Charlie Kirk assassination highlights rising political violence in U.S.
By Louis Jacobson and Amy Sherman PolitiFact via Capital B News
The assassination of Charlie Kirk stunned first the audience at Utah Valley University, where he was shot while speaking Sept. 10, and then the country, as footage of his killing quickly spread.
For many Americans, the conservative influencer’s death crystallized a growing fear: The United States is experiencing more and more political violence.
Kirk, 31, had the ear of both everyday Americans and the most powerful people in the United States. He founded Turning Point USA, a conservative organization focused on young people, when he was 18. Until he was fatally shot in the neck during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University, Kirk was close to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Kirk’s assassination followed numerous recent instances of political violence. In 2025 alone, Minnesota Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were fatally shot; an arsonist set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s residence with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family inside; an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was shot and injured outside a detention facility in Texas; the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters
was set on fire; and a shooter attacked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters.
In 2024, Trump himself was the target of two assassination attempts. Princeton University’s Bridging Divides Initiative recorded over 600 incidents of threats and harassment against local officials that year — a 74% increase from 2022.
“In under a decade, violence has become a shockingly regular feature of American political life,” University of Chicago political scientist Robert Pape wrote in “Foreign Affairs.”
“Support for political violence has gone mainstream. … Political trends do not move in straight lines, and predicting the future can be a fool’s errand. But it is safe to say that the United States has a rough road ahead.”
How does the recent spate of violence compare historically?
Political violence is hardly unprecedented in the United States.
In fact, the country has “a long, dark history” of violence that has “struck the highest level of American politics,” said Kevin Boyle, a Northwestern University historian.
“Over a third of the presidents in the 20th century experienced assassination attempts, and two of them were killed,” Boyle said. Activists were also assaulted and killed.
During the Jim Crow era, in the first half of the 20th century, ordinary citizens, especially Black Americans, were regularly lynched. But historians say the closest analogue to today’s uptick in political violence is the 1960s and 1970s, when President John F. Kennedy, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy and George Wallace were shot. Only Wallace survived.
While the perpetrators often had mental health issues, they seemed to have been shaped by the heated political times that seemed to polarize the population, said Kevin M. Schultz, a University of Illinois-Chicago historian.
Now, Americans are quick to excuse actions and speech that were once taboo, Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism specialist at Georgetown University, said. Luigi Mangione, charged in the December killing of United HealthCare executive Brian Thompson “has become a folk hero,” Hoffman said. A musical about Mangione that’s now in theaters is selling out. And elsewhere in the United States, Hoffman said, “the flags of terrorist organizations are a regular fixture at demonstrations and protests.”
Violence Cont’d on Pg. 6
Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the Florida State University tour stop of the "American Comeback Tour" at Landis Green in Tallahassee, Florida on February 27, 2025. Photo: Greg Skindmore/Wikimedia Commons
Guest Commentary by A. Scott Bolden
Trump should let African American Museum tell the truth about slavery
President Donald Trump’s recent social media post complaining about how the Smithsonian Institution museums portray slavery is inaccurate, insulting, and a national embarrassment.
“The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future,” Trump wrote. “We are not going to allow this to happen, and I have instructed my attorneys to go through the Museums …,” the president continued. “This Country cannot be WOKE because WOKE IS BROKE.” Unfortunately, the leader of our nation appears to know as little about the Smithsonian museums as he does about the rules of capitalization in English.
The president’s social media post followed an Aug. 12 letter to the Smithsonian by Trump administration officials demanding a “comprehensive internal review” of eight Smithsonian museums by the White House “to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
The directive mentioned in the letter was an executive order Trump issued in March denouncing “a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our nation’s history … as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed” and ordering an effort to “remove improper ideology” from Smithsonian museums, research centers, and the National Zoo.
I’ve visited all the Smithsonian museums and never cease to be impressed by how they accurately educate visitors about history, culture, science, and the arts in a nonpartisan manner. There is nothing “woke” about them. My view of the National Museum of African American History and Culture aligns with the view a visitor expressed in 2017 when he praised it as “a truly great museum” that was “incredible,” “done with love,” and “a meaningful reminder of why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all its very ugly forms.” That visitor in 2017 was President Trump. Too bad his view has changed.
Visitors to the African American museum first see powerful exhibits about slavery. As a Black man, I find these particularly moving, knowing that my ancestors were abducted from their homes in Africa, brought to America in chains, and treated like animals rather than human beings.
