Generational Recounting

Sitting on the kitchen stool, I watched Saba juggle the hot pitas. He handled the heat with such ease; years of practice. While squeezing lemon into the messy bowl of tahini resting on the old marble counter, Saba declared, “Peace is not a metric of compromise; it is a measurement of risk, courage, and balls. November 4, 1995 had a profound effect on the Israeli psyche. One bullet can miss, kill, and start a revolution. It is hard to tell where we would be today if Rabin was killed. Shachi, empowerment comes in unforeseen ways. It takes a man of integrity to make peace and a man with a tainted silver lining to call for war.”

“Permit me to say that I am deeply moved. I wish to thank each and every one of you, who have come here today to take a stand against violence and for peace. This government, which I am privileged to head, together with my friend Shimon Peres, decided to give peace a chance -- a peace that will solve most of Israel's problems… This rally must send a message to the Israeli people, to the Jewish people around the world, to the many people in the Arab world, and indeed to the entire world, that the Israeli people want peace, support peace. For this, I thank you.” Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin 1995

BREAKING NEWS: Failed Assassination Attempt on Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin Following Peace Rally

Grandfather continued: “Following the peace rally and failed assassination attempt, Israel became closer than ever. Most all of the interpolitical disputes and religious disagreements began to blur. In the wake of such a horrific incident, the nation rallied stronger. Citizens from Tel-Aviv to Akko to Beer Sheva unified.”

Narrator (Grandson): “Saba was the type of person I could sit and listen to for hours. He lived a distinct narrative that is shared by diaspora Jews in differing ways. He emigrated from Iraq, fleeing pogroms and fierce anti-semitism, to only camp for the ensuing years in the newly lamented State of Israel. He went on to serve as a Paratrooper during much of the 60’s including the Six Day War. Following his military service, he relocated to Nahariyya, a Mediterranean town just north of Haifa and just south of the Lebanese border that was tagged as the “resort town for young lovers”. He moved to start a family. The family transpired to become an empire of lawyers and impeccable cooks. During the breakthrough momentum of the Peace Now movement, Saba reentered the realm of public service by orchestrating gatherings.”

He slided the tray of tapas accross the counter towards me; hummus, tahini, sliced pickles, Kibbutz olives, stacks of pita, and of course schug. My arm stretched out reaching to begin my culinary concourse of the homing appetizers I am a kin to. Saba continued,

“The months after the incident were some of the most vulnerable in Israel’s history. The Peace Now movement was stronger than ever. I remember marching along with thousands of other Israelis through the streets of Tel-Aviv. Israeli youths to the elderly participated. To describe the scenes as vibrant and electric would not do the atmosphere justice. It was just short of a revolution, a revolution of peace. Tragically as we know, the corridors to the agreement are still empty, cold, and obsolete. At a rally in Jerusalem-”

Before he could finish, I had to interrupt. I was astonished by the rampant hope that was spurred from the failed assassination. How could such momentum, upheaval, and vast international backing result in nothing, nothing at all? It seemed fallacious. I interjected, “What were the territories like during this time frame?

    Saba adjusted his thought, “Well, thats a slightly different story. I haven’t been to the area for who knows how long, however my Arabic roots enabled me to cultivate relationships with Israeli Arabs. Many of whom during this period, marched alongside Jews in the strides for peace. Within the territories there was a fervor. As some called for peace others continued to call for attacks and destruction. There was a tenuous divide that encapsulated the hurdles of peace. For both of us, Israelis and Palestinians, peace was and is still held hostage by zealots and extremists.” His arm raised as he clenched the clay mug my brother must have made him for a birthday. He sipped the coffee powerfully while carefully plotting his next remarks. “In March of 96’ Rabin made a historic visit to Ramallah. It received much backlash and applause. Regardless of what people thought of the visit, everyone could agree he was fearless, a meshugana.”

