Happy Fourth of July!

First, a thank you to our founding fathers for declaring our Independence and creating a country where we can openly change and develop our government.

"Fourth of July", "The Fourth" and "Independence Day" are all names claimed for today. In my duty of education, here are a few points about the history of today.

• July 4th has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941.
• The tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution (1775-83).
• In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain.
• On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

 What I love about today:

Barbecue, Yummy apple pie, Family and color scheme.

What I hate about today:

Fireworks.

I hate fireworks. They are loud, annoying and scary. They cause fires. Upset children and dogs. Maintain an influx of burn victims and cost enormous amounts of money. So my question was why do we need them? When did this start? I didn't have to look long to find out that fireworks have been a part of the tradition of Fourth of July since the first anniversary of the Fourth of July. Instead, at the time it was cannons and fire squads.

 

I have included a video below for the history of fourth of July:

 

 

 

Famous Trials In History: The Massie Affair

No trials ever had a more significant effect on a state's history than those that shocked and shook Hawaii in 1931 and 1932.

The "Massie Affair" consisted of 2 dramatic criminal trials, one for rape and one for murder and both involving multiple defendants, forever changed the nature of Hawaiian race relations and politics.  Filled with twists and turns and unanswered questions, the trials have all the elements of a good mystery. 

Saturday September 12, 1931, Thalia Massie, a sofisticated blueblood planned a relctant evening with her husband, naval officer Thomas Massie at a nightclub on the outskirts of Honolulu's Waikiki district.

Their marriage was on the rocks. Not only did Thalia not want to go out that night but she would go out only after drinking heavily at home. When they were in the club, she slapped another Navy officer when all he wanted was his seat back after going to the bathroom. Her husband calmed her down and sent her home. That was at 11:30 p.m. that night.

Flash to 1:00 am, she is picked up on the side of the road by a car full of people who stated that her face was beaten and bruised but her clothes in perfect condition. She refused to go to the hospital.

A few minutes later, Thalia answered the phone.  It was Tommie calling from a friend's home.  "Something awful has happened," Thalia told her husband.  "Come home."  When Tommie arrived, Thalia related a shocking story.  Crying, she told Tommie that she had been gang-raped by a group of Hawaiians. 

About the same time that Thalia Massie jumped in front of the headlights of the car on Ala Moana Road, Agnes Peeples appeared at Honolulu's downtown police headquarters to report an assault on her at a nearby intersection.  Peeples reported that after a near accident, a young Hawaiian man shoved and hit her, leaving her with a bleeding ear.  The license plate of the touring car that nearly hit her, Peeples told police, was 58-985. 

One hour after Peeples filed her report, police got another call.  It was Tommie Massie reporting that his wife had been assaulted.  Two investigators were dispatched to the Massie house.  When they arrived, they listened--stunned--to Thalia's story of having been attacked by four or five Hawaiians, dragged to some bushes, and raped six or seven times.  Thalia described the car as old and dark-colored.  She said she could not read the license plate.

Two alleged attacks on women by Hawaiians within a very short time frame: detectives took this to be strong evidence that both attacks were carried out by the same gang. [Read More]

African American Firsts in Entertainment

In honor of Black History Month, I had to talk a little about something related to the African American ethnicity. Here is something fun that I found highlighted on the KTLA 5 website.

1958 - American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald was the first black woman to win a Grammy award.

Also in 1958 - Count Basie was awarded a Grammy and was the first black man to do so.

Dorothy Dandridge was the first black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Carmen Jones.

The first black actor to win a Best Actor award is Sidney Poitier for his performance in Lilies of the Field in 1963. Poitier was given another Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 2002.

Hattie McDaniel was the first black actor to win an Academy Award. Her Best Supporting Actress win was for her role as Mammy in Gone With The Wind in 1939.

While Oscar Micheaux was the first black film director, Gordon Parks was the first to make it to Hollywood. In 1969 Parks wrote and directed The Learning Tree.

 

In 1956, Nat King Cole's "The Nat King Cole Show" was the first television program to have an black host.

 

Oprah Winfrey was the first black female talk show host and is still going strong. She is also the first black female to become a billionaire.

 

Before The Cosby Show Bill Cosby was entertaining audiences. His show I Spy was the first starring role on a television show by an black actor.