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Coronavirus on Surfaces: What You Should Know

Sticky11/29/2022 Nativegrl77

April 1, 2020 — Many emergency room workers remove their clothes as soon as they get home — some before they even enter. Does that mean you should worry about COVID-19 transmission from your own clothing, towels, and other textiles?

While researchers found that the virus can remain on some surfaces for up to 72 hours, the study didn’t include fabric. “So far, evidence suggests that it’s harder to catch the virus from a soft surface (such as fabric) than it is from frequently touched hard surfaces like elevator buttons or door handles,” wrote Lisa Maragakis, MD, senior director of infection prevention at the Johns Hopkins Health System.

for the complete article: webmd.com/lung/news/20200401

It is an incredible eye-opening article

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Brown V Board of Education ~~ Equality & Opportunity

05/18/2026 Nativegrl77 Leave a comment

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
PBS.org Image result for brown v board of education

Brown v. Board of Education (1954), now acknowledged as one of the greatest Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century, unanimously held that the racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Although the decision did not succeed in fully desegregating public education in the United States, it put the Constitution on the side of racial equality and galvanized the nascent civil rights movement into a full revolution. Image result for brown v board of education

In 1954, large portions of the United States had racially segregated schools, made legal by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which held that segregated public facilities were constitutional so long as the black and white facilities were equal to each other. However, by the mid-twentieth century, civil rights groups set up legal and political, challenges to racial segregation. In the early 1950s, NAACP lawyers brought class action lawsuits on behalf of black schoolchildren and their families in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware, seeking court orders to compel school districts to let black students attend white public schools. Image result for brown v board of education

One of these class actions, Brown v. Board of Education was filed against the Topeka, Kansas school board by representative-plaintiff Oliver Brown, parent of one of the children denied access to Topeka’s white schools. Brown claimed that Topeka’s racial segregation violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause because the city’s black and white schools were not equal to each other and never could be. The federal district court dismissed his claim, ruling that the segregated public schools were “substantially” equal enough to be constitutional under the Plessy doctrine. Brown appealed to the Supreme Court, which consolidated and then reviewed all the school segregation actions together. Thurgood Marshall, who would in 1967 be appointed the first black justice of the Court, was chief counsel for the plaintiffs Image result for brown v board of education .

Thanks to the astute leadership of Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Court spoke in a unanimous decision written by Warren himself. The decision held that racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that “no state shall make or enforce any law which shall … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The Court noted that Congress, when drafting the Fourteenth Amendment in the 1860s, did not expressly intend to require integration of public schools. On the other hand, that Amendment did not prohibit integration. In any case, the Court asserted that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal education today. Public education in the 20th century, said the Court, had become an essential component of a citizen’s public life, forming the basis of democratic citizenship, normal socialization, and professional training. In this context, any child denied a good education would be unlikely to succeed in life. Where a state, therefore, has undertaken to provide universal education, such education becomes a right that must be afforded equally to both blacks and whites.

Were the black and white schools “substantially” equal to each other, as the lower courts had found? After reviewing psychological studies showing black girls in segregated schools had low racial self-esteem, the Court concluded that separating children on the basis of race creates dangerous inferiority complexes that may adversely affect black children’s ability to learn. The Court concluded that, even if the tangible facilities were equal between the black and white schools, racial segregation in schools is “inherently unequal” and is thus always unconstitutional. At least in the context of public schools, Plessy v. Ferguson was overruled. In the Brown II case a decided year later, the Court ordered the states to integrate their schools “with all deliberate speed.”

Opposition to Brown I and II reached an apex in Cooper v. Aaron (1958), when the Court ruled that states were constitutionally required to implement the Supreme Court’s integration orders. Widespread racial integration of the South was achieved by the late 1960s and 1970s. In the meantime, the equal protection ruling in Brown spilled over into other areas of the law and into the political arena as well. Scholars now point out that Brown v. Board was not the beginning of the modern civil rights movement, but there is no doubt that it constituted a watershed moment in the struggle for racial equality in America.

History of Brown v. Board of Education

UScourts.gov

Re-enactment – Use a readers theater format to re-enact the case.
History of Brown v. Board of Education – Learn about the background and similar cases.
Justice Thurgood Marshall Profile – Read about Justice Thurgood Marshall’s early life, education, and legal career.

The Plessy Decision ~~ Separate but Equal?

