Interview with an Unsung Hero

Jerry LeVias was the first black athlete to play for the Southern Methodist football team in Texas.  He played in the late sixties when the Civil Rights movement was struggling.  In this interview, he talks about his experience as the first black athlete on the football field and how he overcame hate. He highlights how important it is to control your emotions when confronted by hate.  In addition, LeVias discusses how important it is for educators and families to discuss discrimination and injustice. 

Book Review: Inside Out & Back Again

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai is a great historical fiction novel written in verse.   The main character, Kim Ha, is a young girl whose tightly knit family struggled through the Vietnam War.  The Ha family is forced out of the country they love when Saigon falls and basic essentials run out.  Her family leaves Vietnam and hopes for better life in America (Alabama).  This book illustrates how hard life can be for refugees while highlighting the culture and customs of Vietnam.  The internal and external struggles of Kim offer a compelling lesson for any classroom. Here is an excerpt from the novel:

            "No one would believe me

        but at times

           I would choose 

           wartime in Saigon

        over

               peacetime in Alabama."

Henrietta Boggs

Henrietta Boggs was a women's rights activist who promoted social justice.  Henrietta Boggs was born in Alabama, where racial division in the early 1920's provided for a very sheltered childhood.  She was formally educated and surrounded by inequality.  While studying in college, she traveled to South America and fell in love with a local farmer.  She cast aside her pampered southern lifestyle at the age of 23 to marry Jose Figueres Ferer.  Her husband was a vocal supporter of governmental reform in Costa Rica. The couple was forced into political exile for their resistance.   Despite the danger, they smuggled arms into Costa Rica to support the growing revolution.  For their leadership during rebellion Ferer was elected President of Costa Rica in 1953.  Boggs became the first lady.  Under pressure from his wife,  Figueres granted women and Afro-Costa Ricans the right to vote.  During her years as first lady she assisted and eased countries poverty problems.  After she separated from her husband she moved back to Alabama where she supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the civil rights movement. 

Chinese Suffragette

 Mabel Ping Hua Lee was an advocate for women’s rights.  She encouraged education and civic participation of Chinese women of all ages.  Her efforts in support of the suffrage movement were very important to the passage of the 19th amendment and are often not recognized by the textbooks.  She helped organize the suffrage parade (May 4th, 1912) in New York City which drew thousands of supporters.  In addition, she wrote persuasive articles stressing the importance of voting rights and equal opportunities for women that were read by thousands.  Last, it is important to point out that she was NOT granted the right to vote until the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943.  Her efforts to ensure women’s rights were historic and the fact that she was unable to vote until 1943 is very upsetting. 

How to Broaden Students' Sense of History

 Article discussing more diverse and authentic voices.  Read the article here. 

How to Broaden Students' Sense of History

Sept/2020