Upton Sinclair passed away 50 years ago on November 25, 1968. He was a controversial figure to say the least. He was a prolific writer who is best remembered for his classic novel The Jungle, which was published in 1904.  The publication placed him alongside the muckrakers during the Progressive Era period of the 1890s…

Apollo 8 launched on December 21, 1968 and took nearly three days (68 hours) to travel the distance to the moon. The three astronauts aboard were Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr., and Bill Anders. The latter was the mission photographer. Changed how we see the earth forever  Bill Anders captured an image of the earth…

Nelson Mandela was born a 100 years ago on July 18, 1918. He dedicated his life to ending the apartheid system in South Africa, which happened shortly after his release from prison during the early 1990s. On April 20, 1964, Nelson Mandela gave what many feel was his greatest speech. He delivered it from the…

Ask yourself the questions based on lessons learned by Chavez and Kennedy at the very end of this reflection On March 10, 1968, which is 50 years ago today, labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez offered Senator Bobby Kennedy a piece of the bread he was given to break his 25 day fast…

“We are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside; but that will be only an initial act. One day the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be beaten and robbed as they make their journey through life.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.- In 1967, the year…

Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) would have turned 89 years old this year (born January 15, 1929) and Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) would have turned 93 years old this year (born November 20, 1925). Imagining what the United States, and perhaps the world, would be like today, if these two men had continued to “right…

On November 21, 1963, the evening before his assassination, President John F. Kennedy (JFK) gave a speech in Houston during a dinner in honor of Congressmember Albert Thomas.  Thomas had spent the previous 27 years bringing Houston into a new era of influence through his innovative and proactive leadership. President Kennedy seized on the importance…

The appalling assassinations of two accomplished advocates, Martin Luther King, Jr. (died April 4, 1968) and Robert F. Kennedy (died June 6, 1968) happened nearly 50 years ago (click here). Connecting their achievements and actions to the present, and the achievements and actions of other social reformers such as Albert Luthuli and Nelson Mandela, serve as…

It was a 100 years ago that the National Vocational Education Act of 1917 was passed by Congress that helped shape vocational education in trades and industry including agriculture  Labor Day, which is celebrated in the United States (U.S.) on the first Monday in September, is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. However,…

–On July 21, it will be 50 years since Albert Luthuli was fatally injured in an accident and some still question if it was a mishap– -Let what Luthuli did inspire what you do-   The fight against the oppressive apartheid regime in South Africa during the latter part of the last century shaped many…