Although the Declaration of Independence stated that “All men are created equal,” due to the institution of slavery, this statement was not to be grounded in law in the United States until after the Civil War (and, arguably, not completely fulfilled for many years thereafter). In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified and finally put an end to slavery. Moreover, the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) strengthened the legal rights of newly freed slaves by stating, among other things, that no state shall deprive anyone of either “due process of law” or of the “equal protection of the law.” Finally, the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) further strengthened the legal rights of newly freed slaves by prohibiting states from denying anyone the right to vote due to race.

Despite these Amendments, African Americans were often treated differently than whites in many parts of the country, especially in the South. In fact, many state legislatures enacted laws that led to the legally mandated segregation of the races. In other words, the laws of many states decreed that blacks and whites could not use the same public facilities, ride the same buses, attend the same schools, etc. These laws came to be known as Jim Crow laws. Although many people felt that these laws were unjust, it was not until the 1890s that they were directly challenged in court. In 1892, an African-American man named Homer Plessy refused to give up his seat to a white man on a train in New Orleans, as he was required to do by Louisiana state law. For this action he was arrested. Plessy, contending that the Louisiana law separating blacks from whites on trains violated the “equal protection clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, decided to fight his arrest in court. By 1896, his case had made it all the way to the United States Supreme Court. By a vote of 8-1, the Supreme Court ruled against Plessy. In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, Justice Henry Billings Brown, writing the majority opinion, stated that:

“The object of the [Fourteenth] amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the equality of the two races before the law, but in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to endorse social, as distinguished from political, equality. . . If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane.”

The lone dissenter, Justice John Marshal Harlan, interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment another way, stated, “Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.” Justice Harlan’s dissent would become a rallying cry for those in later generations that wished to declare segregation unconstitutional.

Sadly, as a result of the Plessy decision, in the early twentieth century the Supreme Court continued to uphold the legality of Jim Crow laws and other forms of racial discrimination. In the case of Cumming v. Richmond (Ga.) County Board of Education (1899), for instance, the Court refused to issue an injunction preventing a school board from spending tax money on a white high school when the same school board voted to close down a black high school for financial reasons. Moreover, in Gong Lum v. Rice (1927), the Court upheld a school’s decision to bar a person of Chinese descent from a “white” school.

The Road to Brown

(Note: Some of the case information is from Patterson, James T. Brown v. Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and Its Troubled Legacy. Oxford University Press; New York, 2001.)

Early Cases

Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in Plessy and similar cases, many people continued to press for the abolition of Jim Crow and other racially discriminatory laws. One particular organization that fought for racial equality was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) founded in 1909. For about the first 20 years of its existence, it tried to persuade Congress and other legislative bodies to enact laws that would protect African Americans from lynchings and other racist actions. Beginning in the 1930s, though, the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund began to turn to the courts to try to make progress in overcoming legally sanctioned discrimination. From 1935 to 1938, the legal arm of the NAACP was headed by Charles Hamilton Houston. Houston, together with Thurgood Marshall, devised a strategy to attack Jim Crow laws by striking at them where they were perhaps weakest—in the field of education. Although Marshall played a crucial role in all of the cases listed below, Houston was the head of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund while Murray v. Maryland and Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada were decided. After Houston returned to private practice in 1938, Marshall became head of the Fund and used it to argue the cases of Sweat v. Painter and McLaurin v. Oklahoma Board of Regents of Higher Education.

Murray v. Maryland (1936)

Disappointed that the University of Maryland School of Law was rejecting black applicants solely because of their race, beginning in 1933 Thurgood Marshall (who was himself rejected from this law school because of its racial acceptance policies) decided to challenge this practice in the Maryland court system. Before a Baltimore City Court in 1935, Marshall argued that Donald Gaines Murray was just as qualified as white applicants to attend the University of Maryland’s School of Law and that it was solely due to his race that he was rejected. Furthermore, he argued that since the “black” law schools which Murray would otherwise have to attend were nowhere near the same academic caliber as the University’s law school, the University was violating the principle of “separate but equal.” Moreover, Marshall argued that the disparities between the “white” and “black” law schools were so great that the only remedy would be to allow students like Murray to attend the University’s law school. The Baltimore City Court agreed and the University then appealed to the Maryland Court of Appeals. In 1936, the Court of Appeals also ruled in favor of Murray and ordered the law school to admit him. Two years later, Murray graduated.

Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada (1938)

Beginning in 1936, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund decided to take on the case of Lloyd Gaines, a graduate student of Lincoln University (an all-black college) who applied to the University of Missouri Law School but was denied because of his race. The State of Missouri gave Gaines the option of either attending an all-black law school that it would build (Missouri did not have any all-black law schools at this time) or having Missouri help to pay for him to attend a law school in a neighboring state. Gaines rejected both of these options, and, employing the services of Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, he decided to sue the state in order to attend the University of Missouri’s law school. By 1938, his case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, and, in December of that year, the Court sided with him. The six-member majority stated that since a “black” law school did not currently exist in the State of Missouri, the “equal protection clause” required the state to provide, within its boundaries, a legal education for Gaines. In other words, since the state provided legal education for white students, it could not send black students, like Gaines, to school in another state.

Sweat v. Painter (1950)

Encouraged by their victory in Gaines’ case, the NAACP continued to attack legally sanctioned racial discrimination in higher education. In 1946, an African American man named Heman Sweat applied to the University of Texas’ “white” law school. Hoping that it would not have to admit Sweat to the “white” law school if a “black” school already existed, elsewhere on the University’s campus, the state hastily set up an underfunded “black” law school. At this point, Sweat employed the services of Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and sued to be admitted to the University’s “white” law school. He argued that the education that he was receiving in the “black” law school was not of the same academic caliber as the education that he would be receiving if he attended the “white” law school. When the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1950, the Court unanimously agreed with him, citing as its reason the blatant inequalities between the University’s law school (the school for whites) and the hastily erected school for blacks. In other words, the “black” law school was “separate,” but not “equal.” Like the Murray case, the Court found the only appropriate remedy for this situation was to admit Sweat to the University’s law school.

McLaurin v. Oklahoma Board of Regents of Higher Education (1950)

In 1949, the University of Oklahoma admitted George McLaurin, an African American, to its doctoral program. However, it required him to sit apart from the rest of his class, eat at a separate time and table from white students, etc. McLaurin, stating that these actions were both unusual and resulting in adverse effects on his academic pursuits, sued to put an end to these practices. McLaurin employed Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund to argue his case, a case which eventually went to the U.S. Supreme Court. In an opinion delivered on the same day as the decision in Sweat, the Court stated that the University’s actions concerning McLaurin were adversely affecting his ability to learn and ordered that they cease immediately.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954, 1955)

The case that came to be known as Brown v. Board of Education was actually the name given to five separate cases that were heard by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning the issue of segregation in public schools. These cases were Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Briggs v. Elliot, Davis v. Board of Education of Prince Edward County (VA.), Boiling v. Sharpe, and Gebhart v. Ethel. While the facts of each case are different, the main issue in each was the constitutionality of state-sponsored segregation in public schools. Once again, Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund handled these cases.

Although it acknowledged some of the plaintiffs’/plaintiffs claims, a three-judge panel at the U.S. District Court that heard the cases ruled in favor of the school boards. The plaintiffs then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

When the cases came before the Supreme Court in 1952, the Court consolidated all five cases under the name of Brown v. Board of Education. Marshall personally argued the case before the Court. Although he raised a variety of legal issues on appeal, the most common one was that separate school systems for blacks and whites were inherently unequal, and thus violate the “equal protection clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, relying on sociological tests, such as the one performed by social scientist Kenneth Clark, and other data, he also argued that segregated school systems had a tendency to make black children feel inferior to white children, and thus such a system should not be legally permissible.

Meeting to decide the case, the Justices of the Supreme Court realized that they were deeply divided over the issues raised. While most wanted to reverse Plessy and declare segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional, they had various reasons for doing so. Unable to come to a solution by June 1953 (the end of the Court’s 1952-1953 term), the Court decided to rehear the case in December 1953. During the intervening months, however, Chief Justice Fred Vinson died and was replaced by Gov. Earl Warren of California. After the case was reheard in 1953, Chief Justice Warren was able to do something that his predecessor had not—i.e. bring all of the Justices to agree to support a unanimous decision declaring segregation in public schools unconstitutional. On May 14, 1954, he delivered the opinion of the Court, stating that “We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. . .”

Expecting opposition to its ruling, especially in the southern states, the Supreme Court did not immediately try to give direction for the implementation of its ruling. Rather, it asked the attorney generals of all states with laws permitting segregation in their public schools to submit plans for how to proceed with desegregation. After still more hearings before the Court concerning the matter of desegregation, on May 31, 1955, the Justices handed down a plan for how it was to proceed; desegregation was to proceed with “all deliberate speed.” Although it would be many years before all segregated school systems were to be desegregated, Brown and Brown II (as the Courts plan for how to desegregate schools came to be called) were responsible for getting the process underway.

resource: PBS.org UScourts.gov Dec 9, 1952 – May 17, 1954

60 plus years and the struggle for Equity and Opportunity continues! In this 21st Century we still have folks pushing separate – Nativegrl77

