100 Years: The Riots of 1968 (MLK Riots Baltimore)

The first plate-glass window was smashed around 5:30 p.m. at the Fashion Hat Shop in the 400 block of N. Gay Street. Half an hour later, roving bands of black teens, itching for more action, looted their first business, Sun Cleaners, at Gay and Monument streets, spiriting away clothes wrapped in plastic bags.

At 6:15 p.m., they set their first fire, torching the Ideal Furniture Company in the 700 block of Gay Street. Alerted to the growing unrest, city cops, on- and off-duty, surged into Baltimore’s modest East Side shopping district, setting up headquarters at the nearby Belair Market.

While one plainclothes officer characterized the scene as “pretty festive” at 7 p.m., the situation quickly turned malicious, as store after store in the vicinity—groceries, appliance shops, furniture outlets, dry cleaners, five-and-dimes, tailors, taverns, liquor stores, pawn brokers—was broken into and ransacked.

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Source: baltimoremagazine.net

On 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King assassination, new videos of James Earl Ray released

James Earl Ray sits slumped in a plane seat, jet engines purring in the background.

As the grainy, black-and-white video unwinds, Shelby County, Tenn., Sheriff Bill Morris hovers over the pale figure who led the FBI on a worldwide manhunt following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Nabbed in London and flown overnight back to Memphis, Ray hangs his head as Morris reads him his rights.

“Mr. Ray, I’d like to read this statement,” a young Morris announces before rattling off Ray’s many aliases: Eric Starvo Galt. John Willard. Harvey Lowmeyer.

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theweekmagazine: On this day in 1969: As the Vietnam War raged, President Richard Nixon ordered the bombing of neighboring Cambodia for the first time. Nixon believed Cambodia was being used as a staging area for attacks on American forces; the bombings were kept secret for two months and continued through April 1970. A total of 3,630 sorties dropped 110,000 tons of ordnance. Here’s what else happened on this day in history
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theweekmagazine:

On this day in 1969: As the Vietnam War raged, President Richard Nixon ordered the bombing of neighboring Cambodia for the first time. Nixon believed Cambodia was being used as a staging area for attacks on American forces; the bombings were kept secret for two months and continued through April 1970. A total of 3,630 sorties dropped 110,000 tons of ordnance.

Here’s what else happened on this day in history

AP PHOTOS: Anniversary of Selma, Ala. rights march Vice President Joe Biden and other lawmakers leads a group across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., Sunday, March 3, 2013. They were commemorating the 48th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when police officers beat marchers when they crossed the bridge on a march from Selma to Montgomery. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) (Associated Press)
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AP PHOTOS: Anniversary of Selma, Ala. rights march

Vice President Joe Biden and other lawmakers leads a group across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., Sunday, March 3, 2013. They were commemorating the 48th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when police officers beat marchers when they crossed the bridge on a march from Selma to Montgomery. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) (Associated Press)

emmjaebee: On October 1, 1962 James Meredith became the first African-American student at the University of Mississippi, commonly referred to a Ole Miss. It took 3 applications to Ole Miss, 30,000 US troops, federal Marshals and National Guardsmen, a Supreme Court ruling, the US Attorney General, and the US President to get Meredith through those doors 50 years ago. James Meredith knew what his goals were, and knew the challenges that lay ahead. I can only hope to have 1% of this man’s strength, conviction, and courage. P.S. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum has a great digital timeline with government documents about this.
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emmjaebee:

On October 1, 1962 James Meredith became the first African-American student at the University of Mississippi, commonly referred to a Ole Miss. It took 3 applications to Ole Miss, 30,000 US troops, federal Marshals and National Guardsmen, a Supreme Court ruling, the US Attorney General, and the US President to get Meredith through those doors 50 years ago.

James Meredith knew what his goals were, and knew the challenges that lay ahead. I can only hope to have 1% of this man’s strength, conviction, and courage.

P.S. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum has a great digital timeline with government documents about this.

(via makisxm)

pbsthisdayinhistory: September 20, 1962 James Meredith Barred from Entering the University of Mississippi On this day in 1962, African American James Meredith was blocked by state officials and violent mobs when he attempted to register for classes at the University of Mississippi, which was all-white until that time. Meredith had previously obtained a federal court order to allow him to register; however, he was only able to enroll after the Kennedy administration sent in federal troops. For more information about James Meredith, explore his American Experience profile. Image: James Meredith’s Letter to the Registrar, University of Mississippi (Library of Congress)
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pbsthisdayinhistory:

September 20, 1962

James Meredith Barred from Entering the University of Mississippi

On this day in 1962, African American James Meredith was blocked by state officials and violent mobs when he attempted to register for classes at the University of Mississippi, which was all-white until that time.

Meredith had previously obtained a federal court order to allow him to register; however, he was only able to enroll after the Kennedy administration sent in federal troops.

For more information about James Meredith, explore his American Experience profile.

Image: James Meredith’s Letter to the Registrar, University of Mississippi (Library of Congress)

(via theatlantic)

Source: to.pbs.org