Setting It Straight

By Ann Scheer

On the day Dalip Singh Saund was buried in Glendale, Calif., Don Nakanishi, head of the University of California–Los Angeles said, “On his 100th birthday, I hope we shine a bright light on his political career and the lessons we can learn from his remarkable achievement.”

By Ann Scheer

The legacy of Patsy Takemoto Mink cannot be pinned to one ideal or cause. While her trademark was ensuring equal rights for women, Mink was a spokesperson for many controversial issues.

She often took unpopular stances against such things as nuclear testing and was among the first to speak out against the Vietnam War.

By David Wolfford

Tom Thacker led the University of Cincinnati Bearcats to three straight NCAA championship games from 1961 to 1963. In the pros, he won three national championships in three different leagues. “When it came to winning championships, nobody was better than Tom Thacker,” sports writer Michael Perry wrote in his book Tales From Cincinnati Bearcat Basketball. 

By Christine Orchanian Adler

On July 11, 1761, John Avery stood on the crowded dock at Boston Harbor, eyeing potential customers. A cargo of slaves he had advertised for weeks had arrived from West Africa on the schooner Phillis. Having already seen the slaves, he knew there were too many women and children. When he found a buyer for a young, thin girl of about seven, he was likely thrilled. Unknown to all, this girl, wrapped only in a piece of carpet would soon become a pioneer for both African-American slaves and women of all ethnic backgrounds in literature.

Susannah Wheatley was the wife of John Wheatley, a wealthy Boston tailor. Now over 50, with grown daughters and aging servants, her goal that summer day was to find a young female slave she could train to be a domestic servant and companion in her later years. Drawn to the sickly girl, Susannah purchased her for a pittance and named her Phillis Wheatley. Phillis taken from the ship that marked her arrival to the United States and Wheatley being the family, which was customary of the times.