursue the facts and the law, even — and especially — when they are politically inconvenient and inconsistent with the personal interests of the president who appointed him. William Barr has proved he is incapable of serving as such an attorney general. He is unfit to lead the Justice Department.
Read the entire op-ed here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eric-holder-william-barr-is-unfit-to-be-attorney-general/2019/12/11/99882092-1c55-11ea-87f7-f2e91143c60d_story.html
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. issued the following statement regarding the gun violence on December 11, 2019, in Jersey City, NJ.
“My condolences and prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims of the horrific mass shooting in Jersey City yesterday. But I want to thank and commend the brave men and women of the Jersey City Police Department and all the law enforcement agencies who came together to protect the city from further violence.
This is a very personal tragedy for me. Not only are these my constituents, but our Jersey City office is located on the same block where this violence occurred. It is difficult to express my anger and upset when I hear about another senseless tragedy. In the House, we have passed bills to keep guns out of the hands of hateful people, such as the two murderers who targeted the owners and customers of the Jewish delicatessen in Jersey City. House-passed bills have been sent to the Senate, but Republicans have refused to even consider them.
There have been almost 400 mass shootings and 31 mass murders this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. It’s disgraceful that the inaction of President Trump and his Senate allies continues to allow attacks on American citizens.
That won’t stop me from working to keep Americans safe from gun violence. I will continue to encourage my House colleagues to support my Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act (H.R. 1279) to help me get guns off the streets. We have to stop this senseless violence and put an end to these preventable deaths.”
U.S. Senator Cory A. Booker (D-NJ) released the following statement on the killings in Jersey City in which six people died, inclusive Jersey City Police Officer:
“Once again, our nation is faced with scenes of carnage, fear, hopelessness, and loss. There should be no place in America where residents are gunned down while shopping for groceries, officers are slain while protecting our communities, and children are sheltering in place at school. These tragedies cannot become our new normal.
“I am thankful to the Jersey City Police Department, first responders and law enforcement officers from across New Jersey and neighboring areas that bravely ran toward danger to steer their neighbors to safety. My prayers and deepest sympathies are with the victims of today’s horrific and senseless tragedy in Jersey City. Our focus now should be continuing the investigation, honoring the sacrifice of Detective Seals and our other fallen New Jerseyans, praying for the full recovery of the injured officers, and doing everything we can to protect our communities from gun violence.”
The African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), the world's largest group of black film critics, announced their film award winners on Tuesday, December 10, 2019.
Jordan Peele's 'US' and the Eddie Murphy film 'Dolemite is My name' were honored with multiple awards while several other notable black actors and movies won awards.
The AAFCA Awards takes place on Wednesday, January 22, 2019, at the Taglyan Complex.
The AAFCA Awards celebrates achievements in film and television as selected by members of our organization. Going into its 8th year, the annual star-studded event attracts some of the biggest names in Hollywood as it recognizes the best performances of the year. In keeping with AAFCA's mission to support and promote the achievement of minorities in the arts and entertainment industry, several special achievement awards are given for extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the film and television community.
Full list of winners of AAFCA 2019 awards
Best Film: Us (Universal)
Best Director: Jordan Peele (Us, Universal)
Best Actor: Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name, Netflix)
Best Actress: Lupita Nyong’o (Us, Universal)
Best Supporting Actor: Jamie Foxx (Just Mercy, Warner Bros.)
Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite Is My Name, Netflix)
Best Breakout Performance: Kelvin Harrison, Jr. (Waves, A24)
Best Animated Film: Abominable (Universal)
Best Documentary: The Black Godfather (Netflix)
Best Foreign Film: Parasite (Neon)
Best Independent Film: The Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24)
Best Screenplay Presented with The Black List: Bong Joon-ho, Parasite (Neon)
Impact Award: Queen & Slim (Universal)
We See You Award: Taylor Russell (Waves, A24)
Cynthia Erivo received two Golden Globe nominations for her work in ‘Harriet’. She was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama & Best Original Song “Stand Up,”
Erivo had the following response when told of her nominations:
“Bringing Harriet Tubman to life for the first time on the big screen has meant the world to me, and to do so with an incredibly talented and diverse group of filmmakers has been an absolute honor. To be nominated for both my performance and the song I had the privilege to co-write for the film is a testament to Harriet’s enduring legacy and a celebration of her incredible story, which is long overdue. I am grateful to the HFPA for this recognition and feel truly blessed and humbled to be included on a list of such incredible artists. To say that this is overwhelming and a dream come true is putting it lightly. I’m excited to attend my first Golden Globe awards, and to share the night with friends and people I love is icing on the cake. This is beyond my wildest dreams.”
