Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen were Black pilots, crew, and personnel associated with the Army flight training school in Tuskegee, Alabama, during World War II. The best known of these units were the 99th Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, and 477th Bombardment (Composite) Group. Background Prior to the Tuskegee Airmen, no Black men had been allowed …Read More

Double V Campaign

The Double V Campaign was an Black American initiative, led by the Pittsburgh Courier newspaper, that aimed to achieve a double victory (“Double V”) during World War II. The two objectives were victory in the war abroad and victory against discrimination on the home front. How did it start? The inspiration for the campaign came …Read More

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was a civil rights activist best known for her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama, Rosa Parks grew up living with her mother and grandparents in Pine Level, Alabama. She was forced to quit school at age 16 to …Read More

Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony (February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was a social activist and reformer; she particularly fought for women’s suffrage but was also involved in other causes, such as temperance, abolition, and labor rights. Early Life Anthony was born in Adams, Massachusetts, as the second of seven children of Daniel and Lucy Anthony. …Read More

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (March 8) is an annual day that advocates for women’s rights and celebrates the achievements of women. Origins International Women’s Day (IWD) grew out of the labor movement of the early 20th century in the United States and Europe. The first recognized National Women’s Day was held in the United States on …Read More

S2 Ep7: Bradford Highwaymen Turned Convicts and a Robbery by a One-Armed Woman

There’s a little Antipodean flavour to some of this week’s stories – Michala takes us from a highway robbery in Bradford, England (reported in the Leeds Mercury, 30th December 1843) across the seas to Australia, tracing the fate of two men called Abraham. Not to be outdone, Brad takes the robbery theme and runs with …Read More

Leap Year

A Leap Year is a year that includes an additional span of time to synchronize the calendar year with the solar or seasonal year. Lunisolar calendars add a leap month (also called an intercalary or embolismic month) every 2-3 years, while every 4 years the modern Gregorian calendar adds a single day at the end …Read More

S2 Ep6: A Bit of a Stinker, Deadly Beer and A Big Appetite

Sensitive ears (and noses!) beware – Brad’s opening story in this episode is a bit of a stinker, involving a dispute over pig manure in Ireland (reported in the Nationalist and Leinster Times, 2nd January, 1886). Thankfully Michala is on hand to cleanse your auditory palettes with a tale about beer in Manchester…but before you …Read More

S2 Ep5: A (Peaky?) Blinder of Gangster story and a Fertile Centenarian

Michala transports us back to the world of 1920s Birmingham gangland this week, and if you’re a Peaky Blinders fan, some of the names in her newspaper article (from The Times, 28 April 1921) may be familiar…Then, not to be outdone, Brad unpicks the eye-opening headline ‘Man Aged 130 has son 4 And a Wife …Read More