Sanders strives to widen appeal to black voters

As Bernie Sanders contemplates making another president bid in 2020, the Vermont senator still is searching for the right way to attract more black voters who backed Hillary Clinton and effectively denied him the Democratic nomination in 2016.

His challenge was on display in Mississippi this week, where he traveled to mark the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination but along the way managed a clumsy critique of the Democratic Party under the nation’s first black president.

Former President Barack Obama, Sanders said, was a “charismatic individual ... an extraordinary candidate, a brilliant man.” But “behind that reality,” Sanders said, Obama led a party whose “business model” has been a “failure” for more than a decade.

It served as the latest confirmation that Sanders, even as he tries for new footholds in the black community, hasn’t mastered his precarious relationship with a key Democratic Party constituency that he will need if he hopes to reshape the party going forward, much less make another presidential run in 2020.

Sanders, who is elected in Vermont as an independent but caucuses in Washington with Democrats, has been spending more time in places dominated by black voters, including Southern states where African Americans shape Democratic primaries.

Read more: Sanders strives to widen appeal to black voters

Watch Barack Obama and John Lewis discuss Martin Luther King's legacy

To honor the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s death, President Obama and Congressman John Lewis participated in a My Brother’s Keeper Alliance roundtable with students from Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in Washington, D.C. President Obama, Congressman Lewis, and the students discussed Dr. King’s legacy and how his mission remains relevant in today’s world.

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]