You don’t have to be Black to be horrified by the depiction of slavery in the museum, any more than you have to be Jewish to be horrified by the murder of 6 million Jews
as depicted in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, another outstanding Smithsonian Museum. Slavery is as much a part of American history as the Holocaust is a part of German history. You can’t understand the history of either country without understanding these atrocities.
To its credit, Germany requires Holocaust education in schools. Trump would be wise to learn from the German example — not hiding from an ugly chapter of his nation’s history, but shining a spotlight on it so later generations can learn from it.
We need to be honest about our past. There is simply no way to put a pretty face on slavery or downplay its barbarity and immorality. Importantly, Trump’s social media post saying Smithsonian museums concentrate on stories about “how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been” is not true.
The African American museum devotes much space to telling the story of Black people overcoming slavery, systemic racism, and poverty to rise to levels of great accomplishment in just about every field. The many displays about Black abolitionists, civil rights figures, educators, physicians, scientists, lawyers, entertainers, athletes, government officials, business executives, and more are as inspiring as the stories of enslaved Black people are disheartening.
The fact that Black Americans could rise from slavery to the U.S. presidency of Barack Obama 144 years after emancipation is a testament to the justice of our system of government and the goodness of the American people.
Racism has not disappeared, but the great progress our nation has made on the road to equality is something all Americans should learn about and be proud of. My own family has lived this story of Black success. My ancestors were enslaved. My late father, Raymond A. Bolden, who was born in 1933, struggled through poverty, racism, and homelessness to become an exceptional student, serve in the U.S. Air Force, and go on to become a civil rights lawyer and judge. He inspired me to become a lawyer as well and follow in his and my mother’s footsteps by also becoming a crusader for racial justice.
As a lawyer, I’ve often seen witnesses “solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” when they are called to testify in trials. We should expect our museums to do the same. President Trump should stop trying to prevent them from doing so.
A. Scott Bolden is an attorney, NewsNation contributor, former chair of the Washington, D.C. Democratic Party, and a former New York state prosecutor. He wrote this for BlackPressUSA where it first appeared.
As Ethiopia launches Africa’s biggest dam, citizens are hopeful despite concerns by Egypt and Sudan
By Evelyne Musambi and Amanuel Gebremedhin Birhane Associated Press
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Fanuse Adete is among those Ethiopians looking forward to finally getting connected to the national electricity grid when the Grand Renaissance Dam, which will be inaugurated Tuesday, becomes fully operational.
The 38-year-old widowed mother of seven, who lives in the Menabichu district just 10 kilometers (6 miles) outside the capital, Addis Ababa, currently survives on kerosene lamps and candles to light up her mud-walled hut at night.
“Previously, our daily lives relied on kerosene lamps and charcoal, which posed significant challenges. We would transport firewood to the market, selling it to buy kerosene and bread for our children. However, with the completion of the dam, our entire community is now happy,” she said, while lighting up firewood to make Ethiopian coffee.
Ethiopia will inaugurate the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam along the Blue Nile on Tuesday. It is expected to produce more than 5,000 megawatts, doubling Ethiopia’s current output, part of which will be exported to neighboring countries.
The dam, whose construction
“So the way forward is: let’s work together for more investment. Let’s join hands to propose more projects that can benefit all of us, wherever they may be. This can be scaled up to Nile Basin countries—to Uganda, to Tanzania, to Rwanda, to D.R.C., to South Sudan, to Kenya, to Ethiopia, to Egypt as well,” he said.
began in 2011, has raised concerns from neighboring Egypt and Sudan over the potential reduction of water levels downstream.
Despite the formation of a joint panel to discuss the sharing of the Blue Nile water, tensions remain high and some, like Egypt, have termed the move a security risk, saying it could lead to drought downstream.
But Ethiopia insists that the towering dam will not only benefit its more than 100 million people, but also its neighbors, and sees it as an opportunity to become Africa’s leading electricity exporter.
Ethiopian Water Minister Habtamu Itefa said his country has no intention of harming any of the neighboring countries.
Water experts in downstream Egypt say the dam has reduced the amount of water the country receives, and the government had to come up with short-term solutions such as reducing annual consumption and recycling irrigation water.