Sulwe has skin the color of midnight. She is darker than everyone in her family. She is darker than anyone in her school. Sulwe just wants to be beautiful and bright, like her mother and sister. Then a magical journey in the night sky opens her eyes and changes everything.
In this stunning debut picture book, actress Lupita Nyong’o creates a whimsical and heartwarming story to inspire children to see their own unique beauty.
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Hardcover-------Kindle Edition
After the Trump Administration issued a final rule that threatens the welfare of hungry Americans in need of SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) released the following statement:
The decision by the Trump Administration to hurt poor and working-class Americans by requiring Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) to submit to more onerous restrictions to qualify for food stamps is disgraceful.
Over 36 million Americans rely on SNAP for nutrition assistance. This final rule weakens SNAP, the nation’s most effective anti-hunger program. Enough is enough.
Unfortunately, the Trump Administration fails to understand that people want a hand up, not a handout. There is no dignity in taking food away from the poorest and most vulnerable of our citizens.
It is immoral, insensitive, and cold-hearted.
For all public servants, we have to do the most for those who have the least. As the ‘Conscience of the Congress,’ the CBC must stand up and speak for Americans trying to make ends meet, and call out this callous Administration for hurting the ‘least of these’ during the holidays and beyond.
Exhibition About African American Movie Posters On View Through Nov. 1, 2020.
“Now Showing: Posters from African American Movies” opened at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Nov. 22. The temporary exhibition will be on display until November 2020. It showcases how movie poster design has been used to frame ideas, create moods and stoke interest in films and characters. More than 40 objects and graphics celebrating black films, filmmakers and actors from the museum’s expansive poster collection will be on display in the Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts (CAAMA) gallery.
“Now Showing” is the first exhibition in the National Museum of African American History and Culture to feature augmented reality (AR). Through AR, visitors will have the unique opportunity to have an interactive experience with objects inside the gallery by using their mobile devices. Once inside the exhibition, visitors will go to hi.si.edu on their mobile web browser from their smart device and view exclusive content on various objects inside the exhibition.
Many of the items featured in “Now Showing” are from the Larry Richards Collection, a poster collection acquired by the museum in 2013 that includes more than 700 objects. This exhibition features original posters, lobby cards and select ephemera highlighting more than 70 years of African American image making.
The exhibition is divided into four sections: Film Pioneers, The Problem of the Color Line, A Star Is Born and Black Power & “Blaxploitation”. Each thematic category highlights the role African American films have played on the perception of African American culture and society as a whole.
“Film can serve as a peek into ideals about culture and society,” said Rhea L. Combs, curator and head of CAAMA. “This exhibition introduces visitors to films featuring African Americans they may be less familiar with, and at the same time, it recognizes some of the most historically and culturally relevant films made over a 70-year period. The significant artistry and design work that goes into creating not only the films, but the posters that promote the films, are not to be underestimated. When one explores the long-standing history of African American images on screen, these posters become significant artifacts about the perception and perspective of race, gender and culture that have been a part of our social landscape for decades.”
In the first section of the exhibition, Film Pioneers, visitors can view some of the earliest influencers in African American cinema, like actors Laurence Criner, Ralph Cooper and Lena Horn. This section also examines how non-black filmmakers created content for patrons excited to see black performers on the silver screen. The Problem of the Color Line examines the phenomena known as “passing,” where a mixed-race person passes as an accepted member of another racial group to avoid discrimination. A Star Is Born shows how increased interest in films helped create celebrities, increased representation in films and instilled a sense of pride in black communities across the country due to increased number of African Americans appearing in this new medium. The exhibition concludes with Black Power & “Blaxploitation,” which highlights the rise of movies geared toward black audiences in the 1960s–70s. During this era, Blaxploitation films centered around black casts and were usually set in and around urban environments. These films often brought black communities together by promoting black empowerment and breaking down racial barriers.
