Activists of All Ages On March 2, 1955, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin was riding the bus home when she was asked to move to the back – and she stayed seated. She was arrested and thrown in jail for violating segregation laws. In October 1955, eighteen-year-old Mary Louise Smith refused to give up her seat. She,…
Who Were the Freedom House Paramedics? Today, we are used to the sight of ambulances roaring past us on the highway, as emergency care is provided in the back by EMTs and paramedics. But before the Freedom House Paramedics team was founded in 1967, emergency hospital transport was provided by police or funeral homes. The…
June is African American Music Month! As usual, there are far too many influential Black musicians to name all of them in a single blog post, but these books will give a good start! Music is how the boys and I got started reading books about diverse Americans in the first place. I found a…
Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen? The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of pilots and crew most well known for their contributions during World War II. From 1941-1949, the Tuskegee Experience trained and sent out over one thousand pilots in the country’s first all-Black airmen crew. During World War II, this group of pilots, the 332nd…
Tuskegee Syphilis Study The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was started in 1932 at the Tuskegee Institute in Macon, Alabama. Sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service, the subjects were mostly undereducated sharecroppers who were enticed to join the program by benefits like hot food and complimentary visits to a healthcare clinic. Out of around 600 participants, the control group of syphilis-free…
Who Are the Central Park Five? On April 19, 1989, jogger Trisha Meili was brutally attacked and left for dead in Central Park. Once she was found in the bushes in the early morning hours of April 20th, the New York Police Department collected a group of five young teenage boys and interviewed them, the oldest among them was…