“Egypt was able to overcome this shortage through Egypt’s High Dam, which has a water reserve that is used to replace what was lost due to the GERD. But we can’t always rely on this reserve for water supply,” said Abbas Sharaky, a professor of geology and water resources at Cairo University.
Sudanese experts say seasonal flooding has decreased during the dam’s filling, but they warn that uncoordinated water releases could lead to sudden flooding
or extended dry periods.
But Itefa said that so far, the water levels recorded downstream during the dry season were “three to four-fold what they used to get before the dam.”
“This means, at the expense of the dam we built, they can have their irrigation land. Three to four-fold,
For Ethiopians, the prospect of increased electricity supply to enhance development is welcome news. Amakelech Debalke GebreGiorgis, a mother of two in Addis Ababa, is looking forward to it.
“We want to see more development, and we want to see more electricity become
they can increase that, because we are providing more water during the dry months. It is a blessing for them,” said the minister.
Yacob Arsano, who teaches hydro politics in the Nile Basin at Addis Ababa University, said Ethiopia was “very careful” with the design and planning of the dam to ensure water flows downstream throughout the year.
“Egypt continues to receive the water. Ethiopia continues to send water. So that is the remaining fact and for which how to organize such a shared use of water resources depends on the two sides. All of the upstream and downstream countries need to sit down properly and soberly,” he said.
part of our daily life, and we’re all excited,” said the mother of two.
Associated Press journalist Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report. Musambi is an Associated Press reporter based in Nairobi, Kenya.
This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. Photo: AP
Ethiopian Water Minister Habtamu Itefa gestures during an interview with Associated Press in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025.
Photo: Brian Ingaga/AP
Children rehearse for the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. Photo: Brian Ingaga/AP
Fanuse Adete, 38 years-old, holds up a candle she uses to light her home at night in the Menabichu district on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
Photo: Brian Ingaga/AP
Why is political violence happening now?
Today’s political and rhetorical landscape is intensely polarized and fueled by anger, distrust and conspiracy theories. It’s easier to target your political opponents for violence if you see them as “enemies of the nation,” Boyle said.
Where does this enmity come from? Experts point to several sources, including social media, which exacerbated the high-voltage talk that had already existed for two decades in talk radio and cable news and “made it possible for violent rhetoric to reach vast numbers of people,” Boyle said.
The anonymity of social media also enables people to speak without personal consequence, while algorithms amplify even the most extreme voices, “leading politicians to embrace positions far more extreme than most Americans seek,” Schultz said.
American voters are actually less ideologically polarized than the fever-pitch rhetoric they consume suggests, according to Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace.
“Most partisans hold major misbeliefs about the other party’s preferences that lead them to think there is far less shared policy belief,” Kleinfeld has written. “This perception gap is highest among progressive activists, followed closely by extreme conservatives. In other words, the people who are most involved in civic and political life hold the least accurate views of the other side’s beliefs.”
And while the 1960s and 1970s
might be our best analogue for the violence happening today, there are some key differences. Notably, political violence has become mainstream.
“Most mainstream politicians in that era, outside of the Jim Crow south, avoided violent rhetoric,” Boyle said. “That’s no longer the case.”
Another important factor is the availability of guns.
Kirk was among about a dozen people killed by guns Sept. 10, according to the Gun Violence Archive. In 2023, nearly 47,000 people died of gun violence and about 38% were homicides.
“It’s a terrible thing to hate your political opponents, but the ready availability of guns makes it easier for people to act on their hatred,” Boyle said.
Meanwhile, the underfunding of mental health care has let dangerous people act without being stopped.
Is political violence a feature of both the left and right?
In the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination, Trump and other conservatives blamed the left for political violence.
“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” Trump said in a video message.
“This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
“The Left is the party of
murder,” tech entrepreneur Elon Musk said on X.
But recent political violence has affected both Democrats and Republicans.
In addition to Kirk’s assassination and the attempts on Trump’s life, Republicans were targeted in a mass shooting at a congressional baseball practice in 2017. Democrats were targeted in the 2011 shooting of then-Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz.; a 2022 attack on the husband of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; and the attacks on Hortman and Shapiro in Minnesota and Pennsylvania, respectively.
And on Jan. 6, 2021, the U.S. Capitol was stormed by Trump supporters who falsely claimed Democrats had stolen the 2020
election. When Trump won back the White House four years later, he pardoned or commuted the sentences of everyone who had been charged in the attack.
