Monday Information

In 1893, there was the Panic of 1893 and later came home rule in Denver. The 1893 financial panic occurred nationwide. The silver boom collapsed. Denver, by that time suffered economically, because of droughts and harsh winters. That weather harmed the agricultural industry. The agricultural distress along with the withdrawal of foreign investors (plus the over expansion of the silver mining industries) caused stock prices to decline. Banks closed and businesses failed. Numerous farms ceased to operate. With no federal insurance to support the money in the banks, many people lost their life savings. Denver banks closed and real estate values dropped. Smelters stopped working and the Denver Tramway had trouble getting people to ride and pay their taxes. The Union Pacific Railroad, which had absorbed both the Denver Pacific and Kansas Pacific in the 1880’s, declared bankruptcy. National unemployment was between 12-18% back in 1894. Wages declined. Strikes took place. One strike that took place in Colorado was the Cripple Creek miners' strike which lasted five months. As the silver mines began to close due to the continued drop in silver prices, unemployed miners and other workers from the Colorado Mountains flooded into Denver in hopes of finding work. Because of the city's inability to take care of the jobless, some train companies began offering reduced or free fares for people wanting to travel from Denver. This effort contributed to the exodus from the city. Denver's population dropped from 106,000 in 1890 to 90,000 in 1895. A new municipal charter was given to Denver in 1893 by the state legislature. This decentralized much of the mayor’s powers into 6 different administrative departments. 2 of which were elected. 2 were appointed by the mayor and the remaining two were appointed by the governor.   King writes "The plan gave the maximum of opportunity for [political] party groups and corporate control." The municipal board members appointed by the governor had complete financial control over the police, fire, and excise departments. Over half the expenditures of the city went through this board which gave the governor and his party much direct control over Denver. Governor Davis Hanson Waite was elected in 1893. He was elected on a Populist Party reform platform. It tried to overturn the corruption in Denver in 1894 by removing police and fire commissioners that he believed were shielding the gamblers and prostitutes that he believed were resulting from and also worsening the depression. The officials refused to leave their positions and were quickly joined by others who felt their jobs were threatened. They barricaded themselves in City Hall, and the state militia was sent to remove them. Federal troops were called in from nearby Fort Logan to intervene and quell the civil strife. Eventually Governor Waite agreed to withdraw the militia and allow the Colorado Supreme Court to decide the case. The court ruled that the governor had authority to replace the commissioners, but he was reprimanded for bringing in the militia, in what became known as the "City Hall War.” The governor was elected by the whole state. He had so much power over the workings of Denver. That was not lost on the citizens in Denver. The economy flattered and the new six departments were divided. Later, the first nonpartisan mayor was elected in Denver back in 1895. His name was T.S. McMurray. He was reelected in 1897 and defeated in 1899. There was the home rule movement after people didn’t like the major political parties. In 1902, an amendment to the state constitution was passed that allowed cities to adopt home rule and Denver became a consolidated city–county. In 1897, the U.S. economy started to recover. Jobs slowly came back into Denver. Real estate prices remained depressed through 1900. Agriculture grew. Irrigation infrastructure and crop diversification increased. The processing and production of food in the state helped to not make the depression much worse. Denver gained back the population it had lost during the depression, mainly through the annexation of neighboring towns, and ended the century with a population of more than 133,000.

As we approach the 100th year anniversary of the Russian Revolution, we show reflection and an acknowledgment of that revolution being one of the most important events in human history. It changed the world and outlined issues that we debate to this very day which includes: class struggle, economics, government, and leadership. To start, many events must be known. First, before the revolution, the Russian nation was in a hot mess. Serfs were discriminated against despite them being emancipated. Anti-Semitism ran wild in Czarist Russia. Pogroms or executions of Jewish people in Russia were common place in the 19th century and early 20th century. Economic inequality was rampant and the czar had authoritarian control of the Russian population. Czar Alexander III rejected even progressive reforms and allowed autocratic rule. The philosophies of Marx and Engels were already global by 1900. Karl Marx believed that only class struggle would defeat the capitalists and cause a revolutionary situation where the workers would have economic and social equality in the world. Marx advocated communism or a classless society where the monarchy and capitalist elites would be gone. In the midst of the Czar’s tyranny, opposition groups existed. They were diverse from the moderates who wanted democratic reforms to the socialists and the communists who desire revolutionary change in the Russian society. The Russian Revolution was going to happen since tensions were growing since the 1800’s. With 4/5s of the population living as peasants and the feudal nobility running the majority of the economic and political infrastructure of Russia, a revolt was bound to happen. Cities like St. Petersburg and Moscow had many workers being paid low for long work. The disastrous war against Japan in 1904 caused more turmoil. In January 1905, Gapon (who was a priest) organized a march to the Winter Palace to plead with the Tsar--considered by most to be benevolent, but misguided by "bad advisers"--for reforms. The Tsar's soldiers opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators, killing more than 1,000 workers and their families. The massacre--known as Bloody Sunday--sparked an explosion of mass strikes. Factory owners and managers were forced by the scale of the upheaval to agree to some of the concessions the demonstrators had asked of the Tsar. The Czar soon wanted a constitution. Soviets or workers councils grew which addressed the needs of the poor and workers in urban and rural communities. Trotsky--elected president of the Petrograd soviet at age 26--described how the workers' council system concentrated all the forces of the revolution. Trotsky and Lenin would be leaders of the Russian Revolution. Lenin would sign an agreement with Germany to not be involved in World War I anymore. The workers of Petrograd would protest injustice again. On International Women's Day in 1917, they left their jobs to participate in spontaneous demonstrations against food shortages and the war--in what became the first day of the revolution. This revolution spread into other locations of Russia. The Bolsheviks or one revolutionary faction rebelled and caused the Czar to abdicate from his throne. Soon, 2 major factions of the Russian Revolution would develop. One was the moderate Provisional Government with leaders like Prince Lvov and Alexander Kerensky. The other faction would be the Soviets who represented peasants and other workers (i.e. the Bolsheviks). The Mensheviks were the moderates, but they were found in both the Provisional government and the soviet councils. Even Stalin didn’t want soviet councils to immediate take over, but Lenin did. Lenin's Theses was clear about what he wanted. Lenin thought that the Provisional government was too moderate and desired a radical program. As the Russian Revolution continued, we see its strengths and imperfections. There are no justifications for its errors too. Yet, we learn about the Russian Revolution as a means for us to promote revolutionary change in our generation and in future generations too.

