Tag Page lataraspeakstruth

Edwin C. Berry was born in 1854 in Oberlin, Ohio and would grow into one of the most successful Black hoteliers of his era. His story is one of discipline, skill, and a refusal to be boxed in by the limits placed on Black ambition during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Berry trained as a barber first, a field where Black men were often able to build steady clientele and earn financial stability. That experience taught him how to read people, manage money, and understand the rhythm of business. Those skills opened the door to something bigger. He moved to Athens, Ohio where he took a bold step. He purchased and transformed a modest boarding house into what became the Hotel Berry, a respected establishment that drew travelers from across the region. At a time when segregation blocked Black travelers from many accommodations, Berry created a place known for its order, comfort, and professionalism. His hotel earned praise from both Black and white patrons which was rare for the period. People noted the elegance of the space and the discipline with which Berry ran it. His success was not just about hospitality. It showed what strong Black leadership looked like during a time when opportunities were limited and racial barriers were constant. Berry built wealth, provided jobs, and raised the standard for what Black owned businesses could achieve. His life stands as a reminder that history is filled with stories of Black excellence that shaped communities long before these contributions were fully acknowledged. Berry’s legacy still inspires people who understand how hard he had to work to build what he built. #EdwinCBerry #BlackHistory #AmericanHistory #AthensOhio #HotelBerry #LataraSpeaksTruth

On December 8, 2021, the U.S. Postal Service finally delivered a long-overdue tribute, announcing that Edmonia Lewis would join the 2022 USPS stamp series. Lewis was a 19th-century sculptor whose life reads like a testimony of talent pushing through every barrier placed in its path. Born in 1844 to a Caribbean father and an Indigenous mother, she carved her way into history at a time when opportunities for women of color in the arts were nearly nonexistent. She refused the limits placed on her, mastering neoclassical sculpture and building a career that stretched from Boston to Rome. Her works stood out not just for their technical skill but for their storytelling. Lewis centered themes of identity, freedom, and faith at a time when the country was still divided by the aftermath of the Civil War. Her sculptures of abolitionist icons and spiritual narratives carried a boldness rarely afforded to someone of her background, yet she created with clarity, intention, and a vision that still resonates more than a century later. The USPS stamp wasn’t just an honor… it was a reminder. Acknowledgment of a woman who shaped the art world long before the world was willing to recognize her. A nod to someone who carved her legacy from marble when society tried to carve her out of the record. Today, her work lives on in museums, archives, and now in the hands of anyone placing that stamp on a letter. It’s a piece of history made visible again. #LataraSpeaksTruth #BlackHistory #EdmoniaLewis #NewsBreakCommunity

December 8 marked another shift in the nation’s pandemic response as updated vaccine guidance continued moving across the country. Health officials pushed for broader access, especially in communities where misinformation, limited resources, and a long memory of broken trust were already shaping outcomes. The urgency was real… Omicron was gaining speed, and experts warned the impact wouldn’t fall evenly. That’s why December 9 mattered just as much. The NAACP stepped in with a national virtual town hall that brought medical experts, faith leaders, and community advocates together on one screen. They broke down the latest data, explained what was actually known about the new variant, and answered the questions mainstream coverage kept skipping past. They spoke plainly about the unequal weight communities were carrying… frontline exposure, higher rates of chronic illness, limited access to quality care, and the history that shaped hesitation. But the town hall wasn’t doom or panic. It was clarity. It was empowerment. It was everyday people getting real information instead of rumors, noise, or fear. Together, December 8 and 9 showed a moment when national policy and community conversation finally met in the middle. One moved the science forward. The other made the science make sense. And both days underscored a simple truth… information only matters when it reaches the people who need it most. #LataraSpeaksTruth #OnThisDay #HistoricalContext #HealthEquity #PublicHealth