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USDA~ FSN ~ FDA ~ MAY 2026 -Recalls – Food Safety Alerts – Previous Month & last day of prior month update

05/18/2026 Nativegrl77 Leave a comment

** Popcorn topping recalled because of Salmonella risk

Cheese curds recalled because of Salmonella risk

Recalled herring carries risk of botulism poisoning

Williams Sonoma, Fireworks brand seasonings recalled for Salmonella risk

** PA, Utz Quality Foods, LLC Issues Voluntary Recall of Certain Limited Varieties of Zapp’s and Dirty Potato Chips. For more information about Utz® or its products, please visit or call 1-800-FOR-SNAX. Call them because there are alot of Batch Codes.

** JCB Flavors, LLC of Watertown, Wisconsin, is voluntarily recalling select topical seasoning products due to the potential presence of Salmonella. For questions or further information, please contact JCB Flavors, LLC Customer Service at 1-920-390-7700. The impacted products are 1.6 oz retail containers available through e-commerce platforms and retail stores nationwide. Lot # 057596

Stoltzfus Family Dairy Recalls Sour Cream and Onion Cheese Curds Because of Possible Health Risk. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us directly at vern@stoltzfudairy.com for more information or call us at (315) 829-4089 during our business hours, Monday through Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm. To date, Stoltzfus Family Dairy has not received any reports of illness or injury related to these products.

Sour Cream and Onion Cheese Curds in 8oz bag	Best By: 03/25/2026
Sour Cream and Onion Cheese Curds in 8oz bag	Best By: 04/23/2026
Sour Cream and Onion Cheese Curds in 8oz bag	Best By: 04/29/2026
Sour Cream and Onion Cheese Curds in 8oz bag	Best By: 05/06/2026

** Legacy Snack Solutions of Waukesha, Wisconsin, is voluntarily recalling certain batches of Giant Eagle Baked Pita Chips With Parmesan, Garlic & Herb because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. This action follows a California Diaries, Inc. milk powder recall due to a concern of potential Salmonella contamination. To receive a full refund or replacement, please take a photo of the product’s bar code panel and Best If Used By date, and then you should dispose of the product. You may return to the store of purchase with your receipt or call the Legacy Snack Solutions customer care line 24/7 at 1-800-532-6120 to request a credit.

** Consumers with questions regarding this recall can contact Jesse Withrow at 740-280-2141 or mywifeslaw@outlook.com. My Wife’s Slaw is voluntarily recalling its Original and Jalapeno Heat flavored coleslaw sold in 8 oz and 16 oz glass mason jars. The products included in this recall are adulterated because they were produced without the benefit of inspection and the safety parameters were not able to be verified. Products were sold directly to consumers through online sales via mywifeslaw.web.app External Link Disclaimer. All products that have been produced are being recalled. Products were available to be shipped nationwide. No reports of illnesses involving these products have been reported.

Pharmacal Issues Nationwide Recall of MG217 Multi-Symptom Treatment Cream & Skin Protectant Eczema Cream Due to Microbial Contamination
– May/8/2026- Jackson, WI, Pharmacal is recalling one lot of MG217 Multi-symptom Treatment Cream & Skin Protectant Eczema Cream, 6oz tube to the consumer level. The product has been found to be contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus.Risk Statement: Use of the product could result in a range of infections from localized to severe or life-threatening adverse events. Patients with weakened immune systems or compromised skin — such as those with wounds, burns, or skin disorders — are at increased risk for serious infections, including skin and skin structure infections, infective endocarditis (infection of the heart valves), bone and joint infections, bloodstream infections, and life-threatening conditions like sepsis and septic shock. To date, Pharmacal has not received any reports of adverse events related to this recall.View Full Recall

** Spring & Mulberry is voluntarily expanding its previously announced recall of select chocolate bars due to possible contamination from Salmonella. Consumers: recalls@springandmulberry.com Spring & Mulberry takes the safety and quality of its products extremely seriously. Consumers with questions may contact the company at recalls@springandmulberry.com. Customer service will respond during business hours Monday-Friday 9am-5pm Eastern Standard Time.

