Wednesday News and Research.

To learn about the human race, we will learn more about ourselves. As human beings, we have manual dexterity, use of tools, and complex development of creativity and other cognitive expressions. We have very complex brains too. Human beings existed first in the Motherland of Africa. Human beings migrated out of Africa to the rest of the world from about 200,000 years ago. Human beings are very unique since we have a large brain with a well-developed neocortex, prefrontal cortex, and temporal lobes. We can express a high level of abstract reasoning, language, problem solving, sociability, and culture via social learning. We can use tool in a much higher degree than any animal on Earth. We can build fires, cook food, and use a diversity of technologies and arts. Sedentary agriculture developed into a higher level by 10,000 years ago. The Paleolithic era is known as the Early Stone Age. The Neolithic Era came later, which is the New Stone Age. Modern humans spread rapidly from Africa into the frost-free zones of Europe and Asia around 60,000 years ago. The rapid expansion of humankind to North America and Oceania took place at the climax of the most recent ice age, when temperate regions of today were extremely inhospitable. Yet, humans had colonized nearly all the ice-free parts of the globe by the end of the Ice Age, some 12,000 years ago. The Agricultural Revolution (in the Neolithic Age) spread from 8,000 B.C. to 5,000 B.C. especially in the Mesopotamia region. The Neolithic Age saw human beings inventing the wheel, the first planting of cereal crops, and the development of cursive script like cuneiform (which is the earliest known writing system). Later, human beings transited from a nomadic life to a more settled lifestyle as farmers in permanent settlements. There was nomadism, but the transition continued. Communication improved and transportation grew. The development of cities existed by the end of the Neolithic age too. Ancient civilizations were in Lower Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, ancient Kush, other areas of Africa, the Harappan civilian in the Indus Valley, the Chinese civilization in the Yellow plus Yangtze River, and other civilizations. These societies developed a number of unifying characteristics, including a central government, a complex economy and social structure, sophisticated language and writing systems, and distinct cultures and religions. Writing was another pivotal development in human history, as it made the administration of cities and expression of ideas far easier. Modern religion developed with anthropomorphic deities, other forms of polytheism, and monotheism. Also, another point is to be made too. A team of scientists comparing the full genomes of the two species concluded that most Europeans and Asians have between 1 to 2 percent Neanderthal DNA.  The original, Indigenous sub-Saharan Africans have no Neanderthal DNA because their ancestors did not migrate through Eurasia. The genomes of all non-Africans include portions that are of Neanderthal origin, due to interbreeding between Neanderthals and the ancestors of Eurasians in Northern Africa or the Middle East prior to their spread. Recent findings suggest there may be even more Neanderthal genes in non-African humans than previously expected: approximately 20% of the Neanderthal gene pool was present in a broad sampling of non-African individuals, though each individual's genome was on average only 2% Neanderthal. Therefore, Neanderthals are not human beings. Also, many scientists research about the halpogroup. A haplotype is a group of genes in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent. A halpogroup is a made up of similar haplotypes. A haplogroup is a combination of alleles at different chromosomes regions that are closed linked and that tend to be inherited together. Haplogroups pertain to a single line of descent, usually dating back thousands of years. As such, membership of a haplogroup, by any individual, relies on a relatively small proportion of the genetic material possessed by that individual. In human genetics, the haplogroups most commonly studied are Y-chromosome (Y-DNA) haplogroups and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups, both of which can be used to define genetic populations. Y-DNA is passed solely along the patrilineal line, from father to son, while mtDNA is passed down the matrilineal line, from mother to offspring of both sexes. Neither recombines, and thus Y-DNA and mtDNA change only by chance mutation at each generation with no intermixture between parents' genetic material.

