African American history museum to offer 'Walk Up Wednesdays' in April

Learn more about the Walk Up Wednesdays here: https://nmaahc.si.edu/walk-wednesdays-april

The National Museum of African American History and Culture has been one of the hottest tickets in Washington, D.C. for museum-goers.

Since opening in September 2016, it has welcomed more than 3.5 million visitors.

It’s been so popular that timed-entry passes have to be reserved two months in advance.

But every Wednesday in April, the museum will let people who walk up enter the museum on a first-come, first-served basis without the pass that other visitors need to enter.

“Walk-Up Wednesdays in April will help us to determine how to manage visitor demand,” said Lonnie Bunch III, the museum’s founding director. “We are honored and humbled to have struck such a chord with our visitors… We don’t want to disappoint our visitors by reaching capacity and having them wait in long lines for space to become available inside the galleries.”

What the museum is experimenting with in the Walk Up Wednesday trial run is allowing visitors to show up without a reservation or a pass starting at 10 a.m. on every Wednesday of April. No same day walk-up passes will be made available online at 6:30 a.m. on those Wednesdays.

In other words, for the month of April, if you want to get into the museum without a pass, you can do so by just showing up after 10 a.m. and waiting in line.

On average, visitors stay 4 ½ hours on weekdays, Bunch said. The museum has tried to balance not forcing people to rush out while also letting new visitors enter.

“The goal of this pilot program is to provide greater access for the public while maintaining the safety and security of our visitors.,” Bunch said.

Those with timed-entry passes that were reserved ahead of time will still get priority access. And groups of 10 or more will have to go by the usual rules.

[SOURCE: USA TODAY]

Black Houston teenager accepted to 20 Universities with full ride scholarships

A Texas teen got into 20 colleges with full scholarships to each one, leaving his mother “in awe,” she said.

“I’m very grateful, I’m very thankful,” Berthinia Rutledge-Brown told ABC News. “I know that he has done an amazing job, and I get to watch him every day. It’s just normal to me.”

Micheal Brown, 17, is a senior at Lamar High School in Houston. He got into schools including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford and Georgetown.

Brown's mom describes him as “hardworking” and “caring.”

“He wants this to be an example and inspiration for other kids that if they work hard and use their resources, they can do whatever they set their minds to,” Rutledge-Brown said.

Brown is part of a program called EMERGE Fellowship. According to its website, the program “empowers and prepares high performing students from underserved communities to attend and graduate from selective colleges and universities across the nation.”

Rutledge-Brown said that although she knew her son had the grades to get scholarships, she never imagined anything like this.

“This has exceeded anything I ever thought. When I went to college I paid for it myself,” Rutledge-Brown said. “I really knew that when we went to the EMERGE orientation and saw the people that came back to speak, he would be able to go to school.”

Rutledge-Brown said Brown isn’t quite sure what school he wants to go to yet, but she has an idea of which one he will pick. She said regardless of where her son goes, he plans to study political science or economics and participate on a debate team.

His ultimate goal is to go to law school.

“He wants to come back to Houston and work in the community,” Rutledge-Brown said.

[SOURCE: ABC NEWS]

Black teenager steals beer: Is shot dead by store clerk who doesn't report shooting or alleged crime

Police in Tennessee said Sunday that a convenience store clerk has been charged in the fatal shooting of 17 year old Dorian Harris who the clerk suspected of being a shoplifter whose body was found near the store.

Ghazali returned to the store and told a witness, “I think I shot him,” according to the affidavit. He never called the police to report the shooting.

The shooting occurred on Thursday, but police said Ghazali never reported the incident. The 17-year-old's body was found beside a home near the store Saturday. Fox 13 Memphis identified the victim as Dorian Harris.

Police spokesman Louis Brownlee said the teen was suspected of leaving the store without paying for a beer, and Ghazali followed him and allegedly shot him.

"The victim/suspect stole a beer and goes out of the store,'' Brownlee told the paper. "The suspect tries to stop him. Shoots at him. Hits him once. He doesn't officially know that he hit him. Yesterday, a female comes home, sees a person lying next to the home. Calls police.”

Ghazali was being held in the Shelby County Jail. It wasn't immediately known whether he has an attorney.

[SOURCE]

Missouri State Legislator: Sen. McCaskill not engaging with black voters

Even though Sen. McCaskill's issues engaging black voters is taking place in Missouri, this should be a cautionary tale for all Democrats nationwide. Yes, you have to reach to and engage other bases that might not usually vote democratic but don't forget your base. Black voters are starting to feel taken for granted and while they won't vote Republican they just may stay home. George L. Cook III African American Reports.

African American leaders in Missouri are frustrated with what they see as Sen. Claire McCaskill’s lackluster engagement with minority voters.

Frustrated enough that they refused to sign a letter pushing back against comments made last month by Bruce Franks, a prominent black activist and state legislator from St. Louis, who called on McCaskill to “show up” and earn the support of minority voters in her state.

“I’m going to vote for Claire, but Claire is going to have to bring her ass to St. Louis,” Franks said to applause at a town hall he hosted Feb. 17.

In response to Franks comments, McCaskill had asked African American elected officials in Kansas City and St. Louis to sign the letter.

Among those who were approached by McCaskill are U.S. Reps. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City and Lacy Clay of St. Louis, and state Rep. Gail McCann Beatty, the minority leader in the Missouri House.

Each declined to sign.

“I’m 100 percent certain that nobody signed it,” Cleaver said in an interview Wednesday with The Kansas City Star. “We talked about it very seriously and strongly and every one of us said, ‘We’re going to support her, but signing this letter isn’t going to achieve what she wants. It’s just going to make people angry.’ ”

Cleaver said he’s sympathetic to McCaskill’s plight. She’s a Democrat running for re-election in a state Republican President Donald Trump won by nearly 19 points in 2016. He understands she must win over some right-leaning voters to survive.

But as McCaskill works to burnish her reputation as a centrist, Cleaver and other African American leaders said they worry she’ll leave minority voters on the left with the impression that she’s taking them for granted — and it could cost her turnout in the urban centers that are crucial to her base.

“The state is large and diverse, but she might need to take the campaign into the repair shop in the black communities,” Cleaver said. “I think if people see that she’s actually trying to win them over then I think it will be a benefit to her re-election.”

McCaskill’s campaign said she has a long record of standing with and fighting for Missouri’s African American community, starting with her time as a prosecutor and continuing with her work as a U.S. senator.

“Nothing has, or ever will, change that commitment,” said Meira Bernstein, McCaskill’s campaign spokeswoman, in a statement.

Read more: McCaskill asked black leaders to push back on criticism of her campaign. No one would.

Stacey Dash ends congressional bid

"Clueless" star and former Fox News commentator Stacey Dash is withdrawing her congressional bid, a representative for the actress confirmed to CNN Friday.

"After much prayer, introspection and discussions with my family, I am withdrawing my candidacy for California's 44th Congressional District," Dash said in an email statement to CNN.

The news comes one month after the actress and outspoken Republican filed paperwork to run in California's 44th district, which is currently represented by Democrat Nanette Barragán.

"I started this run with the intention to address the pressing issues in the district where I live," Dash said in the statement. "I hoped, and remain hopeful, that I can assist people living here on the national level. My goal was, and remains, to improve the lives of people who have been forgotten for decades by the Democratic Party."

However, Dash added, "At this point, I believe that the overall bitterness surrounding our political process, participating in the rigors of campaigning, and holding elected office would be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of my family. I would never want to betray the personal and spiritual principles I believe in most: that my God and my family come first."

[SOURCE: CNN]