In 2023, Reuters identified about 200 more instances of political violence since Jan. 6, 2021.
There’s a ripple effect. As political violence rises, Kleinfeld said, it will affect everyone, regardless of political party.
“The more people justify violence from their side of the aisle, the more unhinged, aggressive people will commit violence from that side,” Kleinfeld said. “And the more that will justify the other side in doing the same.”
Students chant during a news conference held by Moms Demand Action calling for a ban on assault weapons at the Minnesota State Capitol on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. The kids walked out of school to protest and call for stricter gun laws in Minnesota. Credit: Ellen Schmidt / MinnPost / CatchLight Local / Report for America
Mike Kenyanya reflects on 6 years at University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents
By Cynthia Simba Mshale Staff Reporter
When Mike Kenyanya joined the student government at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, 10 years ago, he didn’t know it would one day lead to an appointment to the university’s board of regents. Back then, he was a freshman, not quite familiar with how the student government worked and had only joined the student organization out of curiosity.
“I wasn’t really sure what it was,” said Kenyanya, who recently concluded a 6-year term as a member of the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents.
After learning more about the student government in his freshman year, Kenyanya would go on to serve the student government in various positions during all four years, including as an elected student body president in his junior and senior years. During his last year at Duluth, a global consulting firm offered him a job in Chicago. Dr. Lisa Erwin, the Vice Chancellor for Student Life at the university who was his mentor, encouraged him to apply for a position as a regent.
“As I got to know Mike from his years of service to the [University of Minnesota Duluth] student government, I learned that he had many qualities that would make him an excellent candidate for the [University of Minnesota] Board of Regents,” Erwin said. “He’s exceptionally bright and able to understand an issue from multiple perspectives.”
The process includes submitting an application form and references to the Regent Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC). After a thorough revision of the application, the RCAC invites notable candidates for interviews. The RCAC then makes recommendations to the Joint Legislative Committee, which can then recommend one
candidate for each board vacancy to the Joint Convention of the Minnesota Senate and the Minnesota House.
In December 2018, Kenyanya submitted his application. After that he enlisted his peers to help him campaign for a seat. He set up phone and e-mail banks and held pizza
parties where volunteers made calls encouraging students to call their local representatives. Kenyanya also traveled from Duluth to the Twin Cities to meet with different legislators,
Cont’d on Pg. 8
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Kenyanya
Mike Kenyanya completed his six-year term on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents in the summer. When the Minnesota Legislature elected him on 2019, he was one of the only five Black regents in the university’s 174-year history.
Photo: Courtesy University of Minnesota
a task he was able to accomplish with the help of his friends.
“I didn’t have a car, so my roommates were lending me their cars,” he said. “Those are my brothers, and I thank them for it.”
The board of regents serves as the governing body for the University of Minnesota. It is responsible for establishing the university’s strategic mission, approving major budgets and policies, overseeing the president, and ensuring the institution serves the public good of the state of Minnesota and the broader world. The student representative is a full member of the board. On May 9, 2019, the late Rep. Melissa Hortman, who was the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives then, announced the news Kenyanya had been waiting for.
“Mike Kenyanya, having received a majority of the votes cast, has been elected as student at-large regent to the board for a term of six years,” said Hortman.
At the time of his election, Kenyanya was one of the only five Black regents in the University of Minnesota’s 174-year history and the second one that is of Kenyan descent.
“Student government is very different from institutional governance,” Kenyanya said. “It was one heck of a transition.”
As a regent, Kenyanya’s role still entailed advocating for the students in some of the initiatives he considered pertinent like access to tuition assistance, and mental health services. But he also had to serve other stakeholders of the university
such as faculty. Kenyanya said during those six years, his immigrant background helped him to address key issues in a bipartisan manner.
“My immigrant background, I think about it as a superpower,” he said. “Growing up in two worlds helps with perspectives so much.”
Reflecting on Kenyanya’s time on the board, Erwin said that he was able to carry out his term with integrity and intention.
“I am extremely proud of his service to the Board, the University, and the citizens of the State of Minnesota,” Erwin said. “He listened carefully and asked questions from a lens of curiosity and stewardship. He positively influenced the work of the Board in ways that benefitted students and the institution.”
