Washington Wizards' Black History Month Celebration

Monumental Basketball hosts community events all throughout the year and have steadily engaged DC and surrounding area residents.

Candi Waller | Feb 25, 2024

Washington Wizards' Black History Month Celebration /

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Washington Wizards

As part of the Washington Wizards’ Black History Month celebration “Not Bound by One Month”, the team will recognize and celebrate the achievements, influence, and talents of individuals and organizations from the DMV area. As part of the campaign, Washington will highlight the lasting impact Benjamin Banneker has had on the District.

On Monday, February 26, Benjamin Banneker Academic High School will host an assembly for students to learn, celebrate, and honor Banneker’s legacy. Students will hear from Rachel Jamison Webster, a collateral descendant of Banneker through his sister, Jemima, and author of “Benjamin Banneker and Us: Eleven Generations of an American Family.” Webster’s book, which was published in 2023, shares the story of Banneker, a scientist, mathematician, astronomer, and writer, by researching eleven generations of family history. The event will take place from 2:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

Rachel Jamison Webster is Professor of Creative Writing in the English Department of Northwestern University and author of Benjamin Banneker and Us, which was chosen as a Best Book of 2023 by The New Yorker

In 1791, Banneker joined Andrew Ellicott and a team of surveyors to place forty stone markers to line the original boundary of Washington, D.C.

In addition to Webster, Banneker’s collateral descendants, Edie Lee Harris and Robert Lett, will be in attendance. Wizards Senior Vice President of Monumental Basketball, John Thompson III will also be present.

Edie worked with other griots in the family and did extensive research to compile nearly 40 years of genealogy and documented family histories. Robert Lett is a family historian who was entrusted by the elders with the Banneker-Lett oral and recorded histories, which he generously shared as part of this book.

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Published Feb 25, 2024

CANDI WALLER

Candi Waller also known as "CWall" is the Founder and CEO of CWall® Sports & Entertainment, President of the CWall Foundation, Inc, the Managing Publisher of the Fan Nation Inside the Wizards site, and President of Bowie Television. A native of Gorgeous Prince George's County, Maryland, Candi has been an authentic lover of all sports since her childhood. She was such a sports fan at an early age that she notes one of her favorite childhood shows as the legendary "George Michael Sports Machine". Candi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hampton University, Master of Arts in Human Resource Development from The George Washington University and a certificate in Sports Industry Essentials from Columbia University. Prior to and during her work in the sports industry, Candi has established her identity as a results-driven, relationship building advocate and professional with extensive years of experience leading and implementing successful strategic change, communications, and stakeholder engagement programs across geographically dispersed organizations. She’s worked across Big Four and Government Trusted Advisor consulting firms such as IBM, Deloitte, and the MITRE Corporation. She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Women in Sports & Events (WISE), the National Press Club (NPC), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce and is an ambassador for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In terms of what she likes to do for fun, that’s just it…anything that is considered fun, she’s all for it! She’s very close to her parents, brother, and sister, and has a host of nieces, nephews, and godchildren.