Kathryn Shah. The list contains a few Batch and lot Codes

**Shining Sea Fish Co. of Detroit MI, is recalling its catch weight packages of “Ma Cohen’s Kippered Herring” smoked fish because this product consists of, uneviscerated fish longer than five inches, which has the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death. Consumers are warned not to use the product even if it does not look or smell spoiled. The recalled “Ma Cohens Kippered Herring” were distributed in retail grocery stores throughout MI, MN, and ND. Consumers who have purchased any packages of “Ma Cohen’s Kippered Herring” are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company Monday through Friday 9:00am – 3:00pm EST at 1-313-542-2637

The product is packaged in a clear plastic package, and a foil label with the product name and information and LOT #’s on the back of the package. The expiration dates are printed on the back of the package or listed on store added stickers along with the catch weight.

LOT 25079 Expiration May 03 2026, LOT 25055 Expiration May 12 2026, LOT 25028 Expiration June 03 2026, LOT 26344 Expiration July 22 2026

consumer.quality@richelieufoods.com Media may contact Moazzam
Chaudhry, Richelieu Foods, Inc. Vice
President of

Consumers may also contact ALDI Inc.
at 800-325-7894 or by visiting:
https://help.aldi.us/contact-form-other Brands: Mama Cozzi’s ~ Nationwide

** Media and consumers may contact
Porkie Co. Of Wis., Inc at 414-483-6562
or recall@porkkingood.com Brand: Pork King and Pork King Good

** Consumer Contact: Palermo Villa Inc.
Customer Service 1-844-267-4500. Brands: Culinary Circle and Great Value ~ Nationwide

**Jonco Industries Recalls Certain Consumer-Sized White Cheddar Seasoning Products Because of Possible Health Risk. The recalled products were distributed in limited quantities through retail stores.

The affected products include White Cheddar Seasoning sold in the following consumer-facing formats: Consumers with questions may contact Jonco Industries at 414-449-2000 during normal business hours.

Fireworks White Cheddar Seasoning, 1.6 oz jars, sold at West Allis Cheese and Sausage. The affected lot codes are: 088594-7-1.

Williams Sonoma–branded Popcorn Sampler Gift Box, containing a White Cheddar Seasoning component. The affected lot codes are: 088594-2-1.

Fireworks Popcorn Poppings & Toppings gift set containing a White Cheddar Seasoning component sold at West Allis Cheese and Sausage. The affected lot codes are: 088594-5-1.

** Utz Quality Foods, LLC, a subsidiary of Utz Brands, Inc., is issuing a voluntary recall in the United States of certain limited varieties of Zapp’s® and Dirty® potato chips. This voluntary recall follows notification to Utz that a seasoning containing dry milk powder, sourced from California Dairies, Inc. and supplied by a third-party supplier, may contain the presence of Salmonella. The affected seasoning batches tested negative for Salmonella prior to use; however, out of an abundance of caution, Utz is recalling the limited varieties of Zapp’s and Dirty brand potato chips identified below. Consumers who have these products should not eat them and should discard any products they may have. For questions or refunds, consumers may contact the Utz Customer Care team email or call 1-877-423-0149, Monday through Friday from 9:00 am – 6:00 pm Eastern Time. Retailers should check their inventories and shelves to confirm that none of the products are present or available for purchase by consumers. This voluntary recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the United States Food and Drug Administration.

** Second Nature Brands of Madison Heights, MI, is voluntarily recalling certain 10-ounce packages of SECOND NATURE KETO CRUNCH SMART MIX^TM because the product may contain undeclared cashews, pistachios, and cherries. he affected product was distributed nationwide in retail stores and through online orders. The product comes in a 10-ounce pouch with UPC 077034013405. Affected pouches are marked with “Best if used by 2/12/2027” on the backside of pouch. Packages with other Best if used by dates are not affected. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this issue. Consumers may contact the company by calling +1.800.651.7263 Monday-Friday from 8:00AM to 8:00PM ET, Saturday-Sunday from 9:00AM to 5:00PM ET or via recall@secondnaturebrandsus.com

** Boulder, CO – May 2, 2026 – The a2 Milk Company (“a2MC”) has voluntarily recalled three specific batches of its imported a2 Platinum Premium USA label infant formula 0-12 months (“Product”) due to the presence of cereulide. The Product is sold only in the United States. a2 Platinium Premium infant formula 0-12 months Milk-based powder with Iron.

31.7oz tin	2210269454	7/15/2026
31.7oz tin	2210324609	1/21/2027
31.7oz tin	2210321712	1/15/2027

Cereulide is a heat-stable toxin produced by some strains of the bacterium Bacillus cereus. Illness occurs through the consumption of food contaminated with the toxin and preparing formula with hot water does not eliminate it. Report a Product Problem through SmartHub, or

Complete and submit a Medwatch report Online at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm, or by Regular Mail or Fax: Download the form from http://www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178

** Insulet stated that Pods from certain lots may have a small tear in the internal tubing that delivers insulin. If this happens, insulin may leak inside the Pod instead of being fully infused in the body as intended, potentially leading to under-delivery of insulin. Customers in the U.S. with adverse reactions, quality problems, or questions about this issue should contact Insulet at 1-800-641-2049 or visit https://www.omnipod.com/current-podders External Link Disclaimer to reach a live agent chat.