Former University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, student body president Jael
Kerandi said she thought Kenyanya fulfilled his leadership role with student interests in mind. Kerandi was the campus’s first Black student body president and her term coincided with Kenyanya’s first year as a regent.
“Mike did a really hard job at a really hard time and really pushed his best,” Kerandi said. “The passion and caliber, Mike is no exception to that.”
While the university has expanded mental health services for students, the cost of attendance has increased significantly. In the past six years alone the cost of attendance for in-state students has increased by over 20%. In the past three decades, the out of pocket cost for students has increased while the contribution from the state budget to the university in terms of revenue has decreased by 15%. Nationwide the enrollment in higher education has also decreased
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over the past two decades.
Kenyanya said that this increase was due to multiple factors, one being that increase in access to services also leads to a rise in costs to cover the services, in what he describes as competing interests. There has also been a global rise in inflation. Kenyanya would like to see Minnesota’s various institutions of higher learning work together to identify key educational needs of the state. Looking to the future, he said he hoped to see the university continue to serve the state of Minnesota while maintaining its world class reputation.
“I hope the university continues to balance its aspiration to continue to be seen as a world class institution and continue to focus on Minnesota” he said.
Reflecting on his time as a regent, Kenyanya said he was honored to have held the position to serve Minnesota and a generation of future students.
“I’m so thankful for the experience,” he said. “I learned so much.”
On Aug. 12, Gov. Tim Walz announced the appointment of four new regents.
“The University of Minnesota Board of Regents is gaining four accomplished, knowledgeable, and dedicated leaders,” he said. “They will bring a wide range of experiences and perspectives, united by a deep commitment to the University’s mission. Their leadership will be critical as the Board addresses current challenges and shapes the University’s future.”
Kowsar Mohamed, a doctoral student in Natural Resources Science and Management at the University of Minnesota who also serves as the enterprise director of inclusion for the state’s Office of Inclusion, is the new student regent.
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Kenyanya Cont’d from
Former University of Minnesota regent Mike Kenyanya, left, attends a Gophers football game with family and friends at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Photo: Courtesy of Mike Kenyanya
National Baptists and partners commit to social justice advocacy at annual session
By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service
(RNS) — In his closing remarks at the National Baptist Convention USA’s annual session, its new president recounted the connections the historically Black denomination is forming with other organizations to forward its support for Black communities and social justice issues.
The Rev. Boise Kimber, addressing the delegates gathered at the convention center in Kansas City, Missouri, announced new partnerships with the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the National Newspaper Publishers Association and the Christian relief and development nonprofit World Vision US.
Kimber also announced that the NBCUSA, with 31,000 churches and 7.5 million members, has launched a coalition with leaders of three other historically Black denominations, including the Church of God in Christ, the National
Baptist Convention of America and the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, that “stands as a moral voice in the public square, particularly in response to the troubling national retreat from diversity, equity and inclusion.”
The annual session was Kimber’s first chance to introduce himself to the broader membership of the denomination after the contentious process that led to his election, in which he ended up as the sole candidate to qualify among five initial candidates. Earlier this summer he drew pushback over reports that he and other Black church leaders had accepted a donation from Target for
education and economic development initiatives even as other prominent Black Baptist leaders had led a boycott of Target for its decision to pull back on DEI programs.
Kimber said NAREB, an association of some 18,000 minority real estate professionals, is aimed at promoting home ownership as a means of building wealth in Black families. It will also help the NBCUSA manage the 26 properties it owns across the country.
Ashley Thomas III, president of the association, told the delegates his organization is committed to affordable housing: “Housing has become unaffordable, whether you’re a renter or you’re a homeowner, and this is something that we want to continue to fight for as we move forward.”
The Rev. Ben Chavis, who heads a newspaper group, said the cooperation between his organization and the NBCUSA represents “the Black press and the Black church uniting to get that vote out, uniting to stand in the way of those who promote evil, those who promote injustice rather than justice.”
The one-year collaboration with World Vision US is part of a longtime association between the two organizations. Over more than a decade, World Vision has made $100 million in-kind donations, often delivering truckloads of appliances and other merchandise that can be donated to communities via NBCUSA churches.
“Many of their churches are serving vulnerable communities in the U.S., which aligns with World Vision’s mission to reach the most vulnerable children,” said Reed Slattery, national director of U.S. programs for World Vision, in a statement.
Other partnerships also seemed possible.
