Rep. Lucy McBath to run in neighboring district

Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) is set to run in Georgia's 7th Congressional District after her own district was redrawn, setting up a potential Democratic primary matchup between her and fellow Democratic incumbent Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux.

The change in districts for McBath comes after Georgia Republicans redrew her seat in the 6th Congressional District to lean heavily Republican. The Georgia state legislature approved the new congressional map on Monday.

The 6th District originally included parts of Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb and Forsyth counties in Atlanta's suburbs. However, the new map moves the seat north to more rural Cherokee and Dawson counties.

“I refuse to let (Gov.) Brian Kemp, the (National Rifle Association) and the Republican Party keep me from fighting,” McBath said in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They are not going to have the last word.”

McBath was first elected in 2018 and has been targeted by Republicans looking to unseat her.

[SOURCE:THE HILL]

Six Black students chosen as 2022 Rhodes Scholars

On Saturday, November 20, 2021, the American Rhodes Scholar Class of 2022 was announced. Of the 32 outstanding students chosen six of them are Black. They will commence their studies at Oxford in October 2022.

Congratualtions to all of those chosen and especially to those Black students listed below.

Sydni A. Scott

Sydni A. Scott, Unionville, is a senior at Columbia University majoring in Political Science. She has done significant work on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues, including developing training for dozens of universities participating in The Women’s Network. Sydni also founded The Amendment Project, an organization mobilizing high school students around the issue of reparations, and worked to help secure passage of a local reparations resolution in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was a Division I track and field athlete at Columbia, competing in the long jump and triple jump. While at Oxford, she plans to pursue an MPhil in Politics (Comparative Government).

Tawreak J. Gamble-Eddington

Tawreak J. Gamble-Eddington, Springfield, Massachusetts, graduated in 2021 from Union College with honors in both History and Political Science. He is currently completing an MPhil in Race, Ethnicity, Conflict at Trinity College Dublin, where he is a Mitchell Scholar. Ty was a campus leader at Union College, serving as President of both the Black Student Union and Union Pride and helping found a My Brother’s Keeper program. He was also named to the steering committee for the Presidential Initiative on Race, Power, and Privilege and awarded the university’s top prizes for service to the college, contributions to campus diversity, and accomplishments in political science. At Oxford, he proposes to complete the MPhil in Politics (Comparative Government).

Samantha C.W. O’Sullivan

Samantha C.W. O’Sullivan, Washington, DC, is a senior at Harvard College, where she majors in Physics and African-American Studies. Sam founded and led a student organization that promotes activism related to the legacy of slavery and has published articles on dress codes and bias against Black girls. She has done advanced research in plasma physics at Princeton and nanoscale systems at Harvard and the University of Maryland, and astrophysics at the Carnegie Institute of Astrophysics. She is fascinated by how different languages, including the language of the African diaspora, Gullah, provide insights into different perceptions of the physical universe. Sam will do the MSt in Philosophy of Physics and the MSc in Applied Linguistics at Oxford.

Elvin N. Irihamye

Elvin N. Irihamye, Sammamish, Washington, is a senior at Indiana University majoring in Neuroscience and where he is a Herman B. Wells Scholar. In Bloomington, he co-founded and is president of a charitable corporation using industry and academic partnerships to strengthen the pipeline of Black, Latinx and Native American talent into the workforce. He is also active in a start-up to assist nursing home residents during the pandemic. Elvin has been a student advisor to the Indiana University president and also to the Vice Provost for undergraduate education. He is a co-author of three scientific publications in peer-reviewed publications, including Nature and Cells relating to cancer chemotherapy treatments. Elvin plans to do the MSc in Translational Health Science and the MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation at Oxford.

MacKenzie E. Isaac

MacKenzie E. Isaac, Indianapolis, received a BA in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame in 2020 and is currently completing a master’s degree in Health Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Kenzie has served in leadership roles both on campus and in her community, including as the University of Notre Dame’s Student Body Director of Diversity and Inclusion. Following graduation from Notre Dame, Kenzie worked for a year as an AmeriCorps Public Ally in her hometown of Indianapolis, focusing on public health issues such as pedestrian safety and chronic disease prevention. She currently works for Health by Design, an Indianapolis-based non-profit organization, overseeing the organization and implementation of park remodeling projects in two historically African-American neighborhoods. At Oxford, she will pursue a DPhil in Population Health.

Klarke J. Stricklen

Klarke J. Stricklen, Chattanooga, is a senior at the University of the South, where she majors in American Studies and African American Studies. Klarke’s undergraduate honors thesis concentrates on Black reparations by arguing for the moral responsibility of higher educational institutions with ties to the slave trade and slavery. She is also a research assistant for The Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation. Klarke also serves as president of the local NAACP chapter in Sewanee. Previously, she interned in the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Klarke is a Truman Scholar. At Oxford, she will pursue an MSc in Economic and Social History.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson announces retirement after almost 30 years in Congress

Longtime U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, announced Saturday she is not running for reelection after serving nearly three decades in Congress.

First elected to Congress in 1992, Johnson, 85, is among its most senior members — the longest-serving member from Texas — and serves as dean of the Texas delegation. She chairs the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

A former state legislator, Johnson is known for breaking barriers. She was the first Black woman ever elected to public office in Dallas when she won a state House seat in 1972. She went on to become the first registered nurse to ever serve in Congress.

Speaking Saturday surrounded by family, Johnson emphasized her longtime advocacy for funding for Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the city's public transit agency, calling it "my baby from the first day that I got there." She also highlighted her role in helping flip Dallas County for Democrats in 2006.

“I’m proud of what I’ve done because there is no Texan in the history of this state who has brought more home," Johnson said, reflecting on how she had to work across party lines during long stretches in the minority. "As much as we trash the names of some of the Republicans. they were some of the same ones that helped me be successful."

The decision Johnson announced Saturday is consistent with what she told constituents in 2019 — that her current term would be her last.

VP Kamala Harris statement on Kyle Rittenhouse verdict

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.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Launches New “Searchable Museum” Digital Initiative

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) today, Nov. 18, launched its newest digital initiative, the Searchable Museum(link is external). 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.