VP's historic election celebrated in cracked glass portrait
The installation "Vice President Kamala Harris Glass Ceiling Breaker" is seen at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2021. Vice President Kamala Harris' barrier-breaking career has been memorialized in a portrait depicting her face emerging from the cracks in a massive sheet of glass. AdHarris has notched a series of firsts during a legal and political career that has taken her from California to the office of vice president in Washington. She is also the first vice president with a historically Black college, Howard University, for an alma mater. Berger said he created his first glass portrait in 2016 while experimenting.
Biden calls for remembrance at COVID-19 memorial
WASHINGTON โ At a memorial for the lives taken by COVID-19, President-elect Joe Biden is calling on Americans to remember those lost to the coronavirus and to begin to heal. Biden said Tuesday night, on the eve of his inauguration, that although itโs โhard sometimes to remember,โ itโs โhow we heal.โVice President-elect Kamala Harris, speaking before him, emphasized a similar note of unity. While Americans have been grieving alone for most of the pandemic, Harris said, โTonight we grieve, and begin healing, together.โThe memorial included an invocation from Cardinal Wilton Gregory, who asked that โour prayer strengthen our awareness of our common humanity and our national unity.โ A Detroit nurse, Lori Marie Key, sang โAmazing Grace,โ noting that the song gives her strength during hard times. The remembrance ceremony was held at the Lincoln Memorialโs reflecting pool, which was lit up with 400 lights in honor of the 400,000 Americans who have died from the virus. After Bidenโs brief remarks, gospel singer Yolanda Adams sang โHallelujah.โ
โI have a dreamโ: 12 HISD students participate in 25th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratory Competition
HOUSTON โ Today, the world celebrates civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.โs birthday. Kingโs fight for equal rights and social justice has been an inspiration for people of all generations. The speech has inspired several generations in Houston, so much so that an oratory contest happens every year in Kingโs honor. The final round of the 25th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratory Competition allowed 12 Houston Independent School District students to showcase their public speaking skills. The 2020-2021 finalists are:Jason Hudson, Atherton Elementary School, fourth gradeAndrianna Harden, Bastian Elementary School, fifth gradeVivianna Serna, Crespo Elementary School, fourth gradeJada Rountree, Dogan Elementary School, fifth gradePahyโtton Williams, Foster Elementary School, fourth gradeSkylar Stevenson, Law Elementary School, fourth gradeMikeen Holiday, Bell Elementary School, fourth gradeChanning Roberts, MacGregor Elementary School, fourth gradeJakiyah Bickham, Pleasantville Elementary School, fourth gradeKamila Reyes, Sutton Elementary School, fourth gradeGoodwill Nsude, Valley West Elementary School, fifth gradeMadison Jones Austin, Young Elementary School, fifth gradeStudents were judged on delivery, stage presence and decorum, content interpretation, and memorization.
Thousands march in Washington to pray and show Trump support
Followers of Franklin Graham march from the Lincoln Memorial to Capitol Hill, during the Prayer March at the National Mall, in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)WASHINGTON โ Thousands of people packed the National Mall in downtown Washington on Saturday to pray and show their support for President Donald Trump. The march, which stretched from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol, was held just hours before Trump was set to announce he was nominating a conservative judge for the Supreme Court. Some sported red caps with the words โLetโs Make America Godly Again,โ a play on Trumpโs signature MAGA caps. Vice President Mike Pence, speaking from the steps of the memorial, said he came to extend Trumpโs โgreetings and gratitudeโ and asked them to pray for the new Supreme Court nominee.
'How dare we not vote?' Black voters organize after DC march
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)WASHINGTON Tears streamed down Brooke Morelands face as she watched tens of thousands gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to decry systemic racism and demand racial justice in the wake of several police killings of Black Americans. Im going to do all that I can to encourage, promote, to mobilize and whats at stake is the future of our nation, our planet. Im going to hold these elected officials that are in office now accountable and Im going to vote in November and hold those same people accountable. That was clear as the Movement for Black Lives also marked its own historic event Friday a virtual Black National Convention that featured several speakers discussing pressing issues such as climate change, economic empowerment and the need for electoral justice. I do think voting and recognizing what an election should be is a way to kind of exercise that muscle.
Thousands gather at Lincoln Memorial to mark 57th anniversary of the March on Washington
A man stands in the Reflecting Pool as people attend the March on Washington, Friday Aug. 28, 2020, in Washington, on the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. As peaceful protests turned to arson and theft, naysayers of the Black Lives Matter movement issued calls for law and order.The Rev. Theres a white system and a black system -- the black system aint doing so well.No justice, no peace! he proclaimed. Some participants headed toward Black Lives Matter Plaza, right outside of the White House, which was renamed from Pennsylvania Avenue during protests in June.
Teen from video of 2019 Washington protest to address RNC
WASHINGTON A Kentucky teenager known for video of his interaction with a Native American man during dueling demonstrations at the Lincoln Memorial last year is among Tuesday's speakers at the virtual Republican National Convention. Footage of his confrontation with Nathan Phillips, who was participating in a separate demonstration supporting Native American rights, spread widely online. Video of the encounter showed Sandmann and Phillips standing very close to each other, with Sandmann staring, and at times smiling, at Phillips as Phillips sang and played a drum. "The more we talk about the Democrat policies being pushed by Joe Biden and the radical fringe of his party, the better we are. Brayden Harrington, 13, talked about working to overcome his stutter with support from Biden, who had a severe stutter himself as a child.