The events of Ferguson opened up a new chapter in the black freedom struggle. We (who are African Americans) are never descendants of slaves. Our ancestors were victims of slavery, but our ancestors originally were free men and free women from Africa. I want to make that point perfectly despite what the xenophobic movements of ADOS and FBA will say. Tons of people need to realize that. Ferguson helped some Americans realize that America is not a meritocracy where hard work guarantees success. Americans are some of the hardest-working people in human history, but structural injustices remain, even in 2024. There are economic, health, education, and other social disparities that have been documented by dozens of sociological studies. This reality is not a figment of my imagination. It's very real. For example, the black maternity crisis has been proven by experts like Dr. Blackstock and retired track and field legend Allyson Felix. That is why advocating for paid family leave, equal pay, and universal childcare will help millions of families and other human beings in America plus the world. One major legacy of Ferguson outlines the fact that grassroots organizing is pre-eminent in trying to solve problems. The Organization for Black Struggle (with leaders like Kayla Reed) and other human beings (like Brittany Packnett Cunningham) spoke out, protested, and set up programs to fight systemic racism, economic injustice, sexism, and other evils that are common in the world today. Since 2014, many unarmed black men and black women have been killed like Philando Castile, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, etc. There is a dual reality now. We have more awareness of the issues of social justice, and there is a far-right wing backlash that has ruined much of the progressive gains (like some MAGA extremists are banning books, ending affirmative action in colleges, restricting DEI, and sugarcoating black history. This evil isn't just in Texas and Florida which is bad enough. This bigoted agenda is spreading nationwide) that we have achieved via courage and sacrifice. That is why it is always imperative for us to continue to build, fight for righteousness, and believe in the Dream for real.
Video Game conventions and tournaments are very commonplace in our generation. The people who join many movements are human beings among every background and ethnicity. There is the OtuakuFest in Miami lasting from May 17-19, 2024. This is about anime, comics, and games being promoted and celebrated in the Florida city of Miami. Such conventions help people to develop social skills, build friendships, increase human camaraderie, and even build romance. There are a lot of couples in real life that enjoy video games, comics, and science fiction motifs. There is the future New York Comic Con taking place from October 17-20, 2024. Some video game tournaments take place in either arenas or online. Many such tournaments allow users to be paid money for them to participate in them. One such platform is called GameChampions that is a genuine platform that offers a legitimate opportunity for games to earn money for their skills.
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the most important events during the end of World War One. It was a peace treaty signed on June 28, 1919. This treaty officially ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. The agreement was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which caused the war in the first place. The other Central Powers on the German side signed separate treaties. The previous armistice of November 11, 1918, ended the actual fighting but more negotiations existed. These negotiations dealt with the payment of reparations, and other conditions and principles in ending the war. It took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. Germany was not allowed to participate in the negotiations before the signing of the treaty. The Treaty of Versailles was effective on January 10, 1920. The Allied Powers also included the UK, America, Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, India, France, Italy, Japan, Brazil, China, Greece, etc. The Treaty of Versailles required Germany to disarm, make territorial concessions, extradite alleged war criminals, agree to Kaiser Wilhelm being put on trial, recognize the independence of states whose territory had previously been part of the German Empire, and pay reparations to the Entente powers. The most critical and controversial provision in the treaty was: "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." The other members of the Central Powers signed treaties containing similar articles. This article, Article 231, became known as the "War Guilt" clause. Critics including John Maynard Keynes declared the treaty too harsh, styling it as a "Carthaginian peace", and saying the reparations were excessive and counterproductive. On the other hand, prominent Allied figures such as French Marshal Ferdinand Foch criticized the treaty for treating Germany too leniently. This is still the subject of ongoing debate by historians and economists.
The result of these competing and sometimes conflicting goals among the victors was a compromise that left no one satisfied. In particular, Germany was neither pacified nor conciliated, nor was it permanently weakened. The United States never ratified the Versailles treaty and made a separate peace treaty with Germany, albeit based on the Versailles treaty. The problems that arose from the treaty would lead to the Locarno Treaties, which improved relations between Germany and the other European powers. The reparation system was reorganized, and payments were reduced in the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan. Bitter resentment of the treaty powered the rise of the Nazi Party, and eventually the outbreak of a second World War. Although it is often referred to as the "Versailles Conference", only the actual signing of the treaty took place at the historic palace. Most of the negotiations were in Paris, with the "Big Four" meetings taking place generally at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Quai d'Orsay.
