In honor of Black History Month, I’m reposting this, which I originally wrote in May, 2017. While driving back from Boston, I happened to listen to a very interesting story about a real pioneer. His name was Paul Revere Williams. Paul R. Williams (as he was known) was born in Los Angeles on February 18,
“Essential for anyone who wants to understand the America we live in today, and the threads of its history, from the awful to the inspirational.” “I purchased because my daughter had to read this unsubstantiated, hollow and falsehood comic book. “ “This is one of the best books I have read. Full of history, compassion, suffering,
Sometimes in the study of history, the backstory is more fascinating than the actual event. Take February. Forget Ground Hog Day, this is also Black History Month. According to the History Channel website (https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month), this all began in September, 1915 when historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the
To those who are concerned about the impact of waves of immigrants upon this country, we’ve been there before. In 1845, the Irish potato crop was attacked by a plant disease. Spreading rapidly, this mold-based scourge ruined as much as one-half of the crop that year; about three-quarters of the crop over the next seven
The Möhne dam the day following the attacks. Wikipedia Sometimes the wildest ideas turn out not to be so wild after all. Like designing an aerial bomb that skips across the water like a flat stone and blows up dams. That would be World War II’s Operation Chastise. On the night of May 16-17 1943,
No matter what you think about our newest federal holiday, to me it’s more evidence that race is the thread that connects all of our history. For example, I’ve just found a National Geographic article entitled “How Two Centuries of Slave Revolts Shaped American History” by Erin Blakemore (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/two-centuries-slave-rebellions-shaped-american-history?). Most people are familiar with Nat
Illustrated portrait of American author, astronomer, and farmer Benjamin Banneker (1731 – 1806), mid to late 18th century. Credit: Getty Images I should’ve saved this for Black History Month, but it’s too good a story to hold onto. Benjamin Banneker was a naturalist, mathematician, astronomer and almanac author. He was a landowner who also worked as a surveyor and farmer. But the most amazing part is he
I’ve always claimed so much of our past never makes it into the history books. This is especially true for stories about slavery. This being Black History Month, a recently published book gives another example of the ingenuity of slaves. William and Ellen Craft were a married couple, enslaved in Georgia but determined to escape
Her hat gives her away. At first glance, this seems like a typical group photo of a University of Missouri School of Medicine class in 1897. Then you realize there is a woman in the picture. Although the caption identified her as the “class secretary,” she is actually Anna Searcy, an orphan who was sent
It’s easy to be familiar with history’s great speeches, like President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. But have you ever thought about speeches that were written and, for whatever reason, never delivered? Jeff Nussbaum has. As a speechwriter himself, he has researched and authored Undelivered: The Never-Heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History. His underlying principle