Tag Archives: History

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Today in History (August 26)

Today is Women’s Equality Day!

 

At the behest of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971 the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.”

The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world’s first women’s rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York.

The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. Workplaces, libraries, organizations, and public facilities now participate with Women’s Equality Day programs, displays, video showings, or other activities.

 

Source:

http://nwhp.org/resourcecenter/equalityday.php

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Speaker Event: Ablie Sachs on Sept. 20, 2011

 

You are invited to attend A Patriot’s Life: Albie Sachs at the Ohio Judicial Center on September 20, 2011, 5:30 Registration, 6:00 Program and 7:00 Reception.  Mr. Sachs will tell his story from the life as an outlaw under South African apartheid to becoming an honored justice on the Constitutional Court of South Africa.  See attached Flyer for more information : FlyerFINAL (6)

 

Please RSVP to events@sc.ohio.gov or 614-387-9402 by September 16.

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Today in History (August 24)

 

On August 24, 1946, U.S. Supreme Court Justice James Clark McReynolds died.  As a Justice, McReynolds wrote the decision in Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390.  In Meyer, a state law prohibited the teaching of foreign languages in the public school system.  McReynolds wrote that the liberty guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment included the right to teach foreign languages in public schools.

 

Some interesting quotes from the opinion include the following:

“…education of the young is only possible in schools conducted by especially qualified persons who devote themselves thereto. The calling always has been regarded as useful and honorable, essential, indeed, to the public welfare. Mere knowledge of the German language cannot reasonably be regarded as harmful. Heretofore it has been commonly looked upon as helpful and desirable. Plaintiff in error taught this language in school as part of his occupation. His right thus to teach and the right of parents to engage him so to instruct their children, we think, are within the liberty of the amendment.”

“The protection of the Constitution extends to all, to those who speak other languages as well as to those born with English on the tongue. Perhaps it would be highly advantageous if all had ready understanding of our ordinary speech, but this cannot be coerced by methods which conflict with the Constitution–a desirable end cannot be promoted by prohibited means.”

 

 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyer_v._Nebraska

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Clark_McReynolds#Important_opinions

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Today In History (August 19)

On August 19, 1958, Clara Luper and a group of NAACP Youth Council members entered a segregated drugstore in downtown Oklahoma City.  They took seats and asked to be served.  On August 21, 1958, the drugstore’s corporate management desegregated its lunch counters in three states.

Sources:

http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/august_19.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Luper