A day of rescuing and reclaiming!
Happening in the World: The Nigerian army rescued students and school staff who were abducted by gunmen demanding a ransom of $690,000. 287 students were abducted, which marks the first mass abduction in Nigeria since 2021. 137 hostages were rescued. The military has not commented on the discrepancy between the numbers. (Reuters)
Happening in the US: Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” is getting closer to moving into a brand new home on the lot where her family was forced out by a racist mob 85 years ago. The house is expected to be move-in ready by June 19—Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the US. (AP)
Happening in NYC: A woman was seriously injured after a fire burned through two Brooklyn houses on Friday. The fire began on the first floor of a three-story home, and it quickly engulfed all three floors before spreading to the home next to it. A woman who was on the first floor when the fire began was taken to Cornell’s Burn Unit for serious injuries. While the two homes were burned, FDNY was able to prevent the fire from spreading to two additional homes. (ABC)
Happening in Our Community: On Monday, March 25, Eric Foner, the DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of History, and Kerrel Murray, Associate Professor of Law, will discuss Foner’s book The Second Founding. Moderated by Olatunde Johnson, Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’59 Professor of Law, this book talk will trace the arc of how the Reconstruction amendments realized the equality that the Declaration of Independence announced as an American ideal. More information and the link to register can be found here.
Brooklyn House Fire via Danny Lyon