VOL. 53, NO. 32 • MAY 24 - 30, 2018 Cuban Festival See photos on Page 44
Happy Memorial Day! Rev. Barber Leads Thousands in Civil Disobedience in Around Nation
Stacey Abrams Makes History, Wins Georgia Dem Primary
Thousands gathered at the U.S. Capitol and at capitol buildings in more than 30 cities across the nation as part of Rev. Dr. William Barber’s Poor People’s Campaign’s 40 days of radical civil disobedience. Barber, who has seemingly picked up the mantle of civil rights leader and, like others, is inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was joined at the U.S. Capitol with King disciple, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. “Fifty years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s original Poor People’s Campaign, its follow-up resurgence involving more than 30 state capitals and D.C., has launched a 40-day period of nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience,” Barber said in a statement on Monday, May 21. Several events surrounding the campaign, which ends June 21, were slated this week in the District of Columbia. Modeled on its 1968 predecessor, the new campaign — titled “Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival” — began on May 14 in several venues across the country. Barber said it focuses on issues such as achieving federal and state living-wage laws as well as welfare programs for the poor, equity in
By Sarafina Wright WI Contributing Writer
First Black Woman Governor in the U.S. a Strong Possibility
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
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5 Rev. Dr. William Barber rallies the crowd during the 50th anniversary of the Poor People’s Campaign on Capitol Hill May 21. /Photo by Roy Lewis
Late Tuesday night, Stacey Abrams made history becoming the first Black woman in U.S. history to win a major party primary for a formidable bid for governorship. Abrams, confirmed by the Associated Press, defeated Stacey Evans, a former state legislator, in the Georgia primary by a landslide
Banneker Students Finish Second in NASA Competition
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Accomplishment Marred by Online Racism Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer After weeks of waiting for NASA to release the results of a youth competition, the national space agency has announced that the girls from Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in D.C. have come in at second place. Mikayla Sharrieff, India Skinner and Bria Snell, who took part in the competition through D.C.’s recently launched Inclusive Innovation Incubator (In3) project, were the runners-up in the high
school category of NASA’s Glog OPSPARC Challenge with their submission from H2NO to H2O. Their idea takes NASA technology designed for water purification and incorporates it into school water systems to remove impurities. The eight national finalists for the youth competition were announced in April. The Banneker girls, who calls themselves “S3 Trio,” were the only all-female, allBlack team among the finalists. But their achievement was not without controversy. Once pub-
NASA Page 5
5Stacey Abrams /Photo courtesy of Stacy Abrams
Celebrating 53 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area