Was Greek Fire a New, Genuine Breakthrough Chemical Weapon?

Most of us think of chemical weapons as a twentieth century phenomenon. But did you know that one existed in the medieval world as well? We call that chemical weapon Greek fire. For many, the term chemical weapon has negative connotations. We recall the gas mask as an essential piece of equipment for World War […]

The Orangeburg Massacre – One More Killing the US Has Forgotten

My last post described the sit-in movement that began in Orangeburg, South Carolina in 1960. Today’s post is the story of how participation in the civil rights movement grew deadly, resulting in the Orangeburg Massacre in 1968. It ranks among the greatest losses of life of any event in the civil rights movement. Events Leading […]

Major Vietnam War Protests Begin

October 15 and 16 of 1965 saw some of the first major Vietnam War Protests in the United States. These began, perhaps predictably, in Berkeley, California, where about 10,000 protestors marched to the military base in Oakland. Similar protests took place on 5th Avenue in New York City, in Philadelphia, in Boston, and in Ann […]

The Martin Luther King You Aren’t Supposed to Know

We will forever connect the name Martin Luther King, Jr. with the civil rights movement in the United States. Because he was the movement’s most well-known and charismatic leader, this is appropriate. Our nation continues to honor King’s legacy every January with a holiday in his remembrance. However, the Martin Luther King we think we […]