The Wilmington Coup of 1898

On November 10, 1898, Wilmington, North Carolina witnessed the only successful coup in United States history. A thriving Black community was attacked, businesses destroyed, and elected leaders forced from office. For decades, this truth was hidden. We remember those who built Wilmington, those who were lost, and those who still fight to make sure history never forgets. #OurHistory #Wilmington1898 #BlackExcellence #HiddenHistory #AmericanHistory #NeverForgotten #CommunityVoices #TruthTellers #HistoryMatters #LataraSpeaksTruth

The tragedy at Ebenezer Creek remains one of the most devastating and overlooked moments of the Civil War. As Union troops advanced toward Savannah during Sherman’s March to the Sea, hundreds of freedom seekers followed behind them, believing the army represented safety and a chance at a future beyond bondage. They walked for days beside the soldiers, carrying children, bundles, and the weight of generations. When they reached the cold waters of Ebenezer Creek, Union General Jefferson C. Davis ordered his men to cross first on a pontoon bridge. Once the troops were safely over, the bridge was pulled up without warning, leaving the refugees stranded as Confederate forces closed in. Panic spread as families realized they were trapped with nowhere to run. People leapt into the water, clinging to anything that might float, pieces of wood, clothing, each other. Many drowned trying to reach the other side. Others were captured. A moment that should have been a step toward freedom turned into a night of terror and loss. The massacre at Ebenezer Creek exposed a harsh truth of that era… even in a war fought over slavery, the safety of Black refugees was treated as negotiable. Their trust was betrayed, their lives dismissed, and their suffering pushed to the margins of history. And before anyone shows up with the tired “move on, this is old news, get over the past” routine, let me help you out… how about you move on? I’m from Georgia and in all my years in this state I never once heard about this. I’m learning it right alongside everyone else. This is exactly why these stories matter. History doesn’t disappear just because it makes people uncomfortable. We deserve to know what happened on the soil we stand on. #LataraSpeaksTruth #BlackHistory #AmericanHistory #HiddenHistory #Under2000Characters

On December 9, 1973, Stacey Abrams was born in Madison, Wisconsin. She later became the first woman and first African American woman to serve as minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives. Her work in voting access and political organizing has made her a notable figure in modern American politics. #OnThisDay #HistoryToday #AmericanHistory #ThisDayInHistory #LataraSpeaksTruth

On This Day 1944… Red Tail Escorts Over War Torn Europe

On this day in 1944, the Red Tail Angels carved their path across a cold European sky, lifting off from their base in Italy with the weight of duty and a world still arguing about their worth. The Tuskegee Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Group knew the routine. Take off. Climb. Form up. Guard the bombers like your life depends on theirs. It was the last big raid of the month, and the Fifteenth Air Force sent them straight toward the factories that fed the Nazi war machine. Waiting for them were German fighters, flak bursts that chewed through the clouds, and the constant reminder that history never gives out freebies. These pilots had trained in Tuskegee, Alabama, far from the glory people like to paste on wartime stories. They came from a segregated military that questioned them at every step, yet their performance in the air kept rewriting the script. By late 1944 their P 51s carried bright red tails that bomber crews could spot at a glance. That flash of color meant protection. It meant discipline. It meant someone out there cared enough to hold formation tight when fear tried to pull everything apart. The 332nd flew more than one hundred seventy heavy bomber escort missions before the war ended, losing fewer bombers than many other groups in the same theater. That record was not luck. It was focus, grit, and a stubborn belief in doing the job right even when the country they served made them fight two battles at once. Every mission kept more names off casualty lists and pushed the United States toward the integration that finally came after the war. Remember this November mission as a reminder that real change often shows up in repetition. The same hard task. The same cold morning. The same promise to bring as many people home as possible. That is how legacies are built, one flight at a time. #TuskegeeAirmen #RedTailAngels #WWIIHistory #MilitaryHistory #AviationHistory #332ndFighterGroup #HistoryMatters #AmericanHistory #LataraSpeaksTruth

