"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud."- Maya Angelou

May 28, 2014, Maya Angelou died at the age of 86. Angelou is best known as a writer but that was not her only occupation. 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was her first book written in 1969. The book told the story of her childhood up until the age of 17. While it is considered a piece of literature, it is actually an autobiography, the first of seven. 

In addition to writing the series, Angelou was an actress, a dancer, a civil rights activist and a promoter of black culture. As a dancer, Angelou took on the name Maya Angelou. Her real name was Marguerite Johnson.

After meeting Martin Luther King, Jr., Angelou began working with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference by raising money. When she began working with SCLC, she worked to end Apartheid in South Africa. She lived in Africa for time where she met and befriended Malcolm X. 

On May 28th, she died of bad health. Maya Angelou is well-known to high school students who are required to read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as well as to the country for her work in civil rights and promoting black culture. In 2011, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. 

The nation lost a very important and influential woman this week. 

Memorial Day

Members of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans group of Union soldiers, decided in 1868 that there needed to be a Decoration Day for the entire nation. 

Prior to '68, smaller communities had celebrated Decoration Day by decorating the graves of soldiers who died during the Civil War. A number of towns in both the North and the South claim the first Decoration Day. 

The first large celebration of Decoration Day was May 30, 1868 in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC. Waterloo, NY was declared by President Lyndon Johnson as the birthplace of the celebration. 

Up until 1971, Decoration Day was just a day for soldiers who had died in the Civil War. But the large number of casualties in World War I and II made it necessary to honor soldiers of all American wars. In 1971, Congress declared the last Monday in May as the official holiday known today as Memorial Day, but sometimes still referred to as Decoration Day. 

Bonnie and Clyde

May 23, 1934, the robbery spree by Bonnie and Clyde ended with their deaths. The two began their robberies in 1932, along with other members of their "gang" (the Barrow Gang).

The gang, which constantly changed, is reported as having killed nine police officers. Today, the couple is famous and during their days, they were also well-known. But some of the iconic ideas about them are incorrect. 

(The gang as portrayed in the 1967 Bonnie and Clyde film)

Bonnie never fired a gun at officers, as one of the members of her gang testified, but she did kill. While she was a chain smoker, she was portrayed as a cigar smoker because of a photo taken of her at a hideout, which the police found and releashed to the press. 

Between their first robbery in 1932 and their deaths in 1934, Bonnie and Clyde had multiple run-ins with the police, Bonnie was even jailed early on but later released. Before meeting Bonnie, Clyde had served time in jail four times and had killed an inmate while in jail. 

The FBI coordinated with local officials to apprehend the criminals. The posse of FBI, local law officers and a Texas Ranger ambushed the duo and shot them when they tried to drive away. 

Separate ≠ Equal

May 17 marked the 60th anniversary of the decision handed down by the Supreme Court on Oliver Brown, et al. v Board of Education of Topeka, et al. It was decided that the policy of separate but equal was a violation of African American children's right to education. 

The case overturned the ruling in the 1896 case Plessy v. Furguson. This case legalized segregation and was the law of the land for 58 years. 

Many Americans think of the Civil Rights era as the tumultuous 1960s, but it started much earlier. Brown v. Board is seen as the start of the modern civil rights movement. Prior to being reviewed by the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall argued the case for desegregation  Marshall would go on to become the first African American Supreme Court justice. 

Despite the ruling though, many southern states decided to close their public schools instead of integrating them. Governor Orval Faubus called the National Guard in to prevent Little Rock Central High School from integrating. 

"Truth in Light"- University of Montana

On February 17, 1893, the University of Montana was established by a legislative act. Construction of the first building, Main Hall, was also the same day as the school's first commencement. 

When the school was designed, the Oval was to be the heart of campus with all buildings placed around it. Up until the 1950s, vehicles were allowed to drive around the Oval. 

In 1932, Mike Mansfield came to UM to teach history. Afterwards, he was elected to Congress. He is the longest serving Senate Majority Leader and was an ambassador to Japan. 

In the 1960s, UM saw student protests, just like the rest of the country. Students also pushed for black studies and Native American courses. UM's Black Studies program, today called African American studies is one of the oldest programs in the US. 