** Ghirardelli Chocolate Company of San Leandro, California is voluntarily recalling certain powdered beverage mixes because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. This action follows a California Dairies, Inc. milk powder recall due to a concern of potential Salmonella contamination, which was supplied to a third-party manufacturer and used as an ingredient in powdered beverage mixes. The affected beverage mixes are packaged in large formats intended for food service and institutional customers, but some powdered beverage mixes may also have been available for purchase by consumers through e-commerce platforms. No illnesses have been reported to date. Consumers who purchased one of the recalled powdered beverage mixes listed above may contact Ghirardelli Chocolate Company directly at 1-844-776-0419 for questions or more information 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The list is long; go to fda.gov for all the LOT NUMBERS

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The day after … Brown V Board of Education

05/18/2026 Nativegrl77 Leave a comment

Photo of mother and daughter on steps of the Supreme Court building on May 18, 1954.
Mother (Nettie Hunt) and daughter (Nickie) sit on the steps of the Supreme Court building on May 18, 1954, the day following the Court’s historic decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Nettie is holding a newspaper with the headline, “High Court Bans Segregation in Public Schools.” Reproduction courtesy of Corbis Images

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Rhode Island’s 1652 Anti-Slavery Law

05/18/2026 Nativegrl77 Leave a comment

In 2014, the two maps below show estimates of the number of people enslaved and where

Rhode Island’s 1652 Anti-Slavery Law

On May 18, 1652, the General Court of Election in Rhode Island passed one of the first anti-slavery statutes in the American colonies TIME+1. The law, enacted in Providence and Warwick, aimed to end the practice of lifetime enslavement by limiting the duration of servitude to ten years for any person—black or white—brought into the colony. If someone was taken under 14, they could not be bound for more than ten years or until they reached 24, whichever came first EBSCO.

Context and Influences

Religious opposition: The law reflected the moral stance of Rhode Island’s Puritan and Quaker communities, who opposed lifelong enslavement EBSCO.
Colonial identity: As a breakaway colony from Massachusetts, Rhode Island sought to distinguish itself by resisting some of the more oppressive practices of its neighbors TIME.
Economic realities: Despite the law, Rhode Island’s economy relied on the slave trade. Newport was a major port for exporting slaves to the West Indies, and the colony exported rum made from molasses imported in exchange TIME.

Enforcement and Limitations

The 1652 law was not widely enforced. There is little evidence that it was applied in practice TIME.
It only applied to white and black people; enslavement of Native Americans was prohibited in 1676 TIME.
The law allowed for indentured servitude for periods under ten years, which was still a form of bondage TIME.

Later Developments

By the 1700s, Rhode Island’s laws had shifted toward perpetual slavery for African and Native Americans, with the 1703 General Assembly recognizing such slavery TIME.
The colony remained involved in the slave trade until after the American Revolution, when gradual abolition laws began to take effect EBSCO.
Slavery was fully abolished in Rhode Island by the mid-19th century Rhode Island Department of State ArchivesSpace.

In summary: Rhode Island’s 1652 law was a pioneering but ultimately limited attempt to limit slavery. It reflected early moral opposition to lifelong bondage but was undermined by economic ties to the slave trade and evolving colonial laws that eventually legalized and perpetuated slavery.

Sources: Time, EBSCO and AI

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The History Place ~ May

05/18/2026 Nativegrl77 Leave a comment

Welcome to The History Place!

May 17
1792 – Two dozen merchants and brokers established the New York Stock Exchange. In good weather, they operated under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street. In bad weather, they moved inside to a coffeehouse to conduct business.

May 17, 1875 – The first Kentucky Derby horse race took place at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

May 17, 1954 – In Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that segregation of public schools “solely based on race” denies black children “equal educational opportunity” even though “physical facilities and other ‘tangible’ factors may have been equal. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” Thurgood Marshall had argued the case before the Court. He went on to become the first African American appointed to the Supreme Court.

May 18
1980 – Mount St. Helens volcano erupted in southwestern Washington State spewing steam and ash over 11 miles into the sky. This was the first major eruption since 1857.