BREAKING NEWS: Rabin and Arafat Sign Second Declaration of Principles

    “Let this be the final stretch to peace, civility, and cooperation. The bounds of our signatures shall begin a new era in the Middle East.” Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin 1996    

I strategically prepared my pita sandwich. I painted a smooth layer of hummus on, placed olives, sliced pickles, and small dollops of schug evenly. For the final touch, I drizzled tahini up and down the crater of perfection. I prodded while exercising my restraint to not take my first bite, “Where did it all go wrong? The timeline seemed so promising.” Saba took a bite himself, on his last chews he started, “Both parties were unable to maintain their commitments and duties. In the Summer following the second signing, the Israeli government began pulling settlements one by one. Bus trips to Jerusalem were organized for Palestinians who wished to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque. Slowly it seemed as though the chips were falling into place. There was relative quiet until a wave of sporadic suicide bombings occurred in the greater Tel-Aviv area. Arafat publically denounced the acts in english. In arabic his sentiments were much more alarming. In response, Israel stopped retracting settlers from the West Bank. Many Palestinians saw this as provocation. Uprisings began; stone throwers, molotov cocktails and mass gatherings. More Israeli troops were called upon by some on the left factions of the Palestinian Authority to suppress the riots in hopes of swiftly salvaging the optimism of peace. As part of the second signing, Israeli troops had been gradually decreasing their presence in the area. Shortly after, with no end in sight, the violence and protests began. Arafat declared, “We cannot make peace with a Zionist regime that is unwilling to recognize Palestinians. If my people desire to bring justice we shall do it with all of us.” Just like that, the Second Intifada commenced.

I raised my head in acknowledgement. As my head lowered, my eyes locked on to the sandwich I so patiently caressed. My curiosity suspended as I enjoyed my first bite of the pita that is both shared by Israelis and Palestinians as favorites.

Black April

    Hot metal shards fly over our heads as rockets hit all over Saigon. Young rangers run around covering their heads like they were headless chickens. “Sergeant! Get those idiot back here!” A man with a scruffy beard was yelling from across the airfield.

“Yes lieutenant!” I replied. One of the young rangers was about to run onto the runway. I went on a full sprint toward him. I reached out my hand and called him over. He turned around. I looked directly into his innocent eye before they were engulfed in flames. Screams began to erupted from behind me. I couldn’t turn around. I didn’t want to turn around. The lieutenant brings a jeep toward my left.

“Sergeant!” I just stood their. “Sergeant Ton! Get on the jeep. We’re going back to the base.” Wait. Why are we going back to the base? There is no we could win this war. Whats the point? Maybe I could see my wife again. I walked up to the lieutenant and punched him right in the jaw. I kept on punching him until his body went limp. I took the jeep and heading into Saigon.

The jeeps tires screeched as I bring it around the corner. What was District 7 was now filled with bodies and rubble. The grip on steering wheel starts to feel loose. As I brought the jeep around the last corner, reality hit. There was a pile of concrete where my house was. I jumped out of the still running jeep and went straight for the rubble. “She might be hiding under the concrete,” I thought. As I clear more of the rubble, I found a hand. My heart skipped a beat when I pulled on the hand. It wasn’t attached to a body. The only thing left of my wife was her soft hand. I brought the hand closer to my heart and weep. My screams were so loud that I didn’t notice the NVA soldiers behind me. They smacked their rifles on the back of my head. That was the last time I saw my wife.

My body twitched as a guard kicked my stomach. “Get up you traitor.” He gave me a look as if he was looking at a starving dog. This processes was repeated until every single prisoner was awake. We then lined up outside for our lesson. A chubby man walks towards us with his hands behind his back.

“Your crimes deserve death! This country will never forgive you! Heaven will not acknowledge you. When you die, even Mother Earth will not receive your rotten corpse!” The people behind me started to whisper.

“Isn’t that Ton.” One of the prisoners pointed out. “That dog is still alive?” The fat man continues his lecture.

“But, the Party is different.” He takes a sip of water before continuing. “The time that you spend in re-education will reform you into the kind of person society will deem as upstanding.” Everyone got up and started clapping. The lesson was over. The guards began herding us into the field. They handed us small axes and shoved us toward the jungle. I grabbed the sharpest looking axe and started swinging at a tree.  It wasn’t long before a guard approached me and told me that I had a visitor.

The guards shoved me into a small room. In that room was the second woman I loved most. She started crying as I sat down. “No crying!” A guard yelled from across the room. She held my face and continued to cry.

“My son….. what have they done to you?” Her hand rubbed all over my face. A guard started to pull us apart. “My son!” More guards joined in. “My son! You wife is in America.” One of the guards knocked me out.

My wife, in her white long dress, walks towards me. I didn’t wait for her to arrive. I held her around arms. “Why’d you leave me?” Her soft voice made me forget everything.

“I...I didn’t leave you. I was just-” A loud whistle woke me from that nightmare. A guard grabs my hair and dragged me out.

“Time to work.” The guard pushed my butt with his leg. “Work. Work. Work.” I grabbed an axe and started to swing at the base of a tree. As the tree fell, a ground shock. Screams follow right behind the vibration.