Michael Manley was born on December 10, 1924, in Jamaica, and rose into one of the most influential Caribbean leaders of the twentieth century. He built his politics on labor rights, economic justice, and the stubborn belief that working-class people deserved far more than society was handing them. His vision did not stop at Jamaica’s shoreline. It connected directly to global movements for Black liberation. Manley served as Jamaica’s Prime Minister across two major eras, and he spent those years challenging inequality, pushing bold social programs, and refusing to let marginalized communities stay invisible. He was not perfect. No leader is. Still, he chose to speak loudly on issues that made the powerful uncomfortable. He understood that Jamaica’s struggles were tied to the wider struggles of the African diaspora. He confronted colonial systems, called out racial injustice, and supported liberation movements in Africa and the Caribbean while many world leaders stayed silent. His courage energized activists in the United States who recognized their own fight in his. Including Manley in conversations about American history is not a stretch. It is a necessary correction. The Caribbean and the United States have always shared more than culture and migration. They have shared labor battles, resistance strategies, and a deep hunger for self-determination. Manley’s work belongs inside that history. To name him is to honor the truth. Liberation has never been a project contained by borders. It is a global story carried across oceans. Michael Manley’s chapter deserves to be read. Michael Manley shaped more than Jamaica. His leadership connected labor rights, global Black movements, and the long push for dignity across the African diaspora. #BlackHistory #OnThisDay #DiasporaHistory #CaribbeanLeaders #HistoryMatters #LataraSpeaksTruth

December 10 marks a moment that shook the sports world in 1965. Sugar Ray Robinson, the man many still consider the greatest boxer to ever lace a pair of gloves, officially stepped away from the ring and closed a career that feels almost mythical in hindsight. He retired with world titles in the welterweight and middleweight divisions and more than 100 knockouts across eras where every fight was a battle for legacy. Sugar Ray wasn’t just skilled, he was the blueprint. Footwork light as conversation, timing sharp as intuition, movement that looked like it should have been captured in poetry instead of film. He shifted how fighters trained, strategized, dreamed. Whole generations studied him. Whole styles were born from his rhythm. His retirement on this day was bigger than a personal decision. It marked the end of a chapter in American sports history, a moment where fans knew they were watching the closing of something rare, something unmatched. A career that rewrote expectations. A fighter who redefined excellence. A legend who stood alone. There are champions. There are icons. And then there is Sugar Ray Robinson, a name that still commands respect every single time it’s spoken. His legacy didn’t end with retirement. It expanded, echoing through every fighter who studied the art of footwork, precision, and heart. #BlackHistory #BlackExcellence #OnThisDay #SportsHistory #BoxingHistory #SugarRayRobinson #LataraSpeaksTruth

On this day, the 332nd Fighter Group crossed a quiet but powerful milestone. December 8, 1943 marked the moment they completed a major combat transition, officially stepping into the role that would reshape military history. These young Black pilots had already pushed through every barrier on the ground… the doubt, the stereotypes, the low expectations. Now they were preparing to carry all of that into the skies over Europe. By the end of 1943, the Tuskegee Airmen were fully trained, fully activated, and preparing for large-scale missions they knew would either expose the lie or expose the truth. And they chose the truth. Their discipline, precision, and near-legendary escort record forced the country to confront something uncomfortable… skill has no color. Courage has no filter. Excellence don’t ask for permission. Their service didn’t magically fix anything overnight, but it cracked open the door that led to the desegregation of the military, the shifting of public opinion, and the dismantling of one of the most stubborn myths in American culture. And here’s the part we don’t say enough… these men carried the weight of their entire community on every mission. Every landing. Every loss. They weren’t just flying planes… they were flying proof. And on December 8, 1943, that proof took its place in history. #LataraSpeaksTruth #OurHistory #AviationHistory #TuskegeeAirmen #MilitaryHistory #UntoldStories