1998 – In one of the biggest antitrust lawsuits of the 20th century, American software giant Microsoft Corporation was sued by the U.S. Federal government and 20 state governments charging the company with using unfair tactics to crush competition and restrict choices for consumers. The lawsuits alleged Microsoft used illegal practices to deny personal computer owners the benefits of a free and competitive market and also alleged Microsoft extended its monopoly on operating systems to “develop a chokehold” on the Internet browser software market.

May 19
1943 – During World War II in Europe, Royal Air Force bombers successfully attacked dams in the German Ruhr Valley using innovative ball-shaped bouncing bombs that skipped along the water and exploded against the dams. The dams had provided drinking water for 4 million persons and supplied 75% of the electrical power for industry in the area.

Birthday – Black nationalist and civil rights activist Malcolm X (1925-1965) was born in Omaha, Nebraska (as Malcolm Little). While in prison he adopted the Islamic religion and after his release in 1952, changed his name to Malcolm X and worked for the Nation of Islam. He later made a pilgrimage to Mecca and became an orthodox Muslim. He was assassinated while addressing a meeting in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on February 21, 1965.

Birthday – African American playwright Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) was born in Chicago, Illinois. She is best known for A Raisin in the Sun (1959) a play dealing with prejudice and black pride. The play was the first stage production written by a black woman to appear on Broadway. She died of cancer at the age of 34. A book of her writings entitled To Be Young, Gifted, and Black was published posthumously.

May 20
May 20, 325 A.D. – The Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the Catholic Church was called by Constantine I, first Christian Emperor of the Roman Empire. With nearly 300 bishops in attendance at Nicaea in Asia Minor, the council condemned Arianism which denied Christ’s divinity, formulated the Nicene Creed and fixed the date of Easter.

May 20, 1862 – President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act opening millions of acres of government-owned land in the West to “homesteaders” who could acquire up to 160 acres by living on the land and cultivating it for five years, paying just $1.25 per acre.

May 20, 1927 – Charles Lindbergh, a 25-year-old aviator, took off at 7:52 a.m. from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, in the Spirit of St. Louis attempting to win a $25,000 prize for the first solo nonstop flight between New York City and Paris. Thirty-three hours later, after a 3,600 mile journey, he landed at Le Bourget, Paris, earning the nickname “Lucky Lindy” and becoming an instant worldwide hero.

May 20, 1932 – Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. She departed Newfoundland, Canada, at 7 p.m. and landed near Londonderry, Ireland, completing a 2,026-mile flight in about 13 hours. Five years later, along with her navigator Fred Noonan, she disappeared while trying to fly her twin-engine plane around the equator.

May 21
May 21, 1881 – The American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton. The organization today provides volunteer disaster relief in the U.S. and abroad. Community services include collecting and distributing donated blood, and teaching health and safety classes.

May 21, 1991 – Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in the midst of a re-election campaign, killed by a bomb hidden in a bouquet of flowers. He had served as prime minister from 1984 to 1989, succeeding his mother, Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1984.

May 22
May 22, 1972 – President Richard Nixon became the first American president to visit Moscow. Four days later, Nixon and Soviet Russia’s leader Leonid Brezhnev signed a pact pledging to freeze nuclear arsenals at current levels.

May 22, 1947 – Congress approved the Truman Doctrine, assuring U.S. support for Greece and Turkey to prevent the spread of Communism.

Birthday – Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) was born in Dorking, England. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th Century, he was honored with nine Academy Award nominations, three Oscars, five Emmy awards, and a host of other awards. His repertoire included most of the major Shakespearean roles, and films such as The Entertainer, Rebecca, Pride and Prejudice, The Boys from Brazil, Marathon Man and Wuthering Heights. He was knighted in 1947 and made a peer of the throne in 1970.

May 23

Birthday – The first American female attorney Arabella Mansfield (1846-1911) was born near Burlington, Iowa (as Belle Aurelia Babb). She was certified in 1869 as an attorney and admitted to the Iowa bar, but never practiced law. Instead she chose a career as a college educator and administrator. She was also instrumental in the founding of the Iowa Suffrage Society in 1870.
May 24
1844 – Telegraph inventor Samuel Morse sent the first official telegraph message, “What hath God wrought?” from the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., to Baltimore.

May 24, 1881 – A boating disaster occurred in Canada when Victoria, a small, double-decked stern-wheeler carrying over 600 passengers on the Thames River keeled over then sank, killing 182 persons.

May 25
1787 – The Constitutional Convention began in Philadelphia with delegates from seven states forming a quorum.

