Sixty years ago on December 1, 1955, during a typical evening rush hour in Montgomery, Alabama, a 42 year-old woman took a seat near the front of the bus on her way home from the Montgomery Fair department store where she worked as a seamstress. Refusing to yield her seat to a white passenger when instructed by the bus driver, police were called and she was arrested.
The police report shows that Rosa Parks was charged with “refusing to obey orders of bus driver.” According to the report, she was taken to the police station, where she was booked, fingerprinted, and briefly incarcerated.
The event touched off a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama, bus system in which a 26-year-old unknown minister, Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as the leader.
Scope & Content note: This case file contains documents resulting from a Federal court suit that challenged segregation within Montgomery, Alabama’s public transportation system. The case is renowned for its relation to the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement. Although not a party to the case, Rosa Parks’ arrest record and fingerprints are exhibits to the case. The plaintiffs in this case were Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, Claudette Colvin, and Mary Louise Smith, all of whom had been either arrested for refusing to give up their seats to white passengers or harmed by being forced to comply with segregation codes. In this case, the three – judge panel ruled Montgomery segregation codes unconstitutional due to their violation of the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court later affirmed the District Court’s judgment.
Sixty years ago on December 1, 1955, during a typical evening rush hour in Montgomery, Alabama, a 42 year-old woman took a seat near the front of the bus on her way home from the Montgomery Fair department store where she worked as a seamstress. Refusing to yield her seat to a white passenger when instructed by the bus driver, police were called and she was arrested.
The police report shows that Rosa Parks was charged with “refusing to obey orders of bus driver.” According to the report, she was taken to the police station, where she was booked, fingerprinted, and briefly incarcerated.
The event touched off a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama, bus system in which a 26-year-old unknown minister, Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as the leader.
Scope & Content note: This case file contains documents resulting from a Federal court suit that challenged segregation within Montgomery, Alabama’s public transportation system. The case is renowned for its relation to the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement. Although not a party to the case, Rosa Parks’ arrest record and fingerprints are exhibits to the case. The plaintiffs in this case were Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, Claudette Colvin, and Mary Louise Smith, all of whom had been either arrested for refusing to give up their seats to white passengers or harmed by being forced to comply with segregation codes. In this case, the three – judge panel ruled Montgomery segregation codes unconstitutional due to their violation of the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court later affirmed the District Court’s judgment.
One day while browsing the rare book stacks (I can do that, I work in Special Collections!) I stopped to look at a book with a very sad binding bearing the title Croke’s Reports, Elizabeth. The book was obviously old, and the boards had been poorly reattached at some point with masking tape. I turned to the title page to see just how old it was and found it was published in 1669 under the title The first part (though last publish’t) of the reports of Sr George Croke, Knight: late, one of the justices of the Court of King’s-Bench, and formerly, one of the justices of the Court of Common-Bench; of such select cases as were adjudged in the said courts, during the whole reign of the late King James. But what really caught my eye was the name written in the top corner of the title page, pictured above. The publication history of this book is interesting, too, but a story for another day.
With the help of Tim at the wonderful Bentham Project at University College, London, I hope to verify if this book really did belong to the renowned philosopher, jurist, and social reformer Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) when he studied law at Lincoln’s Inn, ca. 1763. We’ll keep you posted with any updates.
One day while browsing the rare book stacks (I can do that, I work in Special Collections!) I stopped to look at a book with a very sad binding bearing the title Croke’s Reports, Elizabeth. The book was obviously old, and the boards had been poorly reattached at some point with masking tape. I turned to the title page to see just how old it was and found it was published in 1669 under the title The first part (though last publish’t) of the reports of Sr George Croke, Knight: late, one of the justices of the Court of King’s-Bench, and formerly, one of the justices of the Court of Common-Bench; of such select cases as were adjudged in the said courts, during the whole reign of the late King James. But what really caught my eye was the name written in the top corner of the title page, pictured above. The publication history of this book is interesting, too, but a story for another day.
