The iconic host and producer attended an event at the museum in D.C., where her portrait by Shawn Michael Warren was unveiled.
With tens of thousands of slightly damp, yet hopeful people looking on, President Barack Obama stood where Martin Luther King Jr. had on the Lincoln Memorial fifty years ago to mark the March on Washington.
Oprah Winfrey in 2013. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) Oprah Winfrey, the television mogul who makes dreams come true, has donated $12 million to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. “I am so proud of African American history and its contributions to our nation as a whole,” Winfrey said in a statement. “I am deeply appreciative of those who paved the path for me and all who follow in…
“Books,” wrote the poet Philip Larkin, “are a load of crap.” No doubt Larkin, one of the most gifted lyric poets of the 20th century and a career librarian at the University of Hull, was being ironic. But irony or no, the participants and sponsors of this Saturday’s National Book Festival vehemently disagree. Held every year for the last six years on the National Mall — rain or shine — the festival brings together marquee-name…
Mayor-For-Life Marion Barry continues to amaze us. Not only is he utterly untouchable by the long hand of the law, but he is an amazing politician; he just keeps getting elected to practically anything for which he’s run. Now, he’s even won a race he wasn’t actively campaigning for: Barry (or his likeness, rather) was selected to fill the last slot at the forthcoming Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in Penn Quarter. The museum, which will…
Good morning, D.C. It was an eventful weekend across the District, with big to-do’s tying up traffic in every direction. We hope you didn’t spend too much time stuck in it. While we’re genuinely thrilled to hear that Oprah Winfrey’s commencement speech at Howard University was a big hit and was reported on all over the world, we’re pretty disappointed to have it be Monday morning and still have zero reports from any of our…
Nestled between cherry blossom season and the influx of D.C.’s summer intern and tourist season is a hopeful time, when students turn away from keggers and exams to graduate into the real world — at least in theory. For Washington’s thousands of college seniors, this means job hunting, leaving the friendly confines of campus and the prospect of moving into your parents’ basement. It also means a litany of platitudes, advice and well-wishes from commencement…
Good Morning, Washington. It looks like we survived the full moon, a night of Georgetown-less championship basketball and visit by Yoko Ono. It was worth it to enjoy another day of idyllic weather before it all goes to hell. By Friday the region will be back in the 40’s with cloudy skies. As the National Park Service pleads with visitors not to touch, climb or even taunt the Cherry Blossoms, let’s hope the expensive…
Monopoly may be coming early to the budding satellite radio industry as XM Radio and Sirius attempt a marriage of convenience (with just a hint of desperation). A joint statement from the companies calls the move an “all-stock merger of equals.” Word on the street is that the companies would likely keep much of their offices both in New York (Sirius) and Washington (XM), but certainly some layoffs and job consolidation would follow. There have…
Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the city, not a lot of authors are stirring. Give them a break! They have family and friends to see at this time of year, too! But if you have a mind to celebrate letters on the local level, head on out to the Warehouse tonight for a special Christmas edition of the F.W. Thomas Performances. Tonight’s edition features comic collagist Clarke Bedford, writer Molly Woods, songwriter…
