history – Page 2

Kamala Harris Made History — So Her Husband Did, Too

9Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Kamala Harris Made History — So Her Husband Did, Too

On the second floor of a walk-up in Queens, New York, on a Tuesday in early July, 15 girls were building their own toolboxes, safety goggles on and power tools in hand. Ranging in age from 6 to 15, they were there for the second day of camp at Tools & Tiaras, a nonprofit designed to encourage girls’ interest in construction-related trades. A special guest was on his way to learn to rivet sheet metal alongside them. They may not have known him by name, but they definitely knew who he was married to. “His wife is the first woman vice president in this country,” 12-year-old Kaitlyn Reid said. “I think he’s going to have a lot of fun with us,” said 9-year-old Parker James. “I feel really excited and really nervous.” When asked why she felt that way, James said, “He’s the first ever! He’s...

2Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Kamala Harris Made History — So Her Husband Did, Too

On the second floor of a walk-up in Queens, New York, on a Tuesday in early July, 15 girls were building their own toolboxes, safety goggles on and power tools in hand. Ranging in age from 6 to 15, they were there for the second day of camp at Tools & Tiaras, a nonprofit designed to encourage girls’ interest in construction-related trades. A special guest was on his way to learn to rivet sheet metal alongside them. They may not have known him by name, but they definitely knew who he was married to. “His wife is the first woman vice president in this country,” 12-year-old Kaitlyn Reid said. “I think he’s going to have a lot of fun with us,” said 9-year-old Parker James. “I feel really excited and really nervous.” When asked why she felt that way, James said, “He’s the first ever! He...

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL MEDIA

The History Of Emoticons

An emoticon is most often used to express the mood of the writer through the use of letters and punctuation to form a facial expression. They serve to improve the communication of simple text by informing the receiver of the intended tone and temper of the writer. An example would be a sarcastic statement that would be lost in plain text but is saved by the use of a smiley face. The word, emoticon, is formed by blending the English words icon and emotion. After years of usage, many internet forums and messenger services as well as many games played online have replaced the typed text with a paired image. For instance, if you typed a colon for eyes and parenthesis for a mouth, this text would be replaced with the familiar yellow smiley face that is commonly known. These corresponding im...

The History Of How Emancipated People Were Kept Unfree Needs To Be Remembered, Too – Juneteenth Celebrates Just One Of The United States’ 20 Emancipation Days

17Jun

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

The History Of How Emancipated People Were Kept Unfree Needs To Be Remembered, Too – Juneteenth Celebrates Just One Of The United States’ 20 Emancipation Days

The actual day was June 19, 1865, and it was the Black dockworkers in Galveston, Texas, who first heard the word that freedom for the enslaved had come. There were speeches, sermons and shared meals, mostly held at Black churches, the safest places to have such celebrations. Emancipation Day celebration, June 19, 1900, held in ‘East Woods’ on East 24th St. in Austin, Texas. Austin History Center The perils of unjust laws and racist social customs were still great in Texas for the 250,000 enslaved Black people there, but the celebrations known as Juneteenth were said to have gone on for seven straight days. The spontaneous jubilation was partly over Gen. Gordon Granger’s General Order No. 3. It read in part, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from th...

Looking Through History May Help Explain Why People Of Color Have Been Missing In The Disability Rights Movement

4Apr

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IN OTHER NEWS

Looking Through History May Help Explain Why People Of Color Have Been Missing In The Disability Rights Movement

Jennifer Erkulwater is a professor of political science at the University of Richmond. Her scholarship focuses on the politics of poverty, Social Security and disability rights. Below are highlights from an interview with The Conversation. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity. Jennifer Erkulwater speaks on her research about people of color and the disability rights movement. What is your research focused on? Erkulwater: My current work involves trying to understand why people of color seem to be missing in debates about disability rights. People of color, especially African Americans, are more likely to report medical impairments than whites, and yet popular media tends to showcase largely white people with disabilities. It’s an absence that’s been critiqued on social media ...

