Smithsonian Regents Name Lonnie Bunch 14th Smithsonian Secretary

The Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents elected Lonnie G. Bunch III, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, as the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian, effective June 16.

Bunch is the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in September 2016. He oversees the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history.

Bunch’s election is unprecedented for the Smithsonian: He will be the first African American to lead the Smithsonian, and the first historian elected Secretary. In addition, he will be the first museum director to ascend to Secretary in 74 years.

Democrat Jaime Harrison to run against Lindsey Graham in 2020

Democrat Jaime Harrison, the former chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, is set to announce Wednesday his Senate bid against Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

“The formal announcement will take place tomorrow morning. I’ll be back in South Carolina tonight, and it’s going to be tomorrow morning where I will formally announce that I am running for the United States Senate for South Carolina against Lindsey Graham,” Harrison said on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” on Tuesday night.

Harrison announced in February he would form an exploratory committee as he weighed potentially launching a Senate bid in 2020.

Harrison currently serves as associate chairman and counselor for the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He first garnered national headlines when he unsuccessfully ran for DNC chair in 2017.

Learn more about Jaime Harrison and his platform here: jaimeharrison.com

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

14 Year Old Sydney Wilson is headed to Spelman College

When the freshman class steps onto Spelman College's campus in the fall, 14 years old Sydney Wilson will be among them.

Wilson learned earlier this May that she was accepted to be a member of the Class of 2023 at the Atlanta Historically Black College and University - making her the youngest student ever.

Stacey Abrams calls on 2020 presidential hopefuls to fight voter suppression

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams called on 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to speak out forcefully against voter suppression, calling it “the single most threatening aspect of our election system.”

This year at the 2019 Center for American Progress Ideas Conference, former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (D) shared her three solutions to combat voter suppression efforts and amplify new voices—especially those who have been historically excluded—so that the United States can progress toward a democracy that is truly representative of all of its people. Abrams urged Americans to fight for progress through litigation that combats regressive laws and expands voting rights; legislation such as H.R. 1 that offers historic democracy and voting reforms; and advocacy that centers communities of color and the disadvantaged to bring new voices to the table to change the country’s trajectory.

Watch her speech below:

Harriet Tubman's $20 bill to be delayed until after Trump leaves office

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday the redesign of the $20 bill to feature 19th century abolitionist leader Harriet Tubman has been delayed.

The decision to replace Andrew Jackson, the nation's seventh president, with Tubman on the $20 bill had been made by Mnuchin's predecessor, former Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, who had served in the Obama administration.

Tubman's fate had been in doubt since the 2016 campaign based on critical comments by then-candidate Donald Trump, who branded the move an act of "pure political correctness."

Mnuchin, however, said the delay in unveiling a $20 redesign had been prompted by the decision to redesign the $10 bill and the $50 bill first for security reasons. He said those bills will now be introduced before a redesigned $20 bill.

Mnuchin made the announcement of the delay in response to questions from Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., during an appearance before the House Financial Services Committee.

"Currently our currency does not reflect the diversity of people who have contributed to our great American history," Pressley told Mnuchin.

Mnuchin would not say whether he supported keeping Tubman on the redesigned $20. He said under the revised timeline, that decision will be left to whoever is Treasury secretary in 2026.

Mnuchin said the redesigned $20 bill will not come out until 2028 which he said means that a final design for that bill will not be announced until 2026.

[SOURCE: CHICAGO TRIBUNE]