With the help of Tim at the wonderful Bentham Project at University College, London, I hope to verify if this book really did belong to the renowned philosopher, jurist, and social reformer Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) when he studied law at Lincoln’s Inn, ca. 1763. We’ll keep you posted with any updates.
Artist Antoine Geiger’s series has digitally altered random people sucked into the screens of their phones. It is placing the screen as an object of “mass subculture”, alienating the relation to our own body, and more generally to the physical world.
Artist Antoine Geiger’s series has digitally altered random people sucked into the screens of their phones. It is placing the screen as an object of “mass subculture”, alienating the relation to our own body, and more generally to the physical world.
The Dance of Two Cultures: A performance honoring California’s Punjabi and Mexican communities, mixing Bhangra and Mexican folklórico.
“This show combines Indian form of dance, Mexican form of dance. We are not doing it for the sake of fusion, but our own collaboration is a telling of this story.”
The Dance of Two Cultures: A performance honoring California’s Punjabi and Mexican communities, mixing Bhangra and Mexican folklórico.
“This show combines Indian form of dance, Mexican form of dance. We are not doing it for the sake of fusion, but our own collaboration is a telling of this story.”
According the Series’ Scope & Content note, this photo was part of a collection of photographs taken by C. Tucker Beckett, who served with the 16th Infantry during the U.S. Army’s Mexican Punitive Expedition.
The Mexican Punitive Expedition began in March of 1916, when General John J. Pershing led several thousand U.S. troops across the border into Mexico, following attacks on American citizens and property by the followers of Francisco (Pancho) Villa. Pershing’s orders from the War Department were to pursue and disperse Villa and his band or bands.
According the Series’ Scope & Content note, this photo was part of a collection of photographs taken by C. Tucker Beckett, who served with the 16th Infantry during the U.S. Army’s Mexican Punitive Expedition.
The Mexican Punitive Expedition began in March of 1916, when General John J. Pershing led several thousand U.S. troops across the border into Mexico, following attacks on American citizens and property by the followers of Francisco (Pancho) Villa. Pershing’s orders from the War Department were to pursue and disperse Villa and his band or bands.
Our friend Chip G. passes along this news of a project in Dallas converting shipping containers into living space. Interestingly, the coverage here — while acknowledging that “converting shipping containers into housing for the homeless is a growing idea both in the U.S. and Europe positions this example as something of a “luxury”-level development.
That’s $2.75 a square foot, right in line with luxury units across the
city of Dallas. The units will come with versions of the necessities
you’d expect from an apartment complex. Plumbing, kitchenettes and
skyline views that are actually pretty good. There will be a communal
dog-friendly space for pet owners, a “cool-ass laundromat” and outdoor
grills.
More here. I’m not sure I’ve come across this sort of critique before, but prior/additional coverage of container reuse and “cargotecture” can be found here and here.
Our friend Chip G. passes along this news of a project in Dallas converting shipping containers into living space. Interestingly, the coverage here — while acknowledging that “converting shipping containers into housing for the homeless is a growing idea both in the U.S. and Europe positions this example as something of a “luxury”-level development.
That’s $2.75 a square foot, right in line with luxury units across the
city of Dallas. The units will come with versions of the necessities
you’d expect from an apartment complex. Plumbing, kitchenettes and
skyline views that are actually pretty good. There will be a communal
dog-friendly space for pet owners, a “cool-ass laundromat” and outdoor
grills.
More here. I’m not sure I’ve come across this sort of critique before, but prior/additional coverage of container reuse and “cargotecture” can be found here and here.
Many are familiar with Marco Polo’s journey into Asia during the 1200s, but few people consider the fact that it was just as possible to travel from the other direction. Rabban Bar Sauma was born in Beijing around 1220, a Nestorian Christian, but possibly of Uyghur ethnic origin.
During their journey, they received reports of unrest in Syria, and rather than going through a war-torn area, they decided to detour through Mongol-controlled Persia. And there they remained for quite a while, being sent on diplomatic journeys only to learn that the person they were supposed to contact had died, or being detoured or detained due to military movements and unrest along their travel routes.