“Mines! There landmines in the land!” One of the prisoners started to sprint into the forest. His one action inspired me to follow. I needed to leave this hell. Whistles and gunshots followed behind me. These Communist were hunting us down like dogs. The trees just stopped as we hit the river. I jump straight into the river. The guards started to shoot us in the river. Dead bodies floated past me. I used one of the bodies to keep my body afloat. I needed to see my wife.

“Good job today Ton!” The old white man gives me a pat in the back.

“Thanks Boss!” I give him a big smile. “I’ll be heading out early today, ok?”

“Yeah its fine.” He started to walk out of my office.”You still trying to find your wife?”

“Of course.” I grabbed my bag and headed out. “I’ll see you on Monday.” I drove to the nearest Vien Dong market. Today I wanted some fish for dinner. As I was walking to the fish aisle, I thought I saw something familiar. I stood still thinking that this was a dream. I called out her name. She turns around and looks at me as if she has seen a ghost. She starts to approach me. She stops when a white man calls out from behind me, “Honey!”. A little boy ran up to her and gives her a big huge, “Mommy!”

The Vietnam War was one of the bloodiest and longest wars that the US government has ever experienced. The signing of the Paris Peace Accord meant the end of the Vietnam War. Although the signing of the Paris Peace Accord meant very little to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, also known as North Vietnam and the Viet Congs. The Peace Accord was only meant for the US government to pull out of Vietnam. That made the Republic of Vietnam, also known as South Vietnam exposed to the DRV and Viet Cong. Over a two year period, the People’s Army of Vietnam marched toward the capital of the South Vietnam, Saigon the  filling the streets with chaos. The fall of Saigon was the end of the Vietnam War and lead to the reunification of Vietnam. With the Reunification of Vietnam, some of the Vietnamese from South Vietnam had to be reeducated. The Vietnamese government established prison camps that were officially known as re-education camps. With the Fall of Saigon, the Southern Vietnamese were told lies about their future from US and amongst the new government.

    The war was coming to an end with the signing of the Paris Peace Accord. This meant that American troops had to leave Vietnam. Many Vietnamese felt that the Americans were abandoning them. This lead to chaos within South Vietnamese government and military. As an Army convoy evacuates the Phu Bon Province, they encountered South Vietnamese soldiers pillaging villages.

… this reporter went to the city to evaluate the situation. I observed members of the ARVN [Army of the Republic of Vietnam] Rangers looting local stores. After looting, they would fire burst of automatic fire with their AR-16 rifles or throw grenades into the store. I also observed Rangers who while looting stores, shoot two children who appeared to be 2 or 3 years old… At no time did any of the civilians abuse me, or did I observe them looting and killing.(Sprague)

Even though the Vietnam war was over for the American, the South Vietnamese had to fight a war with themselves. Many of those from South Vietnam that had military power defected to North Vietnam and used the current state of chaos to gain more wealth. The people of South Vietnam were left alone to face the North Vietnamese and Viet Congs.

The US government promised to support the South Vietnamese government even after leaving Vietnam. This promised was broken. Before the Fall Of Saigon, US government carried out Operation Frequent Wind. Operation Frequent Wind was designed to pull out Americans and “at-risk” Vietnamese. These Vietnamese were ones who had military and/or government positions. During the evacuation, the South Vietnamese government did not allow some Vietnamese to leave the country. “The South Vietnamese government was adamant that no draft-age male leave the country…” (Mondt) The US and South Vietnamese government were using the people of South Vietnam to cover their tracks as they leave the country. That left many South Vietnamese to the North Vietnam’s wrath.

    With the Fall of Saigon, many Vietnamese that supported South Vietnam were left behind. This created a problem for the North Vietnamese government. There were many that didn’t believe in the communist dogma. To solve this issue, the North Vietnamese government created prison camps, officially called re-education camps. The North Vietnamese government created lies to lure the supporters of South Vietnam to go into the camp.

...every South Vietnamese man, from former officers in the armed forces, to religious leaders, to employees of the Americans or the old government, were told to report to a re-education camp to “learn about the ways of the new government.”...others had established lives and loved ones in Vietnam, so they willingly entered these camps in hopes of quickly reconciling with the new government and continuing their lives peacefully. According to my father, the government said re-education would only last for ten days, and at most two weeks. (Truong)

The supporters of South Vietnam never except the camps to lasted longer than two weeks. Since they wanted trust and be a part of the new government. That was not the case. Some prisoners were detained for up to 17 years. They were promised that they would be treated nicely but these camps were built to be more like prisons rather than camps. Prisoners were forced to do hard labor without proper equipment or training. “People who didn't know how to cut bamboos properly died when branches they chopped fell on top of them.”(Truong) The communist government provided very little medical aid. The only medical aid that they received was from fellow prisoners that were doctors or soldiers that received medical training. There were those who did not believe in new Vietnamese government and decided to escape the country.

