The Black Panther Party for Self Defense started as an organization to address racially-motivated police violence. They patrolled the streets in groups and carrying loaded weapons to interfere if they witnessed instances of police brutality. The organization quickly grew to include a wide variety of social safety programs, like free school lunches, free health clinics, and voter registration…
April is Earth Month! Today’s blog post highlights diverse books for Earth Month, celebrating the people who have made a difference in the fight for a healthy planet. The History of Earth Month Earth Month is an expansion of Earth Day, started in 1970 by Junior Senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson. The 1960s and 1970s…
Frank Kameny Early Life Frank Kameny was born to Jewish parents in 1925. He became an astronomer and was drafted into the United States Army during World War II, where he worked as an astronomer for the U.S. Army Map Service. Frank Kameny was also gay. After World War II ended, a Senator from Wisconsin…
Who Was Jane Addams, the Mother of Social Work? Jane Addams was a social reformer who founded Hull House, one of the first settlement houses in the United States, in Chicago in 1889. In 1931, she became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, honored for a lifetime of work on behalf…