Category: Civil Rights
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Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement is often described as the forerunner of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons, NAACP, which is not untrue. However, the 1905 gathering began as in response to another movement launched a decade earlier. The July 11 inaugural meeting was held in Fort Erie, Ontario, near the famous falls for…
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OTD – 1957 Little Rock Nine Escorted to Classes
OTD – 1957: Troops Escort Little Rock Nine According to figures from a Wall Street Journal report, more than 3.6 million Americans born in 1957 are still alive. Those older than 61 number millions more, including those who have memories of this date when federal troops escorted nine African-American students to their respective classes at…
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OTD in 1860 – the Crittenden Compromise is introduced
It was on this date in 1860 that Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden introduced the famous compromise legislation he and others hoped would head off a civil war. Too much, too late The doomed Crittenden Compromise called for six new amendments to the Constitution that would essentially revive the Missouri Compromise borders for slavery, strip…
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Bigelow’s Detroit deserves a second look
Have you seen the film, Detroit? Few have – and that’s a problem. At a time when the Whitehouse is occupied by a lunatic whose power is largely derived from his impulsive willingness to stoke the fires of racism, one would think director Kathryn Bigelow’s account of the 1967 Detroit conflagration would be welcomed. At…