''GREAT DAMAGE TO BRITISH INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS"

A BLOODY SUNDAY IN DUBLIN

Dublin, Ireland (JFK+50) On November 21, 1920, more than thirty people died here in Dublin as a result of violence associated with the Irish War for Independence. 

In the morning hours, the Irish Republican Army* was responsible for the killing of British operatives living and working in the city.  Later in the afternoon, British forces killed civilians attending a Gaelic football match at Croke Park.

In the evening, two IRA members and one civilian was killed by their British captors at Dublin Castle**.

The date would be known in Irish history as 'Bloody Sunday,' and the IRA operation resulted in great damage to British intelligence operations in Ireland. 

*Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican parliamentary organization seeking to end British rule of Northern Ireland, re-unification of Ireland & formation of an independent Republic of Ireland.

**Dublin Castle is locate off Dame Street & was the seat of the British government's administration in Ireland until 1922. 

 

 

Bermingham Tower

Dublin Castle

Photo by Dicklyon (2017)

 www.wikimedia.org/

 

 

A BLOODY SUNDAY IN SELMA

CIVIL RIGHTS MARCHERS ATTACKED WITH CLUBS & TEAR GAS

Selma, Alabama (JFK+50) On March 7, 1965, 600 marchers demonstrating for voting rights were brutally attacked with clubs and tear gas by state and local police here in Selma.

After crossing Edmund Pettus Bridge, the group, led by John Lewis* of SNCC (Southern Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) and Rev. Hosea Williams** of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, were confronted by authorities.

17 marchers were injured and  hospitalized. Leaders of the march said that despite the attacks, more marches would follow.  Of the 15,000 blacks in Dallas County in 1961 only 130 were registered to vote. 

"Bloody Sunday" was one of the key events leading to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

*John Lewis was born to a family of sharecroppers in Troy, Alabama in 1940.  He graduated from Alabama Baptist Theological Seminary and Fisk University.  JL was chairman of SNCC during the civil rights era and one of the original 13 Freedom Riders.  

**Hosea Lorenzo Williams (1926-2000) was born in Attapulgus, Georgia & survived a German attack as a US Army soldier in WWII.   HLW received the Purple Heart.  HLW became a businessman, ordained minister & leader in the civil rights movement.

SOURCE

"5 things to know about Bloody Sunday this weekend," by the editors of USA Today, March 7, 2015,  www.usatoday.com/

Bloody Sunday
Selma, Alabama (1965)

By Kevin Saff
at en.wikipedia

MAHALIA JACKSON AND AMELIA BOYNTON ROBINSON

"MARTIN, TELL THEM ABOUT THE DREAM!"

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty-two years ago today, August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked the Queen of Gospel Music to sing "I've Been Buked and I've Been Scorned" before he spoke at the March on Washington, but before she sang, Mahalia Jackson said to Dr. King...

 "Martin, tell them about the dream".

Dr. King had included the "I have a dream" theme in previous speeches and sermons but it was not included in the text of his March on Washington address. He followed Mahalia's advice and added "I have a dream"  to his closing his remarks.

Mahalia Jackson

Queen of Gospel Music

Photo by Carl Van Vechten (1962)

AMELIA BOYNTON ROBINSON DIES AT 104

Montgomery, Alabama (JFK+50) The New York Times reports that last Wednesday, August 26, 2015, "a pivotal figure at the Selma march," Amelia Boynton Robinson* passed away here in Montgomery at age 104.

Ms. Robinson became known as "the matriarch of the voting rights movement." On March 7, 1965, she was "beaten, gassed and left for dead" in the Selma, Alabama march for voting rights.  She had been one of the organizers of the march which was to go from Selma to Montgomery in demand for "the right to register to vote."

Responding to the news of her death, President Barack Obama said...

"She was as strong, as hopeful and as indomitable of spirit--as quintessentially American--as I'm sure she was that day 50 years ago.  To honor the legacy of an American hero like Amelia....requires only that we follow her example--that all of us fight to protect everyone's right to vote."

The Times quotes Ms. Robinson's reflection on her role in Bloody Sunday...

"I wasn't looking for notoriety, but if that's what it took I didn't care how many licks I got.  It just made me even more determined to fight for our cause."

*Amelia Boynton Robinson (1911-2015) was born in Savannah, Georgia, one of 10 children of George and Anna Platts.  ABR earned a degree in Home Economics at Tuskegee Institute and worked with the Department of Agriculture in Selma.  ABR worked in voter registration, and retired in 2009.

SOURCE

"Amelia Boynton Robinson, 104, Dies; A Pivotal Figure at the Selma March," by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, Obituaries, August 27, 2015.

Selma to Montgomery Marches' Road Sign

Photo by Markuskun (2008)

                       

50TH ANNIVERSARY IN SELMA

A BLOODY SUNDAY IN SELMA 50 YEARS AGO  

Selma, Alabama (JFK+50) Fifty years ago today, March 7, 1965, 600 marchers demonstrating for voting rights were brutally attacked with clubs and tear gas by state and local police here in Selma.

After crossing Edmund Pettus Bridge, the group, led by John Lewis of SNCC (Southern Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) and Rev. Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, were confronted by authorities.

17 marchers were injured and  hospitalized. Leaders of the march said that despite the attacks, more marches would follow.  Of the 15,000 blacks in Dallas County in 1961 only 130 were registered to vote. 

"Bloody Sunday" was one of the key events leading to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver a commemoration speech today at 12 o'clock and tomorrow Congressman Lewis and Rev. Williams will lead the commemoration march.  More than 100,000 people are expected to attend.

Today in Montgomery, Alabama, Patti LaBelle will give a concert titled "The Dream Marches On." 