By May of 1970, Diana Ross released her eponymous debut solo album. It had hits like Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) and A'int No Mountain High Enough. Diana Ross made more albums like Everything is Everything in 1970 and Surrender in 1971. I'm Still Waiting is a 1971 ballad that was her first number-one single in the UK. In 1971, she also starred in her first solo television special called Diana! which included the Jackson 5. By this time, she was working on her first film called Lady Sings the Blues. It was released to the public in October 1972 that detailed the life story of Billie Holiday. The film was a classic filled with drama, emotion, contributions to music, and a legacy. Ross won critical acclaim for her performance in the film. Jazz critic Leonard Feather, a friend of Holiday's, praised Ross for "expertly capturing the essence of Lady Day". Ross's role in the film won her Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress. The soundtrack to Lady Sings the Blues became just as successful, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200, staying there for two weeks, and selling two million units. In November 1972, Ross sung the song "When We Grow Up" for the children's album, Free to Be... You and Me. In 1973, Ross had her second number-one hit in the U.S. with the ballad "Touch Me in the Morning." Later in the year, Motown issued Diana and Marvin, a duet album with fellow Motown artist Marvin Gaye. The album became an international hit. Touring throughout 1973, Ross became the first entertainer in Japan's history to receive an invitation to the Imperial Palace for a private audience with the Empress Nagako, wife of Emperor Hirohito. In April 1974, Ross became the first African-American woman to co-host the Academy Awards, with John Huston, Burt Reynolds, and David Niven. After the release of the 1973 album Last Time I Saw Him, Diana Ross acted in more films. The 1975 film that she was in was Mahogany with Billy Dee Williams. The film is about black people in the fashion industry, issues in the black community, exploitation, and other matters in a realistic fashion. Diana Ross designed the wardrobe in the film herself. Mahogany was the story of an aspiring fashion designer who became a runway model and the toast of the industry, Mahogany was a troubled production from its inception. The film's original director, Tony Richardson, was fired during production, and Berry Gordy assumed the director's chair himself.
Gordy and Ross clashed during filming, with Ross leaving the production before shooting was completed, forcing Gordy to use Secretary Edna Anderson as a body double for Ross. While a box-office success, the film was not well received by the critics: Time magazine's review of the film chastised Gordy for "squandering one of America's most natural resources: Diana Ross." Nonetheless, Ross had her third number-one hit in the U.S. with "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)". A year later, in 1976, Ross released her fourth solo number-one hit, "Love Hangover", a sensual, dramatic mid-tempo song that bursts into an uptempo disco tune. Later that year, Ross launched her "An Evening with Diana Ross" tour. The tour's success led to a two-week stint at Broadway's Palace Theatre and a 90-minute, Emmy-nominated television special of the same name, featuring special make-up effects by Stan Winston, for a scene in which Ross portrayed legendary cabaret artist Josephine Baker and blues singers Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters, and a Special Tony Award. The albums Baby It's Me (1977) and Ross (1978) sold modestly. The film adaptation of The Wiz had been a $24 million production, but upon its October 1978 release, it earned only $21,049,053 at the box office. Though pre-release television broadcast rights had been sold to CBS for over $10 million, the film produced a net loss of $10.4 million for Motown and Universal. At the time, it was the most expensive film musical ever made. The Wiz remains a powerful film and a classic for the black American community and other communities too. The Wiz had Diana Ross and Michael Jackson displaying great acting chemistry together.
In 1979, Ross released The Boss, continuing her popularity with dance audiences, as the title song became a number-one dance single. On July 16, 1979, Ross guest-hosted an episode of Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, featuring Lynda Carter, George Carlin, and Muhammad Ali as guests. Later that year, Ross hosted the HBO special, Standing Room Only, filmed at Caesars Palace's Circus Maximus Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada, during her "Tour '79" concert tour. This concert special is noted for its opening, during which Ross literally makes her entrance through a movie screen. In November of that year, Ross performed The Boss album's title track as a featured artist during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, in New York City. Later, Diana Ross will continue to thrive during the 1980's.
By October 18, 1859, the Marines broke through the engine house door. At 6:30 AM Lee began the attack on the engine house. He first offered the role of attacking it to the local militia units, but both commanders declined. Lee then sent Lt. J. E. B. Stuart, serving as a volunteer aide-de-camp, under a white flag of truce to offer John Brown and his men the option of surrendering. Colonel Lee informed Lt. Israel Greene that if Brown did not surrender, he was to direct the Marines to attack the engine house. Stuart walked towards the front of the engine house where he told Brown that his men would be spared if they surrendered. Brown refused and as Stuart walked away, he made a pre-arranged signal—waving his hat—to Lt. Greene and his men standing nearby. Greene's men then tried to break in using sledgehammers, but their efforts were unsuccessful. He found a ladder nearby, and he and about twelve Marines used it as a battering ram to break down the sturdy doors. Greene was the first through the door and with the assistance of Lewis Washington, identified and singled out John Brown. Greene later recounted what events occurred next. Greene said that John Brown was hit with blow to the neck. Two of the raiders were killed, and the rest taken prisoner. Brown was wounded before and after his surrender. The hostages were freed and the assault was over. It lasted three minutes. According to one marine, the raiders presented a sad appearance. Army leader Robert E. Lee and the Marines had to calm the crowd from killing Brown and his men. Colonel Lee and Jeb Stuart searched the surrounding country for fugitives who had participated in the attack. Few of Brown's associates escaped, and among the five who did, some were sheltered by abolitionists in the North, including William Still. All the bodies were taken out and laid on the ground in front. "A detail of [Greene's] men" carried Brown and Edwin Coppock, the only other white survivor of the attack on the engine house, to the adjacent office of the paymaster, where they lay on the floor for over a day. Until they went with the group to the Charles Town jail on Wednesday, there was no record of the location of the two-surviving captured black raiders, Shields Green and John Anthony Copeland, who were also the only two survivors of the engine house with no injuries. Green attempted unsuccessfully to disguise himself as one of the enslaved of Colonel Washington being liberated.
