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.   

Pauli Murray

The life story of Pauli Murray was recently highlighted by the New York Historical Society.  The child of an interracial couple growing up in North Carolina, Pauli understood the cruelty of the Ku Klux Klan and Jim Crow laws.  She graduated high school at fifteen and enrolled in Hunter College in New York City, a racially integrated school.  While attending Hunter College, Murray began cutting her hair short and wearing pants instead of skirts.  She began to see herself as a man.  She spent hours at counseling due to mental breakdowns.  There were very few supports for anyone who did not align with society's expectations at the time.  As a poor woman of color she saw firsthand how race and gender dictate the way people are treated in society.  

In 1938, she enrolled at Howard University to continue her education.  While attending Howard University she formulated the concept of Jane Crow to describe the double discrimination of black women.   A turning point in her life was when she was appointed the first African American Deputy Attorney General for the state of California.  Her experience as Attorney General brought her into contact with many civil rights leaders and inspired her to write a book on the complexities of legal segregation. 

Mamie Johnson

 Mamie Johnson played baseball for the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues.   In 1953, at the age of 18, she was scouted by the Clowns.  She was one of only three women to play professional men's baseball. The integration of the Negro Leagues and the Major leagues shortened her career to three years.  Her inspirational story is written in a novel entitled A Strong Right Arm by Michelle Y. Green.  In 2008, Major League Baseball arranged a Negro League Draft in which all surviving Negro Leagues players were drafted by Major league teams.  Johnson was drafted to the Washington Nationals.  

Claudette Colvin

Claudette Colvin's record was recently expunged. Read about Colvin and Elizabeth Jennings who were both anti-segregation pioneers who are often overlooked.

1938 Pecan Sheller Strike

Studying labor strikes is very important part of American History.   In 1938, twelve thousand pecan shellers went on strike for three months in San Antonio, Texas to protest poor working conditions and low pay.    The mostly Hispanic women worked ten hour days and were paid three dollars weekly.  At the time, company owners preferred human shellers over mechanized shelling for the sake of profit.  After 37 days of protests, both strikers and pecan shelling companies agreed to arbitration.  The three person board ruled in favor of the strikers, ordering higher wages and officially acknowledging the International Pecan Shellers Union.  

Virtual Unsung Heroes Lecture: Segregated Military Units

 Click here to register

Monday November 8th, 2021

7PM

Book Review: Hunt for the Bamboo Rat

Discussing the role of imperialism in American history is crucial to understanding the development of our country in the late eighteenth century.  Lessons involving the acquisition of Alaska, the annexation of Hawaii and the Spanish American War usually revolve around the morality behind colonial empires and the dangers of imperialism. The Hunt for the Bamboo Rat is useful tool when teaching Japanese imperialism. The story of a Zenji Watanabe provides an insiders view of the occupation of the Philippines prior to Pearl Harbor and after. It delves into the struggle behind an oppressive colonial power. The novel includes secret surveillance, the bombing of Corregidor and a brave Hawaiian who perseveres through brutal treatment.

Teaching Tip: If you enjoyed reading When My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park, you will be sure to enjoy this historical fiction as well.

Rock Springs Massacre 1885

Thousands of Chinese immigrants worked on the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860's.  The money earned in America was ten times more than what they could earn in China at the time.    Following the completion of the railroad most Chinese immigrants went to work for coal mining companies.  They were willing to work for lower wages than other miners, which fueled the anger between themselves and white miners.  On the morning of September 2nd, 1885 approximately 125 armed white miners viciously attacked the Chinese residents of Rock Springs Wyoming.  Chinese men were dragged from their homes and beaten while others were shot on site.   After the Chinese were gone the homes left standing were looted.  According to  Britannica.org 28 Chinese immigrants died  and 15 were injured.  Hundreds of Chinese miners were forced to abandon their homes and resettle.  

Teaching Tip: Compare the Tulsa Race Riot to the Rock Springs Massacre. It is a lesson worth discussing.