Don’t Listen To The Sanitized Version Of History – Jackie Robinson Was A Radical

4Apr

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Journalism

Don’t Listen To The Sanitized Version Of History – Jackie Robinson Was A Radical

In our new book, “Baseball Rebels: The Players, People, and Social Movements That Shook Up the Game and Changed America,” Rob Elias and I profile the many iconoclasts, dissenters and mavericks who defied baseball’s and society’s establishment. But none took as many risks – and had as big an impact – as Jackie Robinson. Though Robinson was a fierce competitor, an outstanding athlete and a deeply religious man, the aspect of his legacy that often gets glossed over is that he was also a radical. The sanitized version of the Jackie Robinson story goes something like this: He was a remarkable athlete who, with his unusual level of self-control, was the perfect person to break baseball’s color line. In the face of jeers and taunts, he was able to put his head down and let his play do the talki...

The Cultural History Of The Plastic Pink Flamingo – From Kitsch To Park Avenue

6Apr

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CULTURE

The Cultural History Of The Plastic Pink Flamingo – From Kitsch To Park Avenue

In 1957, a 21-year-old art school graduate named Don Featherstone created his second major design for the Massachusetts-based lawn and garden decoration manufacturer Union Products: a three-dimensional plastic pink flamingo propped up by two thin, metal legs that could be plunged into soft dirt. Featherstone’s duck and flamingo ornaments sold in pairs for US$2.76, and were advertised as “Plastics for the Lawn.” They became simultaneously popular and derided in the late 1950s and remain a recognizable species of American material culture. Featherstone died this past June, but over five decades after he submitted his design, the plastic pink flamingo continues to grace American lawns and homes. While many are quick to label the plastic ornament as the epitome of kitsch, the flamingo has ac...

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Goes Down In History As The First Black Woman Nominated To The Supreme Court

4Apr

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IN OTHER NEWS

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Goes Down In History As The First Black Woman Nominated To The Supreme Court

President Joe Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, a historic choice that could fundamentally change who helps to protect and interpret the Constitution and ensure equal justice under the law. If confirmed, Jackson will be the first Black woman — and the first former federal public defender — on the nation’s highest court in its 232-year history. While she would not shift the Supreme Court’s ideological makeup, she brings a distinct life experience and professional background to the court that serves as the final arbiter of law. Of the 120 justices who have served in its history, 115 have been men, and 117 have been White. Now, with Justice Stephen Breyer set to retire at the end of the court’s term in early summer, Jackson will have the opportunity to make...

Black History Month: Past Movements For Civil Rights – What America’s Voting Rights Activists Can Learn

27Feb

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EDUCATION

Black History Month: Past Movements For Civil Rights – What America’s Voting Rights Activists Can Learn

With Congress failing to pass new voting rights legislation, it’s worth remembering that throughout U.S. history, new civil rights laws designed to end racial inequities across American life have been met by stubborn resistance. Senate Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona joined Senate Republicans in blocking both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. These bills would have combated voter suppression by creating a national automatic voter registration system, and they also would have banned partisan gerrymandering. In the wake of the vote, President Joe Biden said he was “profoundly disappointed that the United States Senate has failed to stand up for democracy.” These setbacks in Congress come on the heels of millions ...

Black History Month: To Fully Appreciate Black History, The US Must Let Go Of Lingering Confederate Nostalgia

4Apr

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IN OTHER NEWS

Black History Month: To Fully Appreciate Black History, The US Must Let Go Of Lingering Confederate Nostalgia

As a nation, the U.S. is debating the meaning of Confederate symbolism and history. That debate is closely tied to how the U.S. commemorates, or fails to commemorate, the full spectrum of African-American history. In my research I explore why people choose to remember some parts of the past and not others. I have also studied how communities choose to forget portions of the past in order to overcome longstanding conflicts. Based on this work, I would argue that nostalgic versions of Confederate history inhibit our ability to memorialize African-American historical experiences and achievements as centerpieces of U.S. history. Forgetting and forging ahead A commitment to starting over and creating a new future is a deep-seated part of the U.S. experience. Thomas Paine published “Common Se...