SOURCE

"5 things to know about Bloody Sunday this weekend," by the editors of USA Today, March 7, 2015,  www.usatoday.com/

Bloody Sunday
Selma, Alabama (1965)

By Kevin Saff
at en.wikipedia

National Historic Marker

Selma to Montgomery
By Markuskun (2007)

BLOODY SUNDAY

March 7, 1965

A "BLOODY SUNDAY" IN SELMA

600 marchers in the process of demonstrating for African-American voting rights were brutally attacked today with clubs & tear gas by state & local police in Selma, Alabama.

After crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the group led by John Lewis of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) & Rev. Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) were confronted by authorities.

It is reported that 17 marchers were injured & hospitalized. The leaders of the march say that despite the attacks, more marches will follow.

*Of the 15,000 blacks in Dallas County in 1961 only 130 were registered to vote.  "Bloody Sunday" will prove to be one of the key events leading to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

March 7, 1962


JFK SAYS "I'M GOING TO HAVE A DINNER & WE WILL SEE WHO EATS WHAT!"


At his 26th news conference as President of the United States today, JFK was asked the following question:


"Mr. President:  You have said....that heads of government should not go to the summit to negotiate agreements but only to approve agreements negotiated at a lower level.  Now it is being...written that you are going to eat those words & go to a summit without any agreement at a lower level.  Has your position changed, sir?"


The President responded:


"Well, I'm going to have a dinner for all the people who have written it, & we will see who eats what."


JFK's answer was followed with laughter from the reporters attending the conference held in the State Department Auditorium.

March 7, 1961


JFK ANNOUNCES CIVIL RIGHTS COMMITTEE


Just over a month after being inaugurated as President of the United States, JFK announced today his 1st major civil rights action.


He is creating a new committee to fight racial discrimination in hiring practices of both the federal government & its contractors.


JFK has named Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson as head of this committee & has also designated the Labor Department to be its main legislative arm.


March 7, 1936


GERMAN TROOPS REOCCUPY THE RHINELAND


Adolf Hitler sent German troops into the demilitarized zone created by the Versailles Treaty today.


The area, known as the Rhineland, was declared off-limits to military forces by the treaty.  Just last year, Hitler cancelled the military clauses of the treaty.

March 7, 1923


ROBERT FROST PUBLISHES POEM


The New Republic published a poem today written by Robert Frost.  The title of the poem is: "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening".


"Whose woods these are I think I know. 
His house is in the village though; 
He will not see me stopping here 
To watch his woods fill up with snow.  


My little horse must think it queer 
To stop without a farmhouse near 
Between the woods and frozen lake 
The darkest evening of the year.  


He gives his harness bells a shake 
To ask if there is some mistake. 
The only other sound's the sweep
Of the easy wind and downy flake. 

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep, 
And miles to go before I sleep, 
And miles to go before I sleep. "


Born in California, Mr. Frost moved to New England when he was 11 years old.  Although he attended both Dartmouth & Harvard, Frost did not complete requirements for a degree.


In 1912, Frost moved to England to work on his poetry.  After World War I broke out, he bought a farm in New Hampshire.*


*JFK, a lover of poetry & admirer of Robert Frost, invited him to his inauguration.  Mr. Frost penned a new poem for the occasion but when he tried to read it, the bright sunlight made it difficult so he recited from memory another poem.

The original poem, in Frost's own handwriting, showed up in the mail at the JFK Library in 2006.  With the poem was a note from Jackie Kennedy which said "this is the 1st thing I had framed to put in (the oval) office."

                      JFK Library, Boston


When President Kennedy spoke at Amherst College in honor of Frost, he said:


"Our national strength matters, but the spirit which informs & controls our strength matters just as much.  This was the specific significance of Robert Frost."


March 7, 1876


BELL GETS PATENT ON HIS TELEPHONE


Inventor Alexander Graham Bell has been granted a patent on his..."method of & apparatus for, transmitting....sounds telegraphically by causing electrical undulations, similar in form to the vibrations of the air...."


Bell, 29 years old, was born in Scotland & is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh.  He moved to London & then to Boston where he worked as a teacher for the deaf.


With the help of assistant Thomas A. Watson, Bell developed a prototype, the 1st telephone.

Just 3 days later, Mr. Bell spoke the 1st words into the telephone which were heard in another room by his assistant: "Mr. Watson, come here, I need you."*


*The telephone has special significance in the Kennedy White House.  JFK was the 1st President to use the "Call-Director" telephone which enabled him to be connected to extension lines with the push of a button.  Also, JFK had a "Hot Line" installed between the White House & the Kremlin.

     Kennedy "Hot Line" Telephone


March 7, 1850


DANIEL WEBSTER DELIVERS "7th of MARCH" SPEECH


Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts delivered a most controversial speech today in the U.S. Senate.


The Senator speaking "not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northerner, but as an American..." said:


"let us enjoy the fresh air of Liberty & Union.  (It is our duty) to preserve this Constitution & the harmony & peace of all who are destined to live under it."


The speech is receiving much criticism in the North because Webster is supporting the proposed Compromise of 1850 which includes a Fugitive Slave Act.  This part of the compromise will make it a crime to assist runaway slaves.*


*Daniel Webster was forced to resign his senate seat.  He became Secretary of State, a position he had previously held.

March 7, 322 BC


GREEK PHILOSOPHER, ARISTOTLE, DIES


Aristotle, Greek philosopher who created the scientific method & contributed to logic, physics, ethics & politics, died today in Greece.*


*JFK often talked about the definition of happiness according to the Ancient Greeks.  In speaking to a group of foreign students in 1963, the President said:


"The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence."


The actual quotation from Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is:


"The Good of man is the active exercise of his soul's faculties in conformity with excellence or virtue...."