U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley joined protesters speaking out against racial injustice and police brutality at the March on Washington Friday, 57 years after the first march was held and led by the Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr., on Aug. 28, 1963.
Watch her speech below:
During a march for voting rights and in commemoration of the 58th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, King Center CEO, Dr. Bernice A. King, shares the urgency for ensuring federal legislation to end voter suppression.
Watch her speech below:
Universal/MGM/Monkeypaw’s Candyman, which is a direct sequel to the 1992 original starring Tony Todd got off to a great late August start with $22.4M in it's opening weekend.
The R-rated slasher film, written by Jordan Peele and directed by “Captain Marvel 2” filmmaker Nia DaCosta, surpassed industry expectations despite fears the delta variant would keep people from going to the movies.
“Candyman” cost $25 million to produce — MGM financed and produced the film, while Universal handled marketing and distribution — and appears on track to become one of the rare pandemic-era releases to become profitable during its theatrical run.
“Nia DaCosta crafted an intense thriller that audiences responded to extraordinarily well this weekend. The debut of Candyman exceeded all industry expectations, and with the very positive audience reaction scores and a three-day holiday in our second weekend, we’re anticipating a strong theatrical run at the domestic box office,” exclaimed Universal’s Domestic Theatrical Distribution President Jim Orr.
Candyman stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and Colman Domingo.
NASCAR presented a trophy to the family of Wendell Scott on Saturday night in Daytona.
Scott, the first Black man to win a race in NASCAR's Cup Series, never got the trophy from his win at Jacksonville in 1963. Scott wasn't even declared the winner immediately after the race.
Buck Baker was originally declared the winner of that race and presented the trophy in victory lane. After Baker posed for pictures with the white trophy girl in victory lane, NASCAR officials realized a mistake had occurred following Scott’s protest. A couple hours after the race was over, Scott was awarded the win when NASCAR realized the race had gone on longer than it should have.
Scott never got the trophy from the win, however. It was gone from the track by the time he was officially declared the winner. Scott’s family continued the search for the trophy after his death in 1990 and never found it.
Saturday night, Scott's family got to get a trophy representing the win nearly 60 years later. He raced nearly 500 times at NASCAR's top level from 1961-73 and had 20 top-five finishes.
Prior to tonight's race at @DAYTONA, the family of Wendell Scott was presented with a trophy commemorating his 1963 win at Speedway Park.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 28, 2021
With that victory, Scott became the first Black driver to win at NASCAR's top level. pic.twitter.com/Ga8y1EuyOk
In September, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture will celebrate five years as the nation’s largest cultural destination dedicated to exploring the African American story and its impact on history. After operating virtually for 10 years, the museum opened on the National Mall Sept. 24, 2016.
The museum will honor its fifth anniversary, themed “Living History,” with a season of new offerings, including the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap CD and book and an art exhibition exploring the Black Lives Matter movement, violence against African Americans and how art depicts Black resilience. Also this fall, the museum will open an exhibition exploring the Reconstruction era; a virtual museum initiative, called Searchable Museum; and offer online and in-person programming to engage people around the world in African American history and culture.
“I am honored and proud of the work the museum has accomplished over the past five years to share African American history and culture with the world,” said Kevin Young, the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “Our anniversary theme, ‘Living History,’ aptly captures the current moment and our mission—and inspires many of our efforts this year. Connecting the past to the present and the future is a hallmark of our work.”
The museum opened with 12 permanent exhibitions and has hosted an additional 17 temporary exhibitions on topics ranging from African Americans in World War I to how The Oprah Winfrey Show helped shape American culture. It has hosted more than 250 public programs and is actively collecting items to document the history of the contemporary social justice movement.
“This is a very good time to thank the thousands of people, from presidents and patrons to visitors and volunteers, who have made our museum strong,” Young said. “By passionately pursuing our mission, we honor the community whose strength and perseverance gave birth to the world’s largest institution dedicated to preserving and exploring African American history and culture.”
