Vice President Kamala Harris released the following statement via Twitter after the Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty verdict:
Today’s verdict speaks for itself. I've spent a majority of my career working to make our criminal justice system more equitable. It’s clear, there’s still a lot more work to do.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) today, Nov. 18, launched its newest digital initiative, the Searchable Museum. As part of the museum’s fifth anniversary, NMAAHC continues to engage audiences worldwide with online exhibitions, virtual symposia and digital programs. The Searchable Museum reaches beyond the walls of the museum to provide a rich digital experience that includes a multimedia presentation of NMAAHC’s historical narratives, collections and educational resources. Over a year in the making, the Searchable Museum initiative is one of the museum’s largest digital undertakings, bringing the museum’s evocative content and immersive in-person visitor experience into homes around the world. The Searchable Museum is made possible through the generous support of Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The Searchable Museum’s use of emerging technologies and scholarly expertise allows NMAAHC to draw from the transformative narrative structure and tone of its gallery experience while offering virtual visitors the flexibility to explore the exhibition content at their own pace. Whether someone has not been able to visit yet or wants to relive their time in the museum, Searchable Museum provides the opportunity for people to engage with the museum’s exhibitions through a deeper dive into African American history and culture.
The project’s first digital exhibition to be shared on the site is the “Slavery and Freedom” exhibition, a foundational feature from the museum’s David M. Rubenstein History Galleries, entirely reimagined for the digital space.
“By marshalling the latest technology and harnessing the scholarly and educational experience of the museum’s teams, the Searchable Museum tells the complex story of our nation’s history in ways only the National Museum of African American History and Culture can,” said Kevin Young, the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the museum. “This ongoing project provides a chance for Americans to realize our shared past, bringing the unique museum experience to their homes and on their phones. Allowing the public to virtually revisit the originating struggle for American freedom in the ‘Slavery and Freedom’ exhibition reminds us of the centrality of the African American journey to the American experience—a story of triumph, resilience and joy over the centuries. With this launch, we look forward to continuing the museum’s digital outreach and efforts.”
The exhibition has been transformed into an online experience combining existing and newly created digital collection assets, digitized exhibition content, multimedia components, such as 3D models, videos and audio podcasts, and state-of-the-art technologies to deliver an innovative, virtual exhibition. The site will also be responsive to user interests, offering opportunities for inquiry into specific topics via links to related online content and educational resources, making it possible to share new artifacts from the museum’s collections for the first time.
Similar to the in-person exhibition, the virtual exhibition explores the story of slavery and freedom—the core of America’s founding—beginning in the 14th century and concluding with the Civil War and Reconstruction. Through first-person accounts and artifacts, the exhibition examines the economic and political legacies of the making of modern slavery and the concept of freedom, both of which were foundational in the development of the United States. Most importantly, it considers the resistance, resilience and survival of enslaved African Americans as they fought to hold on to their humanity through inhumane conditions and free and enslaved African Americans’ contributions to the making of America. Throughout the exhibition, users will virtually experience recreations of striking moments and objects from the “Slavery and Freedom” exhibition in the David M. Rubenstein History Galleries.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has granted clemency to Julius Jones, commuting Jones' death sentence just hours before he was scheduled to be executed for a 1999 murder he says he did not commit. Jones' sentence will be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to an executive order filed Thursday.
Jones was scheduled to be executed at 4 p.m. CT at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Jones and his attorneys found out about the clemency at 12:45 p.m. CT while having their final visit.
The 11th-hour decision comes after years of protest over Jones' death sentence. He had been convicted of the 1999 murder of Paul Howell during a carjacking. Jones has been on death row for nearly 20 years, but he, his family, attorneys and supporters say he is innocent.
When NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins launches to the International Space Station next year, her debut spaceflight will make history.
Watkins is set to become the first Black woman to join the space station crew, and live and work in space on a long-duration mission on the orbiting outpost. The agency announced Tuesday that Watkins will fly to the space station in April 2022, alongside NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Robert Hines and astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency.
They are slated to launch aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission, known as Crew-4, is expected to last six months.
Watkins, a geologist who earned an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles, will serve as a mission specialist during the Crew-4 flight.
Two of the three men convicted of 1965 killing civil rights leader Malcolm X will soon be exonerated, Manhattan's district attorney announced Wednesday.
After a 22-month investigation, District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. found that authorities withheld evidence in the trial of Muhammad A. Aziz, 83, and the late Khalil Islam, who died in 2009, the New York Times reported. Both men spent over two decades in prison for a crime they vowed they did not commit.
Malcolm X, who was born Malcolm Little, was killed while giving a speech at New York's Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965. Aziz, Islam, and another man, Thomas Hagan, were convicted for the murder, but Aziz and Islam maintained their innocence.
However, Vance's investigation found that key physical evidence and documents were lost over the years, the murder weapons could no longer be tested, and many witnesses, investigators, and potential suspects have since died, the Times reported. FBI documents implicated other suspects and "pointed away" from Islam and Aziz, the report said.
"This points to the truth that law enforcement over history has often failed to live up to its responsibilities," Vance told the publication. "These men did not get the justice that they deserved."
