Tag Page OnThisDay

When Malcolm X Spoke On Kennedy’s Death

On December 1, 1963, Malcolm X was asked for his reaction to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He was one of the most closely watched public figures in the country at the time, and reporters pressed him for a comment. Malcolm X responded with the words that would echo for decades. He said it was a case of chickens coming home to roost. He framed the event as part of a larger pattern of violence in the United States during that era. He argued that a nation shaped by political bloodshed could not avoid that same violence returning to its doorstep. The remark caused an immediate national uproar. It was interpreted as insensitive and divisive, and it clashed with the public grief that followed the assassination. The Nation of Islam suspended him from speaking publicly after the comments. His relationship with the organization would continue to strain in the months that followed. This moment is often oversimplified, but it marked a turning point. It pushed Malcolm X to reconsider his alliances, rethink his voice, and eventually pursue a broader message about global human rights. What happened on December 1 became one of the first steps toward the transformation that shaped the final years of his life. #MalcolmX #OnThisDay #AmericanHistory #PoliticalHistory #NewsBreakCommunity #HistoricVoices #HistoricMoments #AmericanLegacy

Benjamin O. Davis Sr. Dies in 1970

Benjamin O. Davis Sr. passed away on November 26, 1970. His death marked the end of a life that reshaped the presence and possibilities of Black leadership within the United States military. He was the first Black general in the history of the U.S. Army, a milestone he reached in 1940 after decades of service marked by discipline, resilience, and unshakable commitment. Davis entered the military at a time when segregation defined every level of service. Advancement for Black soldiers was blocked by unwritten rules and deeply rooted resistance. He moved through those barriers with a steady hand and a quiet, firm determination that reflected both the discipline of a career officer and the weight of representing an entire generation of soldiers who were denied equal opportunities. His leadership reached across World War I, World War II, and the era of military reform. Davis played a critical role in shaping programs for Black troops, improving conditions within segregated units, and advocating for equal treatment. His work helped lay the groundwork for the eventual desegregation of the armed forces in 1948. He is also remembered as the father of Benjamin O. Davis Jr., commander of the Tuskegee Airmen. The legacy of this family represents a rare and powerful throughline in American military history. Their combined contributions influenced policy, elevated expectations, and expanded the nation’s understanding of Black excellence in service. Benjamin O. Davis Sr.’s passing in 1970 closed a chapter, but his impact continues to shape the military today. His life stands as a historical benchmark, showing how one person’s resolve can open institutional doors that were once locked on purpose. #HistoryToday #OnThisDay #AmericanHistory #MilitaryHistory #USArmy #BlackMilitaryLeaders #BenjaminODavisSr #LataraSpeaksTruth

Richard Wright. A Voice America Tried Not To Hear

On November 28, 1960, writer Richard Wright passed away in Paris at the age of fifty two. The world lost a man who refused to soften the truth to make anyone comfortable. Wright’s novels Native Son and Black Boy pulled back the curtain on racism in America at a time when the country wanted to pretend it was evolving. His stories were sharp. Unfiltered. They exposed the violence and fear woven into everyday life for Black people in the early twentieth century. His work was uncomfortable on purpose. He wrote so no one could look away. By the time he died, Wright had become one of the most influential Black writers of his era. His words shaped generations of storytellers and helped redefine how Black life was represented in literature. He spent his final years in France seeking the freedom to write without scrutiny. Even overseas, he kept challenging the world with every page. Richard Wright left behind a legacy that still hits like truth spoken out loud at the wrong dinner table. Honest. Brave. Necessary. His voice did not fade. It simply became required reading for anyone trying to understand the American story. #LataraSpeaksTruth #RichardWright #HistoryMatters #AmericanHistory #BlackAuthors #NativeSon #BlackBoy #OnThisDay

Twista Celebrates Another Year… Born November 27, 1973

Today we celebrate the birthday of Twista, the Chicago mastermind whose skill wasn’t just fast… it was controlled, intentional, and built from real breath and discipline. Nobody was bending syllables, flipping pockets, and slicing through beats the way he did. He made precision an entire personality. Adrenaline Rush wasn’t just an album… it was a Chicago time capsule. Dark, raw, street-heavy, and ahead of its era. The title track alone had a whole generation rewinding verses just to keep up. And Kamikaze? That album slammed the door open all over again. “Slow Jamz” and “Overnight Celebrity” took him from hometown legend to worldwide force… but the core Twista was still right there, sharp as ever. His flow shaped the Midwest. His influence still sits heavy in hip-hop classrooms, studio sessions, and any conversation about technique. Rappers study him. Fans respect him. And Chicago will always claim him proudly. Here’s to another year of a man who didn’t just rap fast… he rapped with mastery. Happy Birthday to Twista. #OnThisDay #HipHopWasHere #MusicHistory #LataraSpeaksTruth

Honoring Sojourner Truth Today

Sojourner Truth passed away on November 26, 1883, but her voice never stopped traveling. Her courage. Her honesty. Her presence. It all still reaches us today. She stood for freedom. She stood for women. She stood for truth in a world that fought her at every turn. And she never let her voice be taken. History gets erased so quickly. But as long as we speak her name, she continues to live in the spaces where truth matters. Today I honor her life. Her words. Her impact. And the echo she left behind that still rings loud enough to guide us. #SojournerTruth #OnThisDay #HistoryMatters #LataraSpeaksTruth #Legacy

