Tag: american culture

History of Indigenous Peoples’ Day: today, October 13, 2025.

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VOCABULARY

Indigenous – adj., of or relating to the earliest known inhabitants of a place

Disrupt – v., to throw into disorder

Recognize – v., to admit that something exists

Hurtful – adj., causing pain, especially emotional

Glorified – v., to make something seem great

Colonial – adj., relating to people settling in a new place, often belonging to someone else

Oppression – n., cruel or unjust use of authority or power

Trauma – n., a psychological state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or injury

Erased – v., to wipe out, to make something disappear

Self-sufficient – adj. to be able to take care of oneself

Sustain – v., to keep up, to supply nourishment

Movement – n, series of acts working toward a desired end

History of Indigenous Peoples’ Day: today, October 13, 2025.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day began in 1977 as an idea expressed at a UN conference on discrimination.  In 1990, South Dakota was the first state to recognize the day.

In 1992, protests and demonstrations disrupted planned Columbus Day celebrations in San Francisco and Santa Cruz. People began referring to that day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, to celebrate the rich culture and the lives of the Native American people. Soon, those cities also recognized the holiday.

For the Native Americans, Columbus Day was always hurtful as it glorified the violent past of 500 years of colonial torture and oppression by European explorers like Columbus. Indigenous Peoples’ Day draws attention to the pain, trauma, and broken promises that were erased by the celebration of Columbus Day. Before his arrival, the indigenous folk were successful self-sufficient communities that sustained life for thousands of years.

Year by year, the movement to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day spreads to more and more states, towns, and cities across the United States of America.*

*https://nationaltoday.com/indigenous-peoples-day/

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Memorial Day Weekend

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Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day 2022 will occur on Monday, May 30. 

Memorial Day 2022: Facts, Meaning & Traditions – HISTORY

Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day to honor and mourn those who died while serving in the U.S. military. Many volunteers place an American flag on graves of military personnel in national cemeteries. Memorial Day is also considered the unofficial beginning of summer in the United States.

Memorial Day – Wikipedia

We also use Memorial Day weekend to start the summer! During Memorial Day weekend you will see many barbeques, parties, and people at the beach! Remember to be safe ad have fun!

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The Harlem Renaissance

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The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater and politics centered in Harlem in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. 

Watch the video above to learn about the Harlem Renaissance and read a couple poems below by Langston Hughes, a poet who was part of it.

From Poetry.org:

Harlem

What happens to a dream deferred?

       Does it dry up
       like a raisin in the sun?
       Or fester like a sore—
       And then run?
       Does it stink like rotten meat?
       Or crust and sugar over—
       like a syrupy sweet?

       Maybe it just sags
       like a heavy load.

       Or does it explode?

I, Too

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.

Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

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HERSTORY

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There’s a new exhibit at the Chatham Square Branch of the New York Public Library that you might want to check out.

From NYPL.org:

The Chatham Square Branch of the New York Public Library is pleased to present a rare look at Chinese-American women’s history, told through legal cases fought in supreme courts throughout the United States. Using the personal collection of Dr. Chang C. Chen (邱彰博士), Herstory features rare photographs and case descriptions of efforts by Chinese-American women to gain legal standing in the U.S.

Starting in 1852, the cases document women who fought for equal treatment in the eyes of the law and for citizenship and immigration rights. One 1874 case from San Francisco describes a group of recent immigrants who were defined as “lewd and immoral” due to their style of dress, and were set to be deported. The women fought back and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in their favor, stating that the California laws were in conflict with federal immigration laws and the women were released. In Tape v. Hurley, 66 Cal. 473 (1885), a landmark case in the California Supreme Court in which the Court found the exclusion of a Chinese American student from public school based on her ancestry unlawful. The Court ruled that Chinese-American children had a right to public education and to attend public schools.

The exhibit is a fascinating look at the ordinary people who fought for their rights, and, in doing so, helped shape a new world for Chinese-Americans in the United States. The exhibition is provided to the library by Dr. Chang C Chen (邱彰博士), who has worked tirelessly to document the written legal history of Chinese-Americans.

For Chatham Square hours and location, click here.

Chatham Square Library on Google Maps:

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