Only black reporters allowed in Georgia mayoral race event

Organizers of a meeting to discuss an upcoming mayoral race in Georgia barred reporters from attending — unless they were African-American.

The Wednesday meeting at a church in Savannah was held to try to unite the city's black community behind a single candidate for mayor in the Nov. 5 election. Signs at the door said "Black Press Only!"

White reporters were denied entry, while at least two black reporters and the publisher of a local African-American newspaper were allowed inside, the Savannah Morning News reported . Television cameras and recording devices were also prohibited.

The newspaper said the Rev. Clarence Teddy Williams, who organized the meeting, declined to discuss the entry policy.

Van Johnson, a Savannah city councilman and one of three black mayoral candidates to have announced campaigns so far, attended the Wednesday meeting at Bolton Street Baptist Church. Johnson said afterward he relayed "my vision for an inclusive Savannah, a progressive Savannah."

Asked by a local TV station about only black reporters being allowed inside, Johnson said: "It's not my meeting. Again, I was asked to come give a statement, and so I came and I gave a statement."

Louis Wilson, who says he's running for mayor again after an unsuccessful 2015 campaign, also attended the meeting.

Regina Thomas, a former Georgia state senator and one of the incumbent mayor's black challengers, skipped the church gathering Wednesday. She said the meeting appeared divisive and was scheduled too early in the campaign. The deadline for candidates to sign up for the race is Aug. 23. Thomas said she also had a scheduling conflict: her Bible study group met Wednesday night.

[SOURCE: YAHOO NEWS]

Stacey Abrams not running for Vice President

While appearing on ABC's The View former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams answered a question about running on a Joe Biden ticket as the VP candidate by saying, "That you don't run for second place. Watch the rest of her remarks on the 2020 Election and her future political plans below:

Kamala Harris: Playing with ACA is irresponsible

Presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris said Tuesday that the Trump administration is "playing politics, yet again" with the Affordable Care Act, calling it the "height of irresponsibility."

The California Democrat told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room" that "the idea that we would turn the clock back because of some political purpose instead of prioritizing public health is irresponsible," and added, "We're going to have to fight against it again."

Harris joins other 2020 Democrats in slamming the move by the administration and rallying around the Affordable Care Act.

The senator said health care is an issue that "keeps most Americans up at night, regardless of who they vote for," as they worry about whether they can afford it.

She said that "tens of millions of Americans have benefited from the Affordable Care Act, including the removal of pre-existing conditions as a barrier to receive care."

"We have been clear, I think, as a nation that we value and we want all Americans to be able to have access to affordable health care, period," Harris said.

"The idea that people are playing politics, yet again, with the Affordable Care Act is the height of irresponsibility," Harris said.

[SOURCE: CNN]

Previously Unknown Photo of Young Harriet Tubman To Go on Public View for the First Time

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture will display—for the first time—the Emily Howland photography album containing a previously unknown portrait of abolitionist and Underground Railroad-conductor Harriet Tubman. The Howland album will be the museum’s first acquisition to be displayed in Heritage Hall, the museum’s main entry hall. It will be on exhibit Monday, March 25, through Sunday, March 31, and then relocated to the “Slavery and Freedom” exhibition on the C3 Level in the museum’s History Gallery.

“This photo album allows us to see Harriet Tubman in a riveting, new way; other iconic portraits present her as either stern or frail,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, the founding director of the museum. “This new photograph shows her relaxed and very stylish. Sitting with her arm casually draped across the back of a parlor chair, she’s wearing an elegant bodice and a full skirt with a fitted waist. Her posture and facial expression remind us that historical figures are far more complex than we realize. This adds significantly to what we know about this fierce abolitionist—it helps to humanize such an iconic figure.”

A recently announced visitation policy allowing for walk-up entry without passes Monday through Friday starting at 1 p.m. will provide visitors access to viewing the Tubman photograph.

Two years ago, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Library of Congress jointly acquired the photograph as part Howland’s photo album. Howland (1827–1929), a Quaker school teacher, taught at Camp Todd, the Freedman’s School in Arlington, Virginia. The album was originally compiled as a gift for her. Containing 49 images taken circa 1860s, it includes a more commonly known Tubman portrait taken later in life and images of Sen. Charles Sumner, woman’s activist and abolitionist Lydia Maria Child, organizer Samuel Ely, William Henry Channing, Col. C.W. Folsom, Charles Dickens and the only known photograph of John Willis Menard, the first African American man elected to the U.S. Congress.

Read more about Emily Howland's photo album here: https://nmaahc.si.edu/about/news/album-previously-unknown-photo-young-harriet-tubman-go-public-view-first-time

Michelle Obama's "Becoming" has sold nearly 10 million copies

Former first lady Michelle Obama's best-selling memoir, "Becoming," has sold nearly 10 million copies, the parent company of publisher Penguin Random House announced Tuesday.

The candid memoir, released in November, quickly became a best-seller and is one of the most popular books of the decade.

"We believe this could be the most successful memoir in history," said Thomas Rabe, the chief executive of Bertelsmann, a parent company of Penguin Random House.

The book had the longest streak at No. 1 for any book since "Fifty Shades of Grey" came out in 2012, according to Amazon.

[SOURCE: CNN]