Tina Turner: Born November 26, 1939

Tina Turner was born in Nutbush, Tennessee, in 1939. She grew up in a rural community and stepped into music at a young age, eventually becoming one of the most influential performers of her era. Her early years in the industry placed her in the center of a sound that blended rock, soul, and rhythm, and her presence quickly became known for intensity and precision. Her later solo career reshaped her trajectory. In the 1980s she released songs that reached global audiences and helped establish her as a major figure in popular music. Her concerts, visuals, and voice became central to her image and contributed to her recognition across generations. Her life story is often associated with resilience, personal change, and reinvention. Tina Turner remains a significant figure whose influence can still be traced in music, performance style, and cultural memory. #TinaTurner #BornOnThisDay #MusicHistory #RockAndSoul #AmericanIcons #OnThisDay #LegendaryVoices #CulturalHistory #LataraSpeaksTruth

1919: Equal Rights League Challenges Federal Inaction

In November 1919, the country was still shaken from the violence known as the Red Summer. Cities across the nation had experienced unrest, and Black communities were left with little protection as organized mobs carried out attacks. On November 25, the National Equal Rights League sent a direct message to the White House that called attention to this crisis. They addressed President Woodrow Wilson in a formal letter and asked why the federal government had not acted to protect Black citizens from lynching and mob violence. The League stated that the government had the responsibility to step in when people were being harmed in their homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods. They noted that the violence was not limited to one region. It was happening across the country and required leadership from the highest levels of government. Their message also pointed out that a nation calling itself modern could not ignore such conditions. They urged President Wilson to support stronger legal protections and to enforce the laws that already existed but were not being applied evenly. The letter was part of a larger movement of Black advocacy groups pushing for national attention years before the major civil rights campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s. Their challenge to federal inaction showed a growing demand for fairness, safety, and accountability. While no significant changes were made by the administration at the time, the League’s action remains an important example of early national pressure for civil rights. It highlighted the determination of Black leaders who refused to remain silent and who called on the country to live up to its stated values. #OnThisDay #AmericanHistory #EqualRightsLeague #BlackHistoryFacts #LataraSpeaksTruth

The Return of the Amistad Survivors

1841 marked a turning point that rarely gets the attention it deserves. After a long legal fight in the United States, 35 surviving Africans from the Amistad case finally prepared to leave American shores. Their story began two years earlier, when they were captured in West Africa, forced onto a Spanish ship, and pulled into the transatlantic trafficking system. But they refused to accept that fate, rising up, taking control of the vessel, and eventually ending up in the U.S., where their case climbed all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled in their favor, declaring that they had been illegally taken and had the right to fight for their freedom. After months of delays and uncertainty, the survivors boarded a ship called the Gentleman in New York and set sail for West Africa. When they arrived in Sierra Leone, they stepped into a home that wasn’t the same as the one they were taken from. The people, the land, and the world around them had shifted. But returning still meant everything. It meant reclaiming their names, their futures, and a life stolen from them. It meant going home on their own terms. This moment remains one of the clearest examples of resistance meeting justice at a time when both were nearly impossible to find. #Amistad #BlackHistory #OnThisDay #LataraSpeaksTruth #LearnThePast

Evacuation Day 1783, Black Loyalists

On November 25, 1783, the British marched out of New York, closing the curtain on the American Revolution. For nearly three thousand Black Loyalists, this day was not an ending. It was a leap into a new beginning. They boarded ships with their names written in the Book of Negroes, often the first time they were recorded as free people. They sailed toward Nova Scotia, the Caribbean, and other British territories, carrying hope like a small flame against a cold wind. Some would later journey to Sierra Leone, still chasing the freedom they had been promised. The good was the chance to claim that freedom. The British had offered it to enslaved people who joined their forces. The bad was the fight over their status. American leaders demanded they be returned as “property.” The British refused, but the argument showed how fragile freedom could be in the new nation. The ugly arrived in Nova Scotia. The winters were brutal, the wages were low, the land grants were broken, and discrimination followed them across the sea. Many families spent years struggling for even a piece of what they had been told they would receive. Yet their departure mattered. Evacuation Day became one of the first large-scale movements of Black Americans choosing their future for themselves. Their courage was recorded. Their journey reshaped the Black diaspora. #BlackHistory #AmericanHistory #OnThisDay #LataraSpeaksTruth #CommunityFeed

On December 11, 1917, before sunrise, the U.S. Army carried out one of the harshest mass executions in its history. Thirteen Black soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment were hanged at Fort Sam Houston after the first court martial linked to the Houston Riot of August 1917. The men had been stationed at Camp Logan in segregated Houston, where Black soldiers faced constant harassment from police and white residents. Tension boiled over after a Black soldier was assaulted and arrested, and confusion inside the camp led many to believe that an armed white mob was on the way. Fear clashed with hostility, violence broke out, and several people were killed. When the trials began, more than one hundred Black soldiers faced charges in what became the largest court martial in U.S. Army history. Legal counsel was limited, testimony often conflicted, and the system allowed almost no room for appeal. Before dawn on December 11, thirteen men were executed in secret. Their families were not notified, and they had no chance to seek clemency. Their names were James Wheatley, Charles Baltimore, William Brackenridge, Thomas C. Hawkins, Carlos J. Rivers, Jesse Moore, Albert D. Wright, Nels P. Christensen, William C. Nesbit, James Divine, Clyde Sneed, Frank Johnson, and Pat MacWhorter. Two more court martials followed, bringing the total number of executed soldiers to nineteen. For decades the full story was reduced or distorted, but historians and communities kept pressing for truth. In 2023, the Army finally vacated all the convictions and acknowledged that the trials had been unjust and shaped by racial discrimination. Remembering this date means facing the reality of what happened and honoring the men whose service was met with unequal justice at home. #BlackHistory #OnThisDay #HoustonRiot #24thInfantry #MilitaryHistory #AmericanHistory #NewsBreakCommunity