The struggle continues. After the Birmingham movement, more radical changes existed in America and in the world. The March on Washington existed which called for civil rights laws, decent housing, full and fair employment, and other progressive policies. The 16th Street Baptist church was bombed by a racist coward. Also, there was the evil assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 22, 1963. The new President was Lyndon Baines Johnson who supported Kennedy’s legislative agenda. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also worked in the St. Augustine movement. St. Augustine was a very old city and it is found in the northeast coast of Florida. It was founded by the Spanish in 1565. Dr. Robert B. Hayling was a black dentist and Air Force veteran (who had ties to the NAACP) who protested segregated local institutions since 1963 in the city. Many civil rights leaders like Dr. Hayling and three companions, James Jackson, Clyde Jenkins, and James Hauser, were brutally beaten at a Ku Klux Klan rally in the fall of that year of 1963. Nightriders shot in black homes constantly in St. Augustine. Many people were arrested for sit ins. Some were teenagers like Audrey Nell Edwards, JoeAnn Anderson, Samuel White, and Willie Carl Singleton (who came to be known as "The St. Augustine Four").  It took a special action of the governor and cabinet of Florida to release them after national protests by the Pittsburgh Courier, Jackie Robinson, and others. Many black people in St. Augustine used armed self-defense and nonviolent direct action to fight for justice. In June 1963, Dr. Hayling publicly stated that "I and the others have armed. We will shoot first and answer questions later. We are not going to die like Medgar Evers." The comment made national headlines. When Klan nightriders terrorized black neighborhoods in St. Augustine, Hayling's NAACP members often drove them off with gunfire, and in October, a Klansman was killed (in self-defense). By 1964, Dr. Hayling and the other activists urged the SCLC to come to St. Augustine. They did. They worked in the spring of 1964. People fought for freedom. Dr. King was arrested in Florida. He sent a “Letter from the St. Augustine Jail” to a northern supporter, Rabbi Israel Dresner of New Jersey, urging him to recruit others to participate in the movement. This resulted, a week later, in the largest mass arrest of rabbis in American history—while conducting a pray-in at the Monson. There was a settlement in St. Augustine. Later, the Freedom Summer event came in 1964, which promoted voting and social rights for black people in Mississippi. The Civil Rights Act was passed in July 4, 1964, there was the election of 1964 (including the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party with Ella Baker and others being disrespected by the Democratic Party establishment. Dr. King opposed Barry Goldwater), and Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize in December 10, 1964. These events represent the transitional phrase of the movement from the early age to the later age of the modern civil rights movement. In January of 1965, black players of the American Football League boycotted New Orleans, because of discrimination. The AFL All-Star Game was moved into Jeppesen Stadium in Houston. By 1965, the Selma Rights movement came and the fight for voting rights persisted in America. Malcolm X continued to be revolutionary in his life by early 1965 too. So, the events of the past influence our current movement for justice in 2017 and beyond.

Archaeology is the study of human activity via the recovery and analysis of material culture. In archaeology, culture, history, and artifacts are discovered. It is a social science and a branch of the humanities. In North America, archaeology is considered a sub-field of anthropology. Archaeology is a field that is constantly changing as more discoveries of tombs, buildings, and sculptures exist in our time too. From stone tools found in East Africa to the modern finds, archaeology is here to stay. Many anthropologists know about history, art, ethnology, paleontology, statistics, and other fields. For centuries, people have evacuated ruins and buildings from the city of Pompeii to the megalithic monuments of England. William Cunnington of England modernized the research of archaeological excavation. He found Neolithic and Bronze Age barrows. Many researchers discovered the tomb of the 14th century B.C. pharaoh Tutankhamun.  The next major figure in the development of archaeology was Sir Mortimer Wheeler, whose highly disciplined approach to excavation and systematic coverage in the 1920's and 1930's brought the science on swiftly. Wheeler developed the grid system of excavation, which was further improved by his student Kathleen Kenyon. Archaeology is used to find out more about the cultural manifestations of the past. It also used to find the behaviors of humanity too. Surveys, DNA testing, computer 3D technology, and other methods are used to find objects and to make known much of our past. Therefore, archaeology is exciting and a crucial part of human civilization.