The Birmingham movement was the most important part of the Civil Rights Movement. Afterwards, the civil rights movement would be changed forever. Before that movement, there was little progress legislatively in America involving civil rights. Afterwards, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act would be passed. Courage defined the efforts of African Americans and others who fought for the freedom of black people in America. Diverse organizations were involved in this campaign like the SCLC (the Southern Christian Leadership Conference), ACHMR (the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights), and SNCC. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Fred Shuttlesworth, Wyatt Tee Walker, Dorothy Cotton, and other human beings were involved in this audacious campaign. The goal of this campaign was explicitly clear of eliminating Jim Crow in Birmingham, Alabama (which was the most segregated large city of the South back then). This program was called Project C. The protests would involve lunch counter sit-sin, marches on City Hall, and boycotts on downtown merchants who promoted segregation. Months later, racist police used water hoses and police dogs (as sent by the racist person Bull Connor) to harm black men, black women, and black children. Those images were shown worldwide and it showed the hypocrisy of the American establishment and the vicious oppression that black people experienced in American society. This came after the failed SCLC campaign in Albany, Georgia. The Birmingham, Alabama movement would be a victory. It lasted from April 3, 1963 to May 10, 1963. Young people, adults, and elderly human beings fought for justice. The city’s discrimination laws were changed. These events in the South caused President John F. Kennedy to be more progressive in public involving race and civil rights. After this campaign, President Kennedy would call for federal civil rights legislation which would be passed until after he was unfortunately assassinated.  Ultimately, it was the masses of the people who caused the Birmingham campaign to be successful. The Birmingham campaign was turning point in the Civil Rights Movement, which signaled the beginning of the end of Jim Crow apartheid. Soon, more demonstrations came about throughout the South. The March on Washington existed in August of 1963. Unfortunately, the bombing of the Baptist church existed in Birmingham in September of 1963, which killed 4 little girls. There was more attention sent in fighting racial segregation in the southern United States. Dr. King expanded his movement and forced desegregation existed in Birmingham

Anthropology is the study of humanity and culture. It deals with the branches of physical, social, linguistic, archaeological, and cultural anthropology. In essence, anthropology is the study of the human family and human culture in all of its diverse manifestations. We live in a world where humanity has diverse cultures and there is the commonality among the peoples of the world too. We all need water and food to survive. We all either speak or deal with language in many ways. We have complex ideological viewpoints and we use technology constantly in the world society.  In our lives, we fight on this audacious journey for liberty, justice, and equality. We realize the sacrifice of our forebearers, who heroically and without denial of their principles, stood up for the pristine, focused agendas of human excellence, of compassion, of strength, of love, of sacrifice, and of even handedness. To understand anthropology, people should understand the concepts of culture, human behavior, language, agriculture, human migration, economics, family structure, race, ethnicity, human gender, medicine, epidemiology, acculturation, human biology, and other characteristics of human society. Therefore, anthropology is a complex subject matter. It deals with the origins of humankind and it focus on the research on how human culture evolves over the ages of time.

African American history is a long journey. I am an African American, so African American history is personal with me on many different levels. We, who are African Americans, have made amazing accomplishments and still there is a long way to go. From the Motherland of Africa to the 21st century, black people have shown resiliency, courage, strength, grace, compassion, and a stirring passion for justice. Today, we live in a new age with a new President soon to be inaugurated in America. The vast majority of African Americans descended from African slaves centuries ago. Many African Americans are recent African immigrants living in America too. Also, it is important to note that our history, African Americans, didn’t just involve the Middle Passage and slavery. Our history revolve around literature, architecture, spirituality, music, athletics or sports, art, dance, political affairs, economics, STEM fields, and other aspects of human civilization. Therefore, it is time for us who to show the complete history of African Americans from the beginning to the present. I’m going to write a 7 Part series that describes African American history and culture from Africa to 2017. It will show information about the civil rights movement, the Harlem Renaissance, Marcus Garvey, Ella Baker, Reconstruction, various musical genres, the Great Migration, the Age of President Barack Obama, and other components of our journey. Our journey is filled with the strength of our ancestors and the influence of the youth too.  In America, we have been a part of a journey for more than 500 years. Our black forebears fought in every war of American history, but we continue to fight the war against racism, bigotry, and intolerance in the USA. Our cause is just and we will keep on fighting for justice in the world as Brothers and Sisters. First, the story begins in Africa. The vast majority of African Americans descended from Western and Central Africa.

By Timothy