    During the Fall of Saigon, many that had influence had the opportunity to leave Vietnam with the US government. There were those that didn’t have that same opportunity. “Desperate residents were paying massive sums of money to be smuggled out to sea. Often, they left in the middle of the night without a chance to say goodbye to loved ones who stayed behind.”(Baker) Most of the boat people spent all of their money just to leave their home country. Though the journey wasn’t that easy. Those that were fleeing the country had to hide from the government that were hunting them down. Once they left the country, the struggle didn’t end there. “It was a chronicle of repeated attacks, robbery, torture, rape and murder at the hands of Thai pirates.” (Crossette)  Those who traveled by boat were not only attacked by pirates but also suffered from starvation and dehydration. Most of the supplies that were on prepare were made for a small amount of people. Due to the panic, a vast majority of Vietnamese fled on boats. These boats were usually over packed with people ranging from babies to elders. The lucky ones that survive the journey spread throughout the world for a better life.

    The Vietnam War caused a lot of suffering not only for the US but also for all of the Vietnamese people. The war ended with Vietnamese just killing Vietnamese. Even though the war ended, the suffering didn’t for the South Vietnamese. They faced reeducation camps and pirates in the ocean as they escaping the wrath of the new Vietnamese government. The Southern Vietnamese people went through so much suffering just to find a place where they can be “free”.

Work Cited

Truong, Quyen. "Vietnamese Re-Education Camps: A Brief History."Vietnamese Re-Education Camps: A Brief History. The Choices Program, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.choices.edu/resources/supplemental_vietnam_camps.php>.

Sprague, Edmund W. "Report on Phu Bon Province and Convoy from 15-18 March 1975." Letter to Monerieff J. Spear, Consul General. 24 Mar. 1975. MS. Phu Bon, n.p. Edmund writes about an Army convoy passing through Phu Bon as they retreat to Saigon. As the convoy passes through, civilians hoard the convoy to escape the Communist. ARVN troops and police began to loot and raid. Many South Vietnamese soldiers throw their weapons away and blended in with the civilians as they made their way to Saigon.

Baker, Katie. "Remembering the Fall of Saigon and Vietnam’s Mass ‘Boat People’ Exodus." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 30 Apr. 2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

This article focuses on the escape of Carina Hoang from Vietnam. The Communist regime doesn’t let her family leave Vietnam. Her Father was imprisoned due to his connections with the Southern Vietnamese government. The only way for her to leave to country was to be smuggled out by chinese boat. She was luckily awarded refugee status by the UN.

Crossette, Barbara. "THAI PIRATES CONTINUING BRUTAL ATTACKS ON VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Jan. 1982. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. Tien Hoa Nguyen tells his story about his journey to America in a boat. His boat was attacked multiple times by Thai pirates. The pirates pillaged, raped/kidnapped women and children. Leaving the men, sometimes dead bodies, on the boats. The United Nations put together patrols and refugee camps in Thailand to prevent piracy and also to support the Vietnamese refugees.

Mondt, Amy K. "April 30, 1975: The Fall of Saigon - Evacuation." The Vietnam Center and Archive: Exhibits. Texas Tech University, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/saigon/evacuation.php>.

Marvin Smith III

Period 1,2

Civil Sports Movement

    Many of us know about the Civil Rights Movement and the impact it had on not just African Americans but all minorities. The Civil Rights Movement started in 1954  and ended in 1968. It is one of the most powerful and important movements that has ever taken place in U.S. history because of how it stretched across all platforms of life whether it was entertainment, politics, sports or just everyday life for minorities. Many important rights came out of the civil rights movement for minorities such as the Voting Rights act of 1965 and the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965. However there is one part that is constantly overlooked and that is the impact of sports. In sports everyone has to have the opportunity to play no matter what race, color, or culture they may be. If everyone is not getting the chance to play how can sports grow and change? It can't because new ideas aren't being brought to the table nor is new talent being discovered. This is where a movement happened before the civil rights movement, in the sports world and it continued throughout the Civil Rights movement and well after. Many athletes were breaking color barriers in different sports,showing that not only could they play on the same level as white athletes, but also outperform  white athletes if given the chance. The message of the Civil Rights movement was to protest but do it peacefully and not use violence in any way to try and get your point across.

