Day Tripping: February 18

Recurring themes resurface as the river flows

Welcome to my daily feature where each day on the calendar marks a part of our shared history.

The More Some Things Change…

During a peaceful demonstration for voting rights in Alabama, Jimmie Lee Jackson, an unarmed Baptist Church deacon is beaten and then shot by state troopers. As the throng of protesters approached Marion city post office that night, street lights suddenly went out and the waiting police and troopers set in to disperse the ‘mob’ with full force.

Jackson, his sister and mother were chased into a cafe where they were clubbed and thrown about by state troopers. Jimmie was shot while trying to protect his mother. He died eight days later and was a spark for the famous march on Selma in 1965.

Forty years later, the policeman who shot Jackson twice, admitted to his role that night claiming self-defence. He was sentenced to six months in jail for the charge of manslaughter.

The More We’re Reminded…

The members of the Chicago Seven were acquitted of all conspiracy charges in 1970 after a politically charged trial following the Democratic National Convention demonstrations. The group, including their lawyers, were still convicted for 170 charges of Contempt during the proceedings.

Bobby Seale, the only black man on trial and originally a member of the Chicago Eight, was separately tried, and bound and gagged in his chair for most of the trial.

What We Should Have Learned

Mark Twain’s most celebrated work, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published in the United States. His story of a young boy and an escaped slave was a much-read commentary on pre-Civil War America and has stood the test of time as a sharp critique of institutionalized racism. Interestingly, the book was published first in the UK the previous year.

Musical Milestones

2006 — the Rolling Stones put on a free concert at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for 1.5 million fans.

Narratives

Police in Moscow storm a printing house and seize all copies of Leo Tolstoy's novel, What I Believe In, in which the author professes his newfound belief in Christianity.

Nude Descending a Staircase, a painting by Frenchman Marcel Duchamp, is exhibited to scandalous reviews in New York in 1913. Now considered by art historians to be a masterpiece, the work was originally panned as meaningless smut.

Remembrance

A master sculptor and artist Michelangelo died in 1564 at the then very advanced age of eighty-eight.

Canadian inventor of the Snowmobile and aviation entrepreneur, Joseph-Armand Bombardier died in 1964. Along with the Zamboni, the gas-powered snow sled invention is a very big deal up here.

Notable Births

1898 — If you saw a drawing of a prancing horse with the word Enzo beside it, you would know instantly it refers to the great racer and entrepreneur, Enzo Ferrari.

1933 — Often blamed as the woman that broke up the Beatles, Yoko Ono, a Japanese-American multimedia artist and peace activist was born.

1954 — Star of Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Pulp Fiction, John Travolta was born in New Jersey.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article dedicated to the days of our history. I hope to see you tomorrow for another instalment.

K. Barrett Katie Wallace Maria Rattray Joseph M. Learned Maryam Merchant Dr Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, PhD. Terry Trueman Dr Preeti Singh