(Ulysses S. Doss started the Black Studies Program.)

Tomorrow is UM's commencement ceremony. For many of us, we have been working towards our degrees for four years. We've drunk too much coffee, stayed up too late and spent way too much time in the library. But it was all worth it. I'd like to thank UM for an amazing four years, all of the staff who have helped me and all of my professors who pushed me in my studies. "Up with Montana!"

It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye but I know that UM will always be with me. 

Dust Bowl

The 1930s are known as the Great Depression, which was sparked by the stock market crash. The crash was exacerbated by environmental damage in the mid-west. 

When homesteaders settled the Great Plains, they disturbed the dirt and removed the natural grasses. This made the land susceptible to dust storms. However, the problem was increased due to a drought. 

Dust storms grew to enormous proportions and caused health problems, even resulting in death. In May 1934, a two day dust storm occurred on the Great Plains, which was one of the worst dust storms. 

April 1935, a Black Blizzard occurred, giving the day the nickname "Black Sunday." The conditions in the mid-west became so bad that people had to leave. 

"What really hurts is if you try to cover it up." -Richard Nixon

May 9, 1974, President Richard Nixon's impeachment hearings began. 

President Nixon was being considered for impeachment because of the events that transpired in the Watergate Hotel in 1972. The condensed version of the Watergate Scandal is that members of Nixon's administration were caught bugging the Democratic National Committee's offices and then the Nixon administration attempted to cover up the administration's involvement. 

(Watergate Hotel)

Tapes from the White House provided the evidence that Nixon knew about the break in at the hotel and that he had attempted to block investigations. 

There were enough votes to impeach Nixon but he resigned on August 9th and Gerald Ford become president. Ford ended the investigation by pardoning Nixon. 

May 4, 1977, Nixon stated "If the President does it, its not illegal." The Watergate Scandal is considered to be the number one political scandal in the US. All the President's Men, a title belonging to a book and a film, chronicles the discovery of the scandal. 

Evolution

In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in which he proposed the theory of evolution. His findings changed science but also sparked a debate in 1925.

May 5, 1925, John T. Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution in a Tennessee public school when this was illegal according to the Butler Act. What followed was a show trial that Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Grafton Green described as "bizarre."

The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes (more commonly known as the Scopes Monkey Trail)  became a debate between the science of evolution against Biblical creationism. In the end, Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution and was fined $100. Scopes later stated that he had not actually taught evolution in class, but he had agreed to plead not guilty in order for the trial to take place. 

                (John T. Scopes)                                             (Clarence Darrow, Scopes' attorney) 

 (William Jennings Bryan, prosecution attorney)

In the wake of the trial, many states attempted to put anti-evolution laws on the books but a majority of them failed. Eventually, public opinion favored science, especially with the Space Age. 

"I don't know what will happen...but I have to make a faith act." -Martin Luther King Jr.

The American Civil Rights Movement is characterized as a non-violent movement, much like Ghandi's movement in India. While the protesters were non-violent, the police sometimes used violent force. 

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) chose to focus on Birmingham, Alabama in April 1863 because the city was forcefully segregated, the KKK had a home there and the police force under Eugene T. "Bull" Connor was willing to use force to maintain segregation. 

The SCLC and the Alabama Christian Movement of Human Rights led sit-ins, mass meetings, marches and boycotts throughout April. On April 12, MLK was arrested and placed in jail. During his sentence, he wrote his famous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 

Up until May, Bull Connor was not reacting with violence. Starting on May 2, a Children's Crusade was organized. Students left school and marched downtown where Bull Connor had them arrested. Students returned on May 3, which angered Bull Connor. At this point, police force was used. 

Fire hoses were turned on students, people were clubbed by police and dogs viciously attacked the peaceful protestors. The extreme violence towards children was quickly publicized in newspapers and television across the country and around the world. 

Attorney General Robert Kennedy was sent in to try and halt the confrontation.  SCLC negotiated with the city's business leadership. By May 10, the groups came to the agreement to remove "White Only" and "Blacks Only" signs and to desegregate. There were violent reactions to this agreement and President Kennedy sent in the National Guard.