NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Historians warn about anger, race in elections

WASHINGTON

Fear of a changing America is fueling some of the anger playing out publicly around Donald Trump’s bid for the GOP presidential nomination, historians Ken Burns and Henry Louis Gates Jr. said Monday.

“We are in a retrograde moment right now in which the dog whistles of race are with us,” said Burns, an Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker.

Trump is “speaking to a need and a deep set of fears within a large segment of the American community,” added Gates, a Harvard University scholar and host of a genealogy show on PBS. Those fears need to be assuaged and policies formulated to meet the needs of those worried about their future, he said.

The comments came during a National Press Club luncheon during which the two men discussed the state of race relations in the United States and their upcoming PBS television projects. “Jackie Robinson,” directed by Burns, along with Sarah Burns and David McMahon, will air in April, and Gates will host “Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise” in the fall.

Cast of ‘Hamilton’ performs for Obamas

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama admits he was a little surprised when he first heard founding father Alexander Hamilton described as embodying hip-hop.

But he says “Hamilton” has become a favorite in the Obama household.

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama welcomed members of the show’s cast to perform at the White House on Monday.

The story of Hamilton is told by a young African-American and Latino cast and has a varied score that ranges from pop ballads to sexy R&B to rap battles.

Obama said the story is about an immigrant who escapes poverty and rises to the top through hard work and determination. He said the show brings unlikely folks together and jokingly encouraged the creators to create a show about Congress.

Associated Press