John Brown was interviewed constantly by soldiers, politicians, lawyers, reporters, citizens, and preachers. He was given attention. The first to interview him was Virginia congressman Alexander Boteler, who rode over from his home in nearby Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and was present when Brown was carried out of the engine house, and told a Catholic priest to leave. Five people, in addition to several reporters, came almost immediately to Harpers Ferry specifically to interview Brown. He was interviewed at length as he lay there over 24 hours; he had been without food and sleep for over 48 hours. ("Brown carried no provisions on the expedition, as if God would rain down manna from the skies as He had done for the Israelites in the wilderness.") The first interviewers after Boteler were Virginia Governor Wise, his attorney Andrew Hunter, who was also the leading attorney in Jefferson County, and Robert Ould, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, sent by President Buchanan. Governor Wise having left—he set up a base in a Harpers Ferry hotel—Brown was then interviewed by Senator James M. Mason, from Winchester, Virginia, and Representatives Charles J. Faulkner, from Martinsville, Virginia, and Copperhead Clement Vallandigham, from Ohio. (Brown lived for years in Ohio, and both Watson and Owen Brown were born there.) Vallandingham was on his way from Washington to Ohio via the B&O Railroad, which of course would take him through Harpers Ferry. In Baltimore, he was informed about the raid.
Many people in the North and West viewed Brown as a fanatic attacking Virginia with only 22 men, of whom 10 were killed immediately, and 7 others would soon be hanged, as well as 5 deaths and 9 injuries among the Marines and local population. With the newspaper reports of these interviews, followed by Brown's widely reported words at his trial, the public perception of Brown changed suddenly and dramatically. According to Henry David Thoreau, "I know of nothing so miraculous in our history. Years were not required for a revolution of public opinion; days, nay hours, produced marked changes." Even people who disagreed with Brown viewed him as a brave man. Virginia Governor Wise had a force of 90 men acted disappointed that that action ended quickly. Wise also reported the opinion of Lewis Washington, in a passage called "well known" in 1874: "Colonel Washington says that he, Brown, was the coolest and firmest man he ever saw in defying danger and death. With one son dead by his side, and another shot through, he felt the pulse of his dying son with one hand and held his rifle with the other, and commanded his men with the utmost composure, encouraging them to be firm, and to sell their lives as dearly as they could."
By October 19, Lee and the Marines, except for Greene left Harper's Ferry to go to Washington, D.C. They finished the report and sent it to the War Department. There was a synopsis of the events at Harpers Ferry. Brown was hastily processed by the legal system. He was charged by a grand jury with treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, murder, and inciting a slave insurrection. A jury found him guilty of all charges; he was sentenced to death on November 2, and after a legally-required delay of 30 days he was hanged on December 2. (This execution was witnessed by the actor John Wilkes Booth, who later assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.) At the hanging and en route to it, authorities prevented spectators from getting close enough to Brown to hear a final speech. He wrote his last words on a scrap of paper given to his jailer Capt. John Avis, whose treatment Brown spoke well of in his letters:
"I John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty, land: will never be purged away; but with Blood. I had as I now think: vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed; it might be done."
His words here predicted the Civil War as legalized slavery was never going to be abolished except by the American Civil War. Four other raiders were executed on December 16 and two more on March 16, 1860. Many Southerners viewed John Brown as a traitor, and many Northerners either viewed him as a martyr or a misguided person who legitimately opposed slavery. Ironically, the John Brown raid increased the chance of the American Civil War. Brown's raid, trial, and execution energized both the abolitionists in the North and the pro-slavery in the South and brought a flurry of political organizing. Public meetings in support of Brown, sometimes also raising money for his family, were held across the North. "These meetings gave the era's most illustrious thinkers and activists an opportunity to renew their assault on slavery." It reinforced Southern sentiment for secession. By 1860, war was on the horizon. Just 2 years after John Brown's raid in 1859, the American Civil War started by 1861 with the Confederate attack of Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Counting John Brown, there were 22 raiders, 15 white people, and 7 black people. 10 were killed during the raid, 7 were tried and executed afterward, and 5 escaped. In addition, Brown was assisted by at least two local enslaved people; one was killed and the other died in jail. John Brown is buried on his farm near Lake Placid, New York. It is maintained as the New York John Brown Farm State Historic Site. His son Watson is also buried there, and the bones of his son Oliver and nine other raiders are buried in a single coffin.
By Timothy
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