Today in Writing History May 22, 1967: Writer and activist Langston Hughes died. Hughes was a leader of the Harlem Renaissance and one of the early pioneers of Jazz Poetry. During the Civil Rights Movement, from 1942-1962, he wrote a weekly column for the black-owned Chicago Defender. His poetry and fiction depicted the lives and struggles of working-class African Americans. Much of his writing dealt with racism and black pride. Like many black artists and intellectuals of his era, he was attracted to communism as an alternative to the racism and segregation of America. He travelled to the Soviet Union and many of his poems were published in the CPUSA newspaper. He also participated in the movement to free the Scottsboro Boys and supported the Republican cause in Spain. He opposed the U.S. entering World War II and he signed a statement in support of Stalin’s purges.
I've been here since mid-November 2022, when Twitter went from intolerably bad to ludicrously worse. So I guess I'll be here a while. Ran out of room in the bio, and running out of chars in this post; and I don't want to make a thread -- so here are hashtags I read, and may boost:
For the past two summers, teachers rallied across the country at historic sites to speak out against anti-history education bills and to make public their pledge to teach the truth
Once again, we invite educators, students, parents, and community members to rally across the country and pledge to Teach Truth and defend LGBTQ+ rights on June 10, 2023
❝
As a child, Mike Africa was a regular visitor to this row house on the west side of Philadelphia, spending time with his great-aunt and uncle, cousins and friends – all members of Philadelphia’s Black liberation group known as Move. He remembers gathering with the other kids on the roof of 6221 Osage Avenue, eating fruit as the sun went down.
It was on that same roof, 38 years ago on Saturday, that one of the worst incidents in America’s long history of racial atrocities was perpetrated. At 5.27pm on 13 May 1985, a state helicopter commissioned by Philadelphia police flew low over the property and dropped a bomb made of C-4 plastic explosives directly on to it.
The device ignited a fire that turned into an inferno that was then notoriously allowed to burn by Philadelphia authorities intent on driving the Black radical organization out of the city. Eleven people trapped inside the Move house at 6221 Osage Avenue died in the conflagration.
❞
We probably don't need a reminder that colonialism, white supremacy, and capitalism kill, but the MOVE bombing is tangible evidence of the lengths to which the system and its henchmen will go to protect themselves.
Eleven people, 5 of them children, were murdered on this date.
Say their names:
Raymond Africa (50)
John Africa (44)
Conrad Africa (36)
Rhonda Africa (30)
Frank Africa (26)
Theresa Africa (26)
Katricia Africa (14)
Zanetta Africa (13)
Phil Africa (12)
Delisha Africa (12)
Tomaso Africa (9)
If you're currently completing a book-length manuscript on Black women’s history, applications for the Black Women's History Series Incubator are open.
(UPDATE: I tagged the heck out of this, but your boost is still appreciated.)
You've probably already heard of the many ways that #Florida's government is creating some scary times, aggressively censoring many resources our K-12 students have access to, including significant and vital African American history, education and coursework.
Teachers in my hometown are fighting back. The Freedom School in St. Pete will be offering grade 9-12 students free African American History classes — starting with the history of Africa and the Middle Passage all the way to contemporary studies and a critical lens on America's wealth, power, and global position. This material is no longer (in cases, never was) included in FLDOE curricula.
Please, if you're able to make a donation to SP Freedom School, consider doing so now. Also, you should check out their site. Below I'm going to link the Tampa Bay Times article covering their story too.
"I visited many lynching sites. I talked to people who grew up in these towns and walked by these places their whole life. These spaces continued to be inhabited by those memories long after a body was taken down, long after the mob dispersed, long after anyone who was still alive at the time could tell you about it."
Another great #Civics 101 episode: why we don't talk about reconstruction https://overcast.fm/+2sZyHuia0 This has been a problem at schools even before the culture wars we are now experiencing. This podcast gives a great explanation as to why. TL;DR: all to preserve the American mythos at the expense of diversity, equality of opportunity, and inclusion.
Within living memory. Roy Wood Jr. nails down what that means in Imperfect Messenger:
*You know what's wild about a civil rights museum? What's wild is to realize [that] most of the people in the pictures are still alive. The Black people in the pictures are still alive, so that means the White people are still alive too. Where they at? Those are the people *I want to have a dialogue with.
The Chicago Tribune is looking for families whose ancestors traveled on the Underground Railroad in order to tell their stories and recognize historic sites in Illinois.
"Looking for Freedom Seekers: Do you have ancestors who traveled on the Underground Railroad? We want to hear from you."