Joseph Small

 During World War II black sailors were used to load ships with  bombs and some of it's most dangerous weapons (Only black sailors).  On July 17th, 1944, at Port Chicago, an explosion killed 332 people, most of them African Americans.   All of the sailors were asked to go back to work two weeks later.   Fifty of the 258 surviving sailors refused to load more bombs.  They organized and stop working August 9th, 1944.  They were ALL put on trial and found guilty of mutiny.  Through the efforts of of Joseph Small, Thurgood Marshall and Eleanor Roosevelt, the men were released from prison after serving years in jail. 

The Smithsonian magazine recently highlighted the massive explosion and the story that changed the armed forces in an article entitled Half the Battle.

Tyrus Wong

Tyrus Wong was a Chinese immigrant artist in the early 1900's.  His artistic style and contributions to the world of art went unrecognized for decades.  Of all his work, Wong's contribution to the development of Bambi was most renowned.  He spent two years painting the illustrations for the Disney classic.  Other artists were taught to paint like him.  He endured racial bias for many years while developing beautiful works of art.  In 2001, Wong was finally acknowledged for his contributions as a Disney Legend. 

Radium Girls

 In 1917 hundreds of young women supported the war effort by working for the United States Radium Corporation.  The company produced watch dials for soldiers in the trenches of Europe.  The girls were paid well for dial painting and unaware of the damage they were causing to their bodies.  The long-term suffering these young women endured was horrific.  Read about the physicist Elizabeth Hughes who proved the dangers of radium.  Hughes was the unsung heroine for the Radium Girls.

Mine Okubo

Mine Okubo was a Japanese American who grew up in Riverside, California during World War II.  She was one of 110,000 Japanese Americans that were ordered into detention camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  She was sent to a detention camp that was converted from a racetrack.  She was made to remain in a barn and sleep in a horse stall.  All internees were forbidden to use cameras so she recorded her interactions in charcoal and watercolor.   In 1946 her drawings and sketches were published in her book entitled Citizen 13660. It includes 200 illustrations with captions and is a great book to use when studying the home front during World War II.  She was recently highlighted in a New York Historical Society program.   

 

History Curriculums Need To Adjust

Michaela Wells' article History curriculums need to better include women discusses and supports the need to adjust history curriculums.  Young students need to study more significant contributions of women in U.S. History.  Her list of 20 women is fabulous and her survey speaks volumes.