Athletes such as Jackie Robinson, Althea Gibson, Nat Clifton and  more used this philosophy before the Civil Rights movement took place . As athletes they knew that if they wanted to truly make an impact in any of the sports they played,  they had to change the mindset of people and what they thought of minorities as athletes. The athletes knew that if they used violence as a way to retaliate  the people who mistreated them, nothing would  change. Committing violent acts towards those people would only prove those stereotypes people were saying about them and would enhance hatred towards them. By using nonviolent methods to protest and letting their play do the talking, they were proving the people who hated them wrong.  They were also taking away their reason to hate them and treat them unequal.

Jackie Robinson  was the one who started this movement in the sports world before the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. was once asked to describe Jackie Robinson, he described him as, "a pilgrim that walked in the lonesome byways toward the high road of freedom. He was a sit-inner before sit-in, a freedom rider before freedom rides." Even though Robinson did break the  color barrier in sports, he did more for the game of baseball than by just being a good player. He was racially abused wherever he went and nobody treated him equally. Robinson knew that if he retaliated violently or acted in a similar way towards the who hated him, he wouldn't be able to change  the game for minority athletes, especially African Americans.

The way Robinson responded was by not responding to those people because he would only stoop to their level, he knew to make a difference he would have to be above them and not retaliate. A major part of Jackie Robinson's legacy would have not been possible without Branch Rickey taking a chance on him. Rickey was the manager who signed Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey knew that talent had no color, and that the only way the game would progress and for his team to get better, was if he allowed everyone regardless of race to play baseball. Before Jackie Robinson officially signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers,Rickey wanted to  meet with Robinson because he knew he had a couple of bad run ins with other players in the Negro League. Rickey wanted to sit down with him to  talk and  make sure that wouldn't he do that in the MLB. In that meeting Rickey said "Robinson, I'm looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back." (Robinson,The Ties That Bind Part 1,jackierobinson.hubpages.com) Rickey knew Robinson was a very talented player, but he also knew he would face a lot of adversity but that it would pay off if he didn't retaliate and feed into the hatred.

Those words made Jackie realize that this was bigger than baseball.  By him breaking the color barrier he was gonna start a movement  of change in the sports world. Robinson had a big impact not only in baseball but in the entire sports world. He looked adversity straight in the eyes and took it head on and conquered it.  "Robinson's triumph in the face of bigotry evoked a sense of pride among black people and forced the rest of America to consider anew the doctrine of white supremacy" (Richard Goldstein). That quote shows the true impact Jackie Robinson had in America he sparked change for athletes all over the sports landscapes and inspired them to challenge the beliefs of racism in sports and prove they could play with whites and even better than whites.

Althea Gibson  is widely known as the "Female Jackie Robinson." but unlike Robinson she didn't have it is as easy. Gibson dropped out of high school because she didn't like classes so instead of going to high school she joined this all black tennis community and quickly got recognition from Hubert Eaton and Robert W. Johnson who were two famous black tennis coaches. These two coaches took Althea in and not only made her a great tennis player but they got her on the right track academic wise. She even went back to high school and graduated. Althea was winning every minor tournament she was playing but couldn't go to nationals because of the rules the U.S. tennis Association had in place.  However, a fellow competitor named Alice marble knew the game had to change. She said "If Althea Gibson represents a challenge to the present crop of players, then it's only fair that they meet this challenge on the courts."(Schwartz,Althea Gibson Broke Barriers,espn.com). Alice knew by the U.S. tennis Association not letting Althea play it was hurting the game and tennis didn't truly have the best athlete competing at the highest level in tennis. In 1950 the U.S. tennis association changed its laws and Gibson was allowed entry into 1950's nationals. Even though she was winning tournaments she was still denied by some country clubs and hotels a room to stay in.  When Gibson beat Mortimer in the Wimbledon Final she not only pleased herself but pleased all African Americans. Althea showed that tennis wasn't just a white sport and that there was new and better talent once everyone was allowed to play.

Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest boxers of all time but outside of his boxing he contributed a lot into making sure African Americans had equal rights after the Civil Rights movement by taking a stand against our country. In 1967 Ali was boxing world heavyweight champion and had just came off another title defense when he was drafted to the vietnam war. Muhammad Ali took a stand against the United States by refusing to go to war. Muhammad Ali  said "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong-no Vietcong ever called me nigger." He also said "why fight for a country who doesn't treat me equal" (Muhammad Ali refuses Army Induction,history.com). When he took this stance against our country it showed the world the United States true problems and the world got to see them. Muhammad Ali showed that athletes can make more of an impact that doesn't involve their abilities but involve using their voice to say and show the issues that need to be change.

