George Hamilton IV departed the world two years ago today. Unrelated to the actor and tanning phenomenon of the same name, IV, as he was sometimes called, ambled out of […]
Category: american history
1812 and all that
When you get down to it, a lot of wars deserve the moniker “the forgotten war.” Of late, and in the U.S., it most often shows up in association with […]
From Cincinnati to Grizzly Flats
Today marks an auspicious day in music history: the first recorded performance of Stephen Foster’s “Oh! Susannah,” the earliest hit song in U.S. history. Foster’s smash debuted in a Pittsburgh saloon. […]
Brotherhood
This day in 1925, activist A. Philip Randolph led the organization of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a campaign Randolph declared nothing less than “a significant landmark in the […]
The world’s a nicer place
In the 1800s, crowds flocked to watch balloon ascensions for many of the same reasons they go to stock car races. You got to see an odd vehicle do amazing […]
Chemical conflict
The morning dispatches bring the unwelcome news that chemical weapons may have been deployed this week in the Mideast, a reminder that the weapons, though long held considered beyond the pale, remain […]
Dirty Words wins NCA Health Communication Award
Dirty Words: The Rhetoric of Public Sex Education, 1870-1924 by Robin E. Jensen has been awarded the 2015 NCA Health Communication Distinguished Book Award. In the book, Jensen details the approaches […]
Regina Anderson Andrews biography wins Wheatley Book Award
Ethelene Whitmire has received the 2015 Wheatley Book Award for First Nonfiction for her book Regina Anderson Andrews, Harlem Renaissance Librarian. The Wheatly Awards are presented by QBR: The Black Book Review and the Harlem […]
The ‘face of Illinois corruption’ gets a new day in court
A federal appeals court has overturned some of former Governor Rod Blagojevich’s convictions On Tuesday, July 21st, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out convictions on five of […]
Happy Birthday Ida B. Wells
As Google has reminded many of you, today marks the birthday of civil rights pioneer, suffragette, anti-lynching activist, and sociologist Ida B. Wells. This remarkable woman participated in many crusades in the […]
Daisy Turner’s words
Daisy Turner was a woman of many words. The storyteller and poet was a living repository of history. She related the stories of her own family, from the abduction of […]
A familiar face from Corrupt Illinois back in the headlines
It’s Friday, so it must (again) be time for the Illinois Congressional indictment story of the week. The news of June 26, 2015 brings a familiar face back into the ignominious […]