::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

By Mona Austin When a soldier dies in battle over seas , their remains are returned to their families.  The remains of a war-torn flag were returned to the American family on Thursday at the White House.  The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte and a Dutch collector presented the flag to Pres. Donald Trump in an East Room ceremony75 years after Normandy. The tattered, 48-star flag was  turned over to the Smithsonian Museum of American History for future display.  Its battle scars included frayed edges and a hole in the middle that is believed to be a bullet hole from a German machine gun. It had flown on the stern of a Navy ship carrying the first U.S. troops to Normandy, France, on D-Day during World War II and was donated to the United States  by a Dutch businessman and collector.   “It is my honor to welcome this great American flag back home,” Trump said on receiving the gift. Rutte expressed gratitude for  U.S. force...

It was a long journey for Lonnie Bunch, the visionary behind the African American Museum of History and Culture.  Daily people from all over the world experience the embodiment  of his dedication and passion when they visit the museum, the reward for hard work.  Today his hard work has paid off once again.  Just three years after opening the African American Museum in Washington, DC, during the 400th documented year of slavery in the U.S., history has come full circle.  The Smithsonian Regents have selected Bunch to head the Institution. The Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents announced today it elected Lonnie G. Bunch III, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, as the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian, effective June 16. Bunch is the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in September 2016. He oversees the nation’s largest and most comp...

buzzz worthy. . . The Smithsonian's African American Museum of History and Culture is interested in acquiring the hoodie slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin wore on the night of his death, the Washington Post reports.  But why place the most painful reminder of the tragedy on display? "Because it's such a symbol, it would allow you to talk about race in the age of Obama," says Museum Director Lonnie Bunch tells the Post.  The black hooded sweatshirt became  statement attire for Trayvon Martin supporters as it was speculated he was profiled based on appearance alone. Currently under construction on 5 acres adjacent to the Washington monument, the museum will open its doors in 2015.  Visitors will view artifacts from the Civil Rights era, the handcuffs from the arrest of professor Henry L. Gates and a theater named in honor of media tycoon Oprah Winfrey, its largest benefactor.  Oprah has donated 13 million dollars to the museum to date. Erstwhile on the natio...