WASHINGTON (AP) - Three black Washington, D.C. students who faced racist comments when they used social media to encourage voting for them in a NASA competition have been awarded $4,000.
The Washington Post reports Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s administration announced Thursday that it would award the money to the Banneker High School team.
The grant will help Mikayla Sharrieff, India Skinner and Bria Snell build on their project to design a system to remove lead from drinking water in schools. Their work landed them in the science competition’s final stage.
Users of the anonymous online forum, 4chan, subjected the team to racist comments. The 4chan posters recommended computer programs that would hack the voting system, prompting NASA to shut down voting early.
NASA expects to name the competition winners this month.
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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com
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