“National Baptists, we want to partner together with you,” said the Rev. Elijah Brown, general secretary and CEO of the Baptist World Alliance, who spoke to the delegates before Kimber’s speech. He noted that he and Kimber were part of a BWA delegation that advocated for racial
justice at the United Nations in April. “I want the BWA to walk closer with you.”
Benjamin Crump, a lawyer who has represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, among others killed by police, also addressed the session, pointing out the importance of financial progress to the civil rights struggle.
“Just like our Black people needed the Black church to lead us during times of Jim Crow, I submit to you, sisters and brothers, we need the Black church to lead us in times of Jim Crow Junior in 2025 now more than ever,” Crump said. “We have to build up a strong economic base in our Black communities, and it’s going to start with the Black churches. We have to be intentional about supporting our own.”
In his closing sermon, Kimber decried legislation he said would reduce lifesustaining medicine and otherwise hurt people in need. “We cannot compromise and accept … a big, ugly bill that takes resources from the most vulnerable, depleted and rural communities,” he said, “and strips away Medicare and Medicaid, while tearing away the safety net that has kept many of our senior citizens fed.”
In a video shown to delegates before the sermon, Kimber said his new administration has emphasized intergenera-
tional leadership, putting women and younger members of the denomination in a range of roles.
“Each person chosen embodies proven character, tested leadership, a clear understanding of vision for our future as National Baptists,” he said. “Young leaders are full of energy, expertise and passion, seasoned leaders who have traveled this road before, women long ignored now rise with purpose and excitement to serve in this sacred work.”
On the first night of the official annual session, the Rev. Tracey L. Brown, a Plainfield, N.J., minister, was invited by Kimber to be what he said was the firstever woman to preach at the evening service. He said the night “will go down in the history books” of the denomination, which dates to 1880.
Two days later, shortly before the conclusion of the meeting, he called his wife, the Rev. Shevalle T. Kimber, who is copastor of the Connecticut church where he is senior pastor, to his side on stage.
Reinforcing his support of women clergy, he encouraged her in front of the gathered delegates.
“Soar in the ministry in which God has given you,” he told her. “Don’t worry about the naysayers. This is the 21st century, and things do change.”
People attend the National Baptist Convention USA’s annual session, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.
Photo: Kit Doyle/RNS
The Rev. Boise Kimber addresses the NBCUSA annual session, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. Photo: Kit Doyle/RNS
Art & Entertainment
Ego Nwodim leaves ‘Saturday Night Live,’ which adds 5 new cast members
By Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Ego Nwodim is the latest — and perhaps last — high-profile departure from “Saturday Night Live,” as the longrunning sketch show has seen a cast shakeup ahead of its 51st season.
Nwodim announced Friday (Sept. 12) that she is leaving, just days after Hollywood trade outlets reported the Season 51 cast — which had included her — was finalized. Five new cast members are joining the upcoming season, which premieres Oct. 4.
Ben Marshall, already an “SNL” writer, will become a featured player, along with newcomers Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska, NBC announced last week.
Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow confirmed last month on their social media accounts that they are leaving the show. Multiple news outlets reported that cast mainstay Heidi Gardner was also departing the show, but neither Gardner nor NBC has publicly confirmed.
“SNL” creator Lorne Michaels previously said he anticipated changes
following the show’s historic 50th season. No cast members had announced their departure following the season’s conclusion. In an interview with Puck that ran earlier this summer, Michaels answered “yes” when asked if he expected to “shake things up.”
Michaels told Puck at least one cast member was certain to be back: James Austin Johnson, who plays President Donald Trump.
Since its debut in 1975, the NBC program has reinvented itself often, with performers over the past 50 years ranging from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd to Kate McKinnon and Kenan Thompson.
Nwodim joined as a feature player in 2018, and was promoted two years later.
“The hardest part of a great party is knowing when to say goodnight,” Nwodim said in her post. “But after seven unforgettable seasons, I have decided to leave SNL.
She thanked Michaels for the opportunity, and her castmates, writers and crew “for their brilliance,
support and friendship.”
“Week after week on that stage taught me more than I could have
ever imagined, and I will carry those memories (and that laughter) with me always,” Nwodim wrote, adding: “now invite me to your weddings please!!!”
Ego Nwodim appears at the SNL50: The Homecoming Concert in New York on Feb. 14, 2025. Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File