The abolition movement in London and the United Kingdom should be recognized for its heroic qualities and for its wide influence in world history in general. In its modern sphere, it lasted from the late 1700’s to the early 1800’s. This movement wanted to end the slave trade and all slavery worldwide. Many English Quakers opposed slavery. Black people were also leaders in the abolitionist movement too. Many rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment also opposed it for violating the rights of human rights. James Edward Oglethorpe of the Enlightenment expressed opposition to slavery. Granville Sharp and Hannah More wanted to oppose slavery too.  In a 1569 court case involving Cartwright, who had bought a slave from Russia, the court ruled that English law could not recognize slavery, as it was never established officially. This ruling was overshadowed by later developments. It was upheld in 1700 by Lord Chief Justice Sir John Holt when he ruled that a slave became free as soon as he arrived in England. There was the Somersett Case. It was about a fugitive putative slave James Somersett and people forced a decision by the courts. Somersett had escaped and his oppressor, Charles Steuart, had him captured and imprisoned on board a ship, intending to ship him to Jamaica to be resold into slavery. While in London, Somersett had been baptized and three godparents issued a writ of habeas corpus. As a result, Lord Mansfield, Chief Justice of the Court of the King's Bench, had to judge whether Somersett's abduction was lawful or not under English Common Law. No legislation had ever been passed to establish slavery in England. The case received national attention and five advocates supported the action on behalf of Somersett. In his judgment of June 22, 1772, Mansfield held that sense slavery didn’t exist under English common law, so it was banned in England. The decision did not apply to the British overseas territories; the American colonies had established slavery by positive laws. Somersett's case became a significant part of the common law of slavery in the English-speaking world and it helped to inspire people to fight to abolish slavery. Black scholars like Ignatius Sancho wrote about his experiences and he was a powerful abolitionist. In 1783, Dr. Beilby Porteus, Bishop of Chester, issued a call to the Church of England to cease its involvement in the slave trade and to formulate a policy to improve the conditions of Afro-Caribbean slaves. The exploration of the African continent by such British groups as the African Association (1788), promoted the abolitionists' cause. Africans played an important part in the abolition movement. In Britain, Olaudah Equiano (who was a victim of the evil slave trade), whose autobiography was published in nine editions in his lifetime, campaigned tirelessly against the slave trade. An aspect of the history of abolitionism during this period was the use of images such as the famous Wedgwood medallion of 1787 and the engraving showing the horrific layout of the infamous slave ship, the Brookes. The abolitionist movement grew. After the formation of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1787, William Wilberforce led the cause of abolition through the parliamentary campaign. It finally abolished the slave trade in the British Empire with the Slave Trade Act 1807. He continued to campaign for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, which he lived to see in the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. Africans and Europeans fought to end slavery and the slave trade. In 1839, the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society was formed.  This organization wanted to end slavery worldwide and it opposed American cotton shipment to England as slaves were forced to pick cotton in the U.S. South. It is in operation today as Anti-Slavery International, the world's oldest international human rights organization.

The Dallas civil rights movement is unsung in many quarters. There was the civil rights photographer Bob Adelman who recently passed away at 85 years old. The journalist and civil rights attorney Alia Malek received an award in Dallas too. The Dallas Civil Rights museum presented a program on Emmett Till. Emmett Till was a young child who was viciously murdered by racists in the Deep South. Recently, the pastor James Sumner Manning passed away at the age of 88. He was a Methodist minister in Oklahoma, North Texas, and Massachusetts. He was a lifelong advocate of civil rights. His wife is Betty Kemp Manning and she said that, “He was always speaking of making a better world for everybody.” He helped undocumented immigrants as well. Another great civil rights hero was the late Sister Kathlyn Joy Gilliam. She promoted childhood education in South Dallas too during the 1960’s and the 1970’s. She was in the Dallas school board for 23 years and she was the first black woman in the board in 1974. She was also the first black board President in 1980. She passed away in 2011. The civil rights movement back then in Dallas, Texas included clergymen, clergywomen, political leaders, social activists, and people among a wide spectrum of ages and backgrounds. Jody Furnish was a Dallas social workers in 1963 and she was active in the Dallas civil rights movement. People like Marilyn Clark, Mary Greene, Princella Hartman, Edward Harris, and so many other human beings fought for justice.


By Timothy