Shoulders by Naomi Shihab Nye

Published on Academy of American Poets

Shoulders

We're not going to be able 

to live in this world

If we're not willing to do what he's doing

with one another

Naomi Shihab give voice to her experience as an Arab-Ameican through poetry about heritage and peace.

Susie King Taylor

 Susie Baker King Taylor  was a slave, teacher, nurse and author from Georgia during the Civil War.  She is a testament to black strength in the face of overwhelming odds.  As a young child she was taught how to read and write in an underground secret school even though it was illegal.  In 1862 she fled to Union-occupied St. Solomon Island.  When the Union Army discovered she could read, she was charged with the responsibility of educating other escape slaves, making her the first black teacher to work in an operating Freedmen School.  After teaching freedmen for a year she was sent by Union forces to assist the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops during their Civil War campaign.  For four years she served with the 33rd as a cook, assistant and nurse. Taylor  served four years in the Civil War and never received a penny for her services. After the war she continued her work, briefly opening up a school that taught children and adults.  This week Savannah decided to rename a downtown square after her.

Nanyehi Nancy Ward

Nanyehi Nancy Ward was born to the Cherokee town of Chota, what is now Tennessee in 1738.  In 1752,  she fought against the Creek Nation in a local tribal dispute. For her courage on the battlefield she was awarded a seat alongside the war and peace chiefs.  She was the only woman with a vote in their governing political body.  After marrying an English trader named Bryan Ward,  she settled in South Carolina and raised a family.  Like most tribal communities of the time, the Cherokee Nation was divided over the ongoing conflict with the American Revolution.  Nanyehi was determined to protect and settle any disputes between settlers and natives.  In 1781, she worked to broker a treaty and end the continuous fighting.  She was an advocate for peace and courageous leader.  Nanyehi believed that peace would only come if Native Americans and English settlers saw themselves as one people.  

Chief Standing Bear

Chief Standing Bear, leader of the Ponca tribe, was recently memorialized on a forever stamp.  He was a Native American civil rights hero.  In 1879 Standing Bear was arrested in an effort to bury his son in his Chief's homeland.  While in jail he petitioned a federal court because he was being unlawfully detained.  The United States government argued that he was not entitled to the same constitutional rights as every other citizen.  Standing Bear's lawyers argued the Ponca people were entitled to the same rights as every other citizen citing the fourteenth Amendment.  In a speech before the court, Chief Standing Bear said through an interpreter, "That hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. If you pierce your hand, you also feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be the same color as yours. I am a man. The same God made us both."  The federal judge agreed with Standing Bear ordering the release of Standing Bear and his people.  This stamp is a great tribute to a very brave leader.  

Caroline Ferriday

Caroline Ferriday's humanitarian efforts after WWII are historic and largely unknown.   

During World War II the horrific treatment of the Jewish population in concentration camps claimed the lives of millions. One such concentration camp was Ravensbruck, an all female concentration camp in Germany.   At the camp, a group of women endured brutal medical experiments.  Caroline fought to help the survivors of the Ravensbruck concentration camp by bringing them to America for treatment.  Here is another article that exposes the story of the Rabbits of Ravensbruck and how Caroline Ferriday helped them.  If you are interested in this story I recomend you read historical fiction novel Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly.  

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Navigating with Compassion

I recently attended a professional development by History Unerased that discussed the importance of including LGBTQ rights in the social studies curriculum.  Listen to Triana Wilson eloquently explain how important it is to combat intolerance with compassion.  Being a history teacher means teaching with no deletions.

Antonia Pantoja

A recent lecture by the Museum of the City of New York highlighted a Puerto Rican American unsung hero.  Antonia Pantoja was born in 1921 and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico.   Her family struggled financially and had to save up money to allow her to attend high school.  After high school graduation her family saved enough money for Antonia to attend college in America.  In 1944 she migrated to New York City but life was not what she expected.  Most teaching jobs were not available to her.   Young Puerto Ricans were not treated equally.  The inequities triggered her to become an advocate for change. She formed the Hispanic Young Adults Association (HYAA) to improve access to education, health care and stable incomes.  While managing this association she graduated from Columbia University in 1954.  In 1962, she founded ASPIRA, an organization that offered tutoring, Puerto Rican history, culture classes and leadership training.  She dedicated her life to social justice.  She never stopped working to improve the community she represented.  ASPIRA continues to be an important advocate for Puerto Rican youth to this day. 

Rosewood Race Massacre

A thriving town in Rosewood Florida was burned to the ground one hundred years ago.   Rosewood was an African-America town decimated by a violent white mob.  Violence broke out on January 1st, 1923 when a white women claimed she was assaulted by a black man.  The week long massacre resulted in the loss of homes, churches ,schools, and businesses.   In 1994, the Florida legislature passed a bill recognizing the event and compensating survivors' descendants.   CNN recently published an article highlighting this lesser know event in Ameican history.