Tag: u.s. history

Fourth of July – Independence Day

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The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day or July 4th—has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues. The Fourth of July 2021 is on Sunday, July 4, 2021; the federal holiday will be observed on Monday, July 5, 2021.

from history.com

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Happy Juneteenth!

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Juneteenth is this Saturday, June 19! To learn more about this holiday, view the video above. And as of the writing of this post Congress is on it’s way to making it an official federal holiday. Read more below…

From CNN.com

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a US holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.The legislation has gained momentum since the massive Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd last year and the Democrats’ takeover of the White House and Congress.

The measure needs to pass the House and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer tweeted that the chamber would vote Wednesday.

To read more, click here!

Click here to read about Juneteenth in Chinese (中文).

Click here to read about Juneteenth in Spanish (español).

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Stop the Hate Multilingual Resources

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Here are a few resources in a variety of languages concerning anti-Asian crime and discrimination. Click on the images below to check them out!:

The above is also available in Thai, Japanese, Hmong,
Tagalog, Chinese,Vietnamese, and Cambodian at @asianformentalhealth (Instagram log in required).

Haga clic aquí o en la imagen de abajo para leer un artículo en español de la BBC sobre la historia de la discriminación anti-asiática en los EE. UU .:

And here is a short history of xenophobia in the U.S. for intermediate to advanced English learners:

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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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The Inauguration of Joe Biden

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The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States of America and Kamala Harris as Vice President was held at the United States Capitol yesterday, January 20th, 2021. Let’s listen to Joe Biden’s inaugural address and learn English.

My fellow Americans, we have to be different than this. America has to be better than this, and I believe America is so much better than this. Just look around here. We stand in the shadow of the Capitol dome as was mentioned earlier completed amid the Civil War when the Union itself was literally hanging in the balance.

Yet we endured, we prevailed. Here we stand, looking out on the great mall where Dr. King spoke of his dream. Here we stand where, 108 years ago, at another inaugural, thousands of protesters tried to block brave women marching for the right to vote, and today we mark the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national office, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Don’t tell me things can’t change. Here we stand across the Potomac from Arlington Cemetery where heroes who gave the last full measure of devotion rest in eternal peace, and here we stand just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of our democracy, to drive us from this sacred ground. It did not happen; it will never happen, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Not ever.

To all of those who supported our campaign, I am humbled by the faith you have placed in us. To all of those who did not support us, let me say this: Hear me out as we move forward, take a measure of me and my heart. If you still disagree, so be it. That’s democracy, that’s America. The right to dissent peaceably within the guardrails of our republic is perhaps this nation’s greatest strength. Yet hear me clearly: Disagreement must not lead to disunion, and I pledge this to you: I will be a president for all Americans, all Americans.

And I promise you I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.

Click here to read the full inauguration speech transcript!

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Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day!

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We would like to share a nice song about Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Although the video title says the song is for kids, it is actually good for everybody because it teaches history with many new or old names and vocabulary through its lyrics. Enjoy the video!

Do you want to know why we celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day?

“There was nothing to discover,” said Heather Bruegl, cultural affairs director for the Stockbridge-Munsee Community of Mohican Indians, a nation with Hudson Valley roots that was pushed into Wisconsin.

“It’s not like they were lost,” she said. “There were people already here. In our community, we like to joke and say that we discovered Henry Hudson off our shores.”

Columbus landed in the Caribbean and never made it to what is now the United States, but that didn’t necessarily matter for his significance to this country, Feinman said. 

“He was always recognized as being the one who opened the Western hemisphere to all the people who came afterward,” he said. “That was a historically significant act.”

But it wasn’t an act that people with indigenous heritage typically celebrate, Bruegl said. Treating it as one, especially in schools, can have a detrimental effect on students who aren’t of European descent.

“Settler colonialism definitely plagues our history that is taught in schools, unfortunately,” she said. “It’s a Eurocentric history that we’re taught, so if you’re an indigenous student, if you are a student of color, you don’t see yourself in that history. I think it hinders the learning process.”

from Columbus Day still rules across New York, where Indigenous Peoples Day has been slow to catch on

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