All of these athletes sparked change that grew past just their years as  professionals. They knew the impact they needed to have in the 20th century in order to change the way minorities were perceived especially african Americans. They didn't use violence as a way to highlight the problems.  They highlighted the problems peacefully by letting their individual talents do the talking or by simpling saying a few words the world needed to hear. Jackie Robinson sparked a movement in the sports world before the Civil Rights movement by simply letting his play do the talking and not retaliating violently. Althea Gibson after numerous times of being denied entry into tennis's biggest events she continued to play tennis and she broke down the color barrier in tennis during the civil rights movement. Muhammad Ali stood up against our country and made the world aware of the United States's problems with racism and made it known that even after the Civil Rights movement change still needed to happen. All these athletes knew that although they were playing their sport they knew the game was bigger than them and they used that platform to start and continue a movement before, after, and during the Civil Rights movement.

Annotated Bibliography-Civil Sports Movement

Goldstein, R. (N.D.) Jackie Robinson.  Retrieved from the New York Times on

    January 28, 2015. Goldstein tells the story of an inspiring figure in the Civil Rights

movement Jackie Robinson the first black man to play major league baseball in

          the20th century.Goldstein writes about Robinson’s home life, and his early     

          college years at Pasadena College and the day he broke the color barrier in      

          major league baseball.

Muhammad Ali Refuses Army Induction. (N.D.).  Retrieved on February, 2015 from

history.com.  This article is about Muhammad Ali refusing to be inducted into the

U.S. Army, the reason for his refusal and the consequences of his refusing to be

inducted into the Army.

Reese, R. (1999).  The Socio-Political Context of the Integration of Sports in America.  

Journal of African American Men (4) 3. This article traces the development of the integrating of sports by looking at the socio    political context in which the development takes place.  The article provides factors that were instrumental in the full segregation of sports in America.

Robinson, J. (2011).  The Ties that Bind:  The Civil Rights movement through baseball           

          part 1.  Sports Recreation (11) 181.  Robinson discusses two events that set  

probably set the motion for the Civil Right Movement The first event was World

War II, black and white American were leaving their families to go fight a war

against Hitler. The second event was the signing of Jackie Robinson to the

Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945.      

Robinson, J. (2011).  The Ties that Bind:  The Civil Rights movement through baseball part 2.  Sports Recreation (11) 181.  Part two of the Ties that Bind part two covers the

emergence of one of the greatest boxers of all times Cassius Clay (Muhammad

Ali).  He experienced racism at a very early age, it wasn’t until he was twelve

years old that his story begins simply because someone had stolen his bike from

the store.  Robinson tells the story of how Cassius Clay/Muhammad was first

introduced  to boxing and how he went on to break color barriers in sports.

Schwartz, L. (N.D.). Althea Gibson Broke Barrier. Retrieved on February, 2015 from ESPN.Com.

Larry Schwartz talks about how although Jackie Robinson played in the major

leagues and broke color barriers, Althea Gibson was working just as hard to

break the color barrier in the lily-white sport of tennis.

Smith, T. (N.D.).  Civil Rights on the Gridiron.  Retrieved from ESPN Stories on January 29, 2015. The article provide information about how black football players were finally

integrated into the football team the Washington Redskins, the only NFL team

without a black player in 1961.  This event took place after the Washington

Redskins owner during that time George Marshall made the statement that ‘he

would start negroes, when the Harlem Globetrotters start signing whites.”

Question: Was there a movement in sports that was happening before the Civil Rights Movement for the benefit of African Americans and minorities?

Claim: Yes there was a movement happening before the Civil Rights Movement that involved many African American Athletes standing against racism by showing that they could play at the same level as white players and play even better than them. Black Athletes also did not use violence they let their play do the talking.

The October Revolution was orchestrated by the Bolshevik’s; a faction of Russians who were part of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Their main goal was to finally claim Russia as their own and implement a new system that stopped the rich from getting richer and the poor from getting poorer. The man who was spearheading the October Revolution was known as Vladimir Ulyanov, better known by his pseudonym: Vladimir Lenin. Lenin was very close to his family and looked up to his brother, Alexander, because he was an excellent student and role model. Alexander Ulyanov was executed for being part of a “terrorist” organization while he was at Saint Petersburg State University that wanted to overthrow the Tsar. Lenin’s efforts were fueled by the death of his older brother as well as the lack of concentrated power under Tsarism.