Around 1287, the Mongol Khan Arghun decided to attempt the formation of a Franco-Mongol alliance, and sent Rabban Bar Sauma and his student to Europe for negotiation.
It’s interesting to note that his replacement at the court of the Khan was a Genoese (Italian) nobleman, Buscarello de Ghizolfi, Mongol ambassador to Europe from 1289 to 1305.
When Rabban Bar Sauma arrived at his destination, he would have dicovered many other notables from the East already present, especially Nestorian Christians. The legend of Prester John had already created a mindset for the Europeans to expect aid from Christians from Africa and Asia, and Arghun had already sent a Nestorian embassy several years before, including Isa Tarsah Kelemechi.
In keeping with Sauma’s terrible luck, by the time he arrived in Rome, the current Pope had just died. He met instead with the cardinals there and visited Saint Peter’s Basilica. He then traveled through Tuscany and Genoa, before being warmly received by King Phillip the Fair (Phillip IV) in France. He delivered a letter to the King from the Khan, which remains in France’s historical collections to this day:
Mongol and Persian writing greatly influenced many European artists, and this script can be seen in many paintings and other artworks from this era. In Giotto’s Crucifixion, many details including these soldiers’ headbands are decorated with marking meant to mimic this script, usually referred to as “Pseudo-Mongol” markings or script:
Sauma also met with King Edward I of England, probably during his time in a contested area of France. Edward was unable to negotiate an alliance effectively due to internal conflicts happening between the Scottish and Welsh at home.
Whether or not a true alliance between European Christians and the Mongolian Empire ever materialized is still being debated among various historians, but the sheer amount of back-and-forth traffic, written correspondence, and gifts sent and received have left a trove of evidence we can examine.
Many are familiar with Marco Polo’s journey into Asia during the 1200s, but few people consider the fact that it was just as possible to travel from the other direction. Rabban Bar Sauma was born in Beijing around 1220, a Nestorian Christian, but possibly of Uyghur ethnic origin.
During their journey, they received reports of unrest in Syria, and rather than going through a war-torn area, they decided to detour through Mongol-controlled Persia. And there they remained for quite a while, being sent on diplomatic journeys only to learn that the person they were supposed to contact had died, or being detoured or detained due to military movements and unrest along their travel routes.
Around 1287, the Mongol Khan Arghun decided to attempt the formation of a Franco-Mongol alliance, and sent Rabban Bar Sauma and his student to Europe for negotiation.
It’s interesting to note that his replacement at the court of the Khan was a Genoese (Italian) nobleman, Buscarello de Ghizolfi, Mongol ambassador to Europe from 1289 to 1305.
When Rabban Bar Sauma arrived at his destination, he would have dicovered many other notables from the East already present, especially Nestorian Christians. The legend of Prester John had already created a mindset for the Europeans to expect aid from Christians from Africa and Asia, and Arghun had already sent a Nestorian embassy several years before, including Isa Tarsah Kelemechi.
In keeping with Sauma’s terrible luck, by the time he arrived in Rome, the current Pope had just died. He met instead with the cardinals there and visited Saint Peter’s Basilica. He then traveled through Tuscany and Genoa, before being warmly received by King Phillip the Fair (Phillip IV) in France. He delivered a letter to the King from the Khan, which remains in France’s historical collections to this day:
Mongol and Persian writing greatly influenced many European artists, and this script can be seen in many paintings and other artworks from this era. In Giotto’s Crucifixion, many details including these soldiers’ headbands are decorated with marking meant to mimic this script, usually referred to as “Pseudo-Mongol” markings or script:
Sauma also met with King Edward I of England, probably during his time in a contested area of France. Edward was unable to negotiate an alliance effectively due to internal conflicts happening between the Scottish and Welsh at home.
Whether or not a true alliance between European Christians and the Mongolian Empire ever materialized is still being debated among various historians, but the sheer amount of back-and-forth traffic, written correspondence, and gifts sent and received have left a trove of evidence we can examine.
The SleepCoat League Presents: 