First Exhibition With Augmented Reality Experience
For the first time at the museum, AR will play a role in the exhibition experience. Visitors can interact with eight select posters and learn more about the objects using their mobile devices. The feature will use video and other pop-up displays to educate visitors on the objects in the gallery—creating a unique, one-of-a-kind experience.
“Now Showing: Posters from African American Movies” is in the museum’s CAAMA gallery, a temporary exhibition space located on the second floor. The public can be a part of the online conversation by using #CAAMALens.
About the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Since opening Sept. 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has welcomed more than 6 million visitors. Occupying a prominent location next to the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the nearly 400,000-square-foot museum is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history. For more information about the museum, visit nmaahc.si.edu, follow @NMAAHC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or call Smithsonian information at (202) 633-1000.
The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum has announced the members of the Class of 2020. Inductees include boxing greats Bernard Hopkins and “Sugar” Shane Mosley.
Upon hearing of his induction Hopkins said, "I'm glad I'm entering the house of greatness past and present. Thanks to boxing, I became a greater inspiration to the world."
Hopkins is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed middleweight title from 2004 to 2005, and the lineal light heavyweight title from 2011 to 2012.
Hopkins defeated Jean Pascal for the WBC and lineal light heavyweight titles. This victory made Hopkins the oldest boxer in history to win a world championship at the age of 46, breaking George Foreman's record set in 1994. Hopkins later broke his own record by winning the IBF light heavyweight title from Tavoris Cloud in 2013, and again in 2014 when he won the WBA (Super) title from Beibut Shumenov, at ages 48 and 49, respectively.
Hopkins retired in 2016 after losing a fight to Joe Snityh Jr.
"I just wanted to be a fighter and fit into the world of boxing, and this is a dream come true. I'm always excited to come back to Canastota but to come back this year will be very special." said Mosley after hearing about his induction into the Hall of fame.
Mosley fought professionally from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF lightweight title; the WBA (Super) and WBC welterweight titles; and the WBA (Super), WBC, and Ring magazine light middleweight titles. He is also a former lineal champion at welterweight (twice) and light middleweight.
On August 16, 2017 Mosley announced his retirement after being a professional for 24 years. Speaking to ESPN, he said his body was no longer in a state where he could get through training.
In a statement, he said, What happened was my arm is breaking down, my knees, shoulders. My back is starting to break down. My body is telling me I’m older and I can’t do it at 100 percent. I can’t see myself fighting again. I’d have to say I’m retired.
He retired with 61 fights in the paid ranks. He won 49, with 41 coming inside the distance, 10 losses, having only been stopped once, 1 draw and a no contest.
The 2020 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend will be held June 11-14th in Canastota, NY. Many events in “Boxing’s Hometown” of Canastota throughout the four-day celebration, including a 5K Race / Fun Run, golf tournament, boxing autograph card show, VIP Cocktail Reception, Parade of Champions and the Official Induction Ceremony on the Hall of Fame Museum Grounds, are scheduled. The Hall of Fame Weekend evening events include Friday night’s Fight Night at Turning Stone and Saturday’s Banquet of Champions. Both events will take place at Turning Stone Resort Casino in nearby Verona, NY.
Bernard Hopkins
Juan Manuel Marquez
“Sugar” Shane Mosley
Barbara Buttrick
Christy Martin
Lucia Rijker
Lou DiBella
Kathy Duva
Dan Goossen
Bernard Fernandez
Thomas Hauser
A Goldwater Scholar with several first-author publications and a patent to her name, Yamoah has focused on the cutting edge of quantum computing. As a high school student, she conducted research in the Goldhaber-Gordon Laboratory at Stanford University. Since her freshman year at MIT, she has been assisting Professor William Oliver in the Engineering Quantum Systems Group in the Research Laboratory of Electronics. She also did a summer research internship in the Q Circuits Group at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon. This past summer, Yamoah attended workshops for the MIT Regional Acceleration Program (REAP) where she connected with diverse stakeholders from around the world on developing initiatives for spurring innovation.
As president of the MIT chapter of the Society of Physics Students, Yamoah worked to develop a physics department statement of values, the first of its kind at MIT. She is an executive board member of Undergraduate Women in Physics and has served multiple roles in the Society of Women Engineers. As a project committee member for MIT Design for America, Yamoah organized workshops for teams creating technology-based solutions for local challenges such as food insecurity.