Vladimir Lenin was influenced tremendously to pursue a revolutionary future after Alexander’s execution in 1887. Lenin looked up to his brother and followed in similar footsteps while at Kazan University by expressing his anti-Tsarism views. This ultimately led to his expulsion from the university, but his brother left his mark on Lenin’s outlook. Historian Philip Pomper wrote about the Ulyanov family and how Lenin started to develop as a revolutionary, “The story of Lenin’s choices and his behavior as a revolutionary and head of government cannot simply be summed up by the word “revenge”, but Alexander’s execution undoubtedly started it all” (Pomper, 7). Lenin was an outstanding student just like his older brother but Alexander’s death was a pivotal point in his life as it was the point at which he decided his future. Lenin was immersed with Marxism and wanted to continue what his brother and many others had started while at Kazan. As his wife Nadya Krupskaya stated in her book:  

At the end of his letter Ilyich (Lenin) indicated what had to be done in order to treat the insurrection in a Marxist way, i.e., as an art. And in order to treat insurrection in a Marxist way, i.e., as an art, we must at the same time, without losing a single moment, organize a headquarter staff of the insurgent detachments, distribute our forces, move the reliable regiments to the most important points, surround the Alexandrinsky Theatre," occupy the Peter and Paul Fortress, arrest the general staff and the government, and move against the cadets and the Savage Division such detachments as will rather die than allow the enemy to approach the centres of the city, we must mobilize the armed workers and call them to fight the last desperate fight, occupy the telegraph and the telephone exchange at once, place our headquarter staff of the insurrection at the central telephone exchange and connect it by telephone with all the factories, all the regiments, all the points of armed fighting, etc (Krupskaya).

Lenin was willing to use brute force to remove the Tsar in power as part of a big scheme just like his brother. He took from his brother’s shortcomings by organizing staff and the lower classes to match the violence he would authorize in the revolution. The main difference with Lenin was that he wanted to calculate and make sure that everyone, including himself, knew why they were there and the message they were spreading by destroying Tsarism. Marxism was near and dear to Lenin due to his constant admiration of the works by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels while he was going around Europe meeting with other Marxists.

Alexander acknowledged the working class as the center of Socialism which was one of his influences in addition to Marxism. When Lenin heard of his death while he was still doing exams to get into the university, he was stricken with grief and a realization that there is a different way to change Russia. Alexander thought that with his student organization he could overthrow the Tsar with one swift act of terrorism in the name of the working class. He was outraged that they lived in a police state that executed any critics to the Russian Throne as Pomper stated.“Thwarted in their effort to honor the memory of Dobrolyubov, Sacha (Alexander) and Anna were forced to stand in a cold, drenching rain with hundreds of other students. The angry students and Sacha’s own surprisingly explosive rage on that day foretold his decision to become a terrorist” (Pomper, 40). This was an example of how much Alexander believed and advocated for Marxism. He attended the funeral of a critic of the Russian Empire with the terrorist organization he was part of, but was denied access by the police. He was furious that police were not allowing them to attend the funeral as it would show the growing number of opposition to the Russian Monarchy. Alexander died for the Marxist movement which rubbed off on Lenin who revised his brother’s original plan to lead a revolution with positive long term effects in Russia. Nadya learned from Lenin about how Russia was brought to its knees under the Monarchy and how it would change after October 1917. She stated in her book:

The essence of socialism in the making is organization, Ilyich often said. It was no accident that the course of events brought to the fore men who were not afraid to shoulder responsibility, men whose abilities had been cramped by the conditions of the old underground; constant arrests and deportations had brought their organizing efforts to naught, while the need for secrecy had kept them in the background (Krupskaya).

The working class would be the ones fighting the most to take Russia as theirs. They felt since they were moving Russia forward, they should have control over it and not the rich and royalty at the very top. Lenin would organize them while keeping his plans in the shadows as the police were quick to get rid of anyone not doing their jobs. He knew the working class would finally get what they truly deserve.

