Fortunately for all of us as of today hindsight
is literally twenty twenty. Most of us couldn't
wait for a fresh start. However many of our
issues carry over into this new year. Which
proves that civilization is a cyclical process.
A century ago we were dealing with similar
challenges Prejudice, dirty politics, racism,
sexism, and much more. Ample proof that
while we've grown and evolved, we may not
have learned our lesson. Hence as the title of
the illustration above suggests it's time to get
"back to work". In a collaborative effort to
build a better future for ALL. Imagine that...
In 1921 Pittsburgh was the epicenter of radio.
On the second, station KDKA broadcast the
first religious service from Calvary Episcopal
Church. Soon thereafter Pittsburgh listened to
the first live speech by a national politician -
Herbert Hoover U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
In March KDKA covered the first Presidential
inauguration along with the premier broadcast
of a live opera performance. By fall KDKA
established the first ever radio newsroom. In
October Pittsburgh airwaves were filled with
the first ever radio coverage of a world series.
A century later KDKA is still on the air!
Betty Friedan was born on this day in Peoria,
Illinois. In 1963 she authored "The Feminine
Mystique" which became a rallying cry for
the feminist movement. Leading her to spend
the remainder of her life fighting for women's
rights. Meanwhile that same month in 1921 a
monument to suffragettes Susan B Anthony,
Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
was unveiled in the U.S. Capitol. In honor of
granting women the right to vote. Soon after
it was moved to the basement where it sat
hidden for 75 years. In 1997 it was moved
back to it's place of honor in the Rotunda
On this day Warren G Harding was sworn in
as the twenty ninth President of the United
States. The handsome midwesterner having
handily won said hot spot. In part fueled by
first time female voters. Once a newspaper
publisher and Senator from Ohio he was one
of the most popular Presidents ever for three
years. Then suddenly it was over. Post his
untimely death in 1923 a series of political,
financial, and sexual scandals tainted his
record, reputation, and legacy. Which only
causes one to wonder what we'll uncover
post the forty fifth's from Washington D.C.
In Colefax, Louisiana a marble monument
was erected in honor of white supremacy.
Honoring the white "heroes" who died in
its massacre of 1873. Said event fueled by
anger over rumors of voter fraud. And the
subsequent inauguration of a Republican
governor. That evening an armed mob of
white Democrats descended on the parish
courthouse in rural Colefax. Murdering
one hundred and fifty African American
Republican freemen and militia members.
Sadly one hundred years later said marble
homage to white supremacy still stands.
The Emergency Quota Act was passed by
the U.S. Congress. Establishing national
quotas for immigration. Limiting the post
World War I influx of Europeans fleeing
economic, religious, cultural, and political
oppression. Said legislation was fueled by
the growth of nativist movements across
America. Ultimately this legislatio led to
the "National Origins Immigration Act of
1924 which made said quotas stricter and
permanent. Putting the American dream
even further out of reach for generations of
immigrants. Is that the American way?
Tulsa exploded post a young black man
being accused of assaulting a 17 year old
white woman. Ending with it's "Black
Wall Street" Greenwood neighborhood
destroyed. While the official count was
thirty six dead - modern estimates are
three hundred African Americans. As
the smoke cleared 1,250 black owned
homes plus hundreds of business lay in
ashes - the modern equivalent of $32.5
million destroyed. Leaving at least ten
thousand African Americans homeless.
Last June Mr. Trump held a rally there.
TOMORROW WE'LL REVIEW THE SECOND HALF OF 1921.