May 25, 1994 – After 20 years in exile, Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn returned to his homeland. He had been expelled from Soviet Russia in 1974 after his three-volume work exposing the Soviet prison camp system, The Gulag Archipelago, was published in the West.

Birthday – American author and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His works include: Nature (1836), Essays, First Series (1841), Essays, Second Series (1844), Poems (1847, 1865), Representative Men (1850), English Traits (1856), The Conduct of Life (1860), and Society and Solitude (1870).
May 26
1940 – The Dunkirk evacuation began in order to save the British Expeditionary Force trapped by advancing German armies on the northern coast of France. Boats and vessels of all shapes and sizes ferried 200,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian soldiers across the English Channel by June 2nd.

*Birthday – Interpretive dancer Isadora Duncan (1878-1927) was born in San Francisco. She revolutionized the entire concept of dance by developing a free-form style and rebelled against tradition, performing barefoot in a loose fitting tunic. She experienced worldwide acclaim as well as personal tragedy. Her two children drowned, her marriage failed, and she met a bizarre death in 1927 when a scarf she was wearing caught in the wheel of the open car in which she was riding, strangling her.

May 27
1937 – In San Francisco, 200,000 people celebrated the grand opening of the Golden Gate Bridge by strolling across it.

Birthday – Legendary Wild West figure Wild Bill Hickok (1837-1876) was born in Troy Grove, Illinois. He was a frontiersman, lawman, legendary marksman, army scout and gambler. On August 2, 1876, he was shot dead during a poker game by a drunk in the Number Ten saloon in Deadwood, in the Dakota Territory. In his hand he held a pair of eights and a pair of aces which became known as the ‘dead man’s hand.’

May 28
1961 – Amnesty International was founded by London lawyer Peter Berenson. He read about the arrest of a group of students in Portugal then launched a one-year campaign to free them called Appeal for Amnesty. Today Amnesty International has over a million members in 150 countries working to free prisoners of conscience, stop torture and the death penalty, and guarantee human rights for women.

Birthday – All-around athlete Jim Thorpe (1888-1953) was born near Prague, Oklahoma. He won the pentathlon and decathlon events at the 1912 Olympic Games and also played professional baseball and football.
May 29
1453 – The city of Constantinople was captured by the Turks, who renamed it Istanbul. This marked the end of the Byzantine Empire as Istanbul became the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
May 29, 1660 – The English monarchy was restored with Charles II on the throne after several years of a Commonwealth under Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell.
May 29, 1787 – At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia the Virginia Plan was proposed calling for a new government consisting of a legislature with two houses, an executive chosen by the legislature and a judicial branch.
May 29, 1865 – Following the American Civil War, President Andrew Johnson issued a proclamation granting general amnesty to Confederates. The amnesty excluded high ranking Confederates and large property owners, who had to apply individually to the President for a pardon. Following an oath of allegiance, all former property rights, except slaves, were returned to the former owners.

Birthday – American revolutionary leader Patrick Henry (1736-1799) was born in Studley, Virginia. He is best remembered for his speech in 1775 declaring: “I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.”

Birthday – John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) the 35th U.S. President was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the youngest man ever elected to the presidency and the first Roman Catholic. He was assassinated in Dallas, November 22, 1963, the fourth President to killed by an assassin.
May 30
May 30, 1922 – The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated. The Memorial was designed by architect Henry Bacon and features a compelling statue of “Seated Lincoln” by sculptor Daniel Chester French.
May 30, 1943 – During World War II in the Pacific, the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska were retaken by the U.S. 7th Infantry Division. The battle began on May 12 when an American force of 11,000 landed on Attu. In three weeks of fighting U.S. casualties numbered 552 killed and 1,140 wounded. Japanese killed numbered 2,352, with only 28 taken prisoner, as 500 chose suicide rather than be captured.

May 31

1862 – During the American Civil War, the Battle of Seven Pines occurred as Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army attacked Union General George McClellan’s troops in front of Richmond Virginia and nearly defeated them. Johnston was badly wounded. Confederate General Robert E. Lee then assumed command, replacing the wounded Johnston. Lee renamed his force the Army of Northern Virginia.
May 31, 1889 – Over 2,300 persons were killed in the Johnstown flood in Pennsylvania. Heavy rains throughout May caused the Connemaugh River Dam to burst sending a wall of water 75 feet high pouring down upon the city.
Birthday – American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was born in Long Island, New York. His poem Leaves of Grass is considered an American classic. His poetry celebrated modern life and took on subjects considered taboo at the time.

(Photo and picture credits: Library of Congress and U.S. National Archives)