Vladimir Lenin strongly opposed the Russian Monarchy with his belief in Marxism which came  from his brother. During his visits across cities in Europe, Lenin met up with other Marxists, some of which were Russian and in exile due to their beliefs. One of the biggest promulgators of the idea was Karl Kautsky who Lenin met with to discuss the class system and the Bolshevik mission. He knew what mentality the classes needed to have in order to achieve the Russia they wanted:

They are held together by a common fear, the dread that the power just overthrown may again raise its head. It becomes the most important task of the new regime to clean away the refuse that the old has left behind it. Furthermore, the exploiting class hesitates to maintain its own class interests, largely because it fears the strength demonstrated by the laboring masses in the struggle against the rulers whom they have overthrown. They are trembling with fear, and dare not step into the foreground. They still hope to pacify the masses by small concessions and sacrifices (Kautsky).

The lower and middle classes needed to make sure that once the government was brought down, no government as bad would come up in its place. The small, but powerful upper class would be fighting the lower classes while losing control of Russia little by little. Lenin learned from Kautsky that the empire would not hold out forever; after time they would slowly dwindle down leaving them vulnerable to one final blow. Kautsky knew how the revolution would unfold which is what Lenin wanted all along with years of planning and learning from his brother’s mistakes. Kautsky knew that Russia would be in the balance and that the working class wanted Russia more than the other, eventually coming out victorious. “In this period not only the two classes will fight against each other, but tactical differences between the various groups of the same class will appear as well...The class interests are a deciding factor in politics, but not the only factor (Kautsky).” This is what Lenin wanted, not just pure violence and hatred, but recognition as to who is fighting and why they are fighting. His older brother wanted to stop the rich from getting richer. Then as Lenin took over for him, he wanted the working class to show what they want in Russia.

Russia was in the midst of all sorts of change in the early 1900’s which put it under a lot of pressure. While the world was at war, Russia had it’s own problems that needed the entire counties’ attention. The economy was changing, the class system was changing, and their political system was changing due to the might of the Russian people led by Lenin. The October Revolution was successful for the Bolsheviks as they seized control of Russia and set it in motion to a new era. All of this was set in motion by Lenin who got his jump start in politics from the death of his older brother, Alexander.

Annotated Bibliography

Krupskaya, Nadezhda K. "The October Days." Reminiscences of Lenin. Marxist Internet Archive, 1999. Web. 27 Jan. 2015.

Nadezhda Krupskaya, wife of Vladimir Lenin, journals everything about Lenin leading up to the October Revolution and the events that followed. She wrote down everything from military forces in certain cities across Russia and even parts of Finland to meetings Lenin had with advisors and officials. She provided examples of the work that her husband and herself used and lived by from other figures of the Revolution. This is a very dense and detailed document from Krupskaya’s perspective and experiences.

Kautsky, Karl. "The Russian Revolution." The Class Struggle. Marxist Internet Archive, June 2002. Web. 27 Jan. 2015.

Karl Kautsky was a philosopher who was promoting Marxism up until World War I, then went on to go to have talks with Lenin about the future of the Soviet state. He goes on about his account of the Revolution, but he puts an emphasis on Marxism and the class system. Kautsky speaks of why the working class is important to the country and why they need to be the “leaders” of Russia in order for it to become a global power.

Extremists Rise To Power In Russia . New York City: The New York Times, 1917. Web.

New York Times writes about the October Revolution from when it was first planned to when it happened. They write about the key characters in this event and their contribution, ideologies, and relation to the movement such as Vladimir Lenin who was referred to as “Nikolai Lenine”. The article seems to be a little opinionated in that it mentions and hints that the people were forced to fight while sources from Russia said that they volunteered. They go into detail on the new leaders in the parliament and briefly into their next operations.

Figes, Orlando. A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution, 1891-1924. London: Jonathan Cape, 1996. Print.

Historian Orlando Figes goes over the history of Russia from the downfall of the Empire to Lenin’s death. He goes into depth with the problems of a one party system that was implemented after the Bolshevik’s took hold of the country. Figes takes first hand accounts of soldiers and politicians in Russian and in the Western World and dissects their experiences to compare and contrast them. Figes also argues that the revolution ended in October and not after the Civil War that ensued afterward as some historians claim.  

Pomper, Phillip. Lenin’s Brother: The Origins of the October Revolution. W. W. Norton & Company. 1986. Print.

Historian Phillip Pomper takes a different approach when talking about the October Revolution is his book. He goes in depth about Lenin’s older brother, Alexander, who was executed after a failed attempt to assassinate Russia’s Tsar. Not many people know about Alexander and he is often left out of the history books, yet it led to the October Revolution which was spearheaded by his younger brother. The book shows the dynamics of Vladimir and Alexander’s relationship and an insight on their family early in their lives. It goes into how Alexander transformed from a quiet student to part of a terrorist group as they were labeled.