The Washington Informer - September 29, 2016

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VOL. 51, NO. 51 • SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 5, 2016

5 Center Section

Obama Dedicates Long-Awaited Black Museum / Photo by

Cong. John Lewis' Dream Becomes Reality

Shevry La ss

iter

/ Courtesy photo

Black Publishers Declare 'State of Emergency' in U.S.

Point to Rise in Police Brutality against Blacks as Reason for Their Demands

/ Courtesy photo

5 President Obama embraces Congressman John Lewis during the dedication ceremony for the new Black museum. / Courtesy photo NMAAHC By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor

By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor The National Newspaper Publishers Association [NNPA], the nation’s largest trade association of African-American-owned newspapers and media companies, recently declared the existence of a police brutality state of emergency in the U.S. with respect to Black America. And during a press conference on Friday, Sept. 23, the leaders of the organization who represent a collective of 211 Black-owned newspapers in 32 states with a reach that extends to 20.1 million readers per week, said they intend to raise their voices in solidarity while issuing a list of four recommended action items that they’ll deliver to President Barack Obama, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and members of Congress. Further, as expressed during the announcement made at the National Press Club in Northwest, NNPA Chairman (and publisher of The Washington Informer) Denise Rolark Barnes, Bernal E. Smith II, NNPA Board of Directors member and publisher of The New Tri-State Defender and NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., said in a joint statement that the time for talk has long ended. “Millions of our readers across the nation are once again outraged at the latest fatal incidents of police brutality in Tulsa and Charlotte. These are not isolated incidents but [rather] a deadly national pattern of police violence and prosecutorial misconduct. A state of emergency now exists in Black America,” they said. / Court esy photo

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The idea of erecting a museum that would highlight the contributions of African Americans first received public attention a century ago when Black veterans of the Civil War proposed the idea. After being sidelined for many years, the idea gained real momentum when Civil Rights Movement icon and Georgia Congressman John Lewis took up the mantle, securing the support of several of his colleagues. Finally, in 2003, then President George W. Bush signed legislation that allowed the project to begin. And on Saturday, Sept. 24, with the ringing of a bell fittingly borrowed from First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, Virginia, one of the nation’s oldest Black churches founded in 1776, President Barack Obama officially dedicated the newest addition to the family of Smithsonian institutions located on the National Mall – the National Museum of African American History and Culture [NMAAHC]. In his address, the president referred to the

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Celebrating 51 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

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