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Black History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

THE DOVER EIGHT: FUGITIVE SLAVES BETRAYED BY BLACK UNDERGROUND RAILROAD CONDUCTOR


Black History…

In March 1857, eight slaves from Dorchester County, Maryland, escaped following a route provided by Harriet Tubman, who also previously escaped from Dorchester County.

Tubman had told the fugitives to contact Thomas Otwell, a free black man and underground railroad conductor in Dover, Delaware. Unfortunately, instead of guiding them North to the next step of the railroad, Otwell led them to the Dover jail in expectation of collecting a $3,000 reward. However, despite the betrayal, the “Dover Eight” were able to escape the jail. All of them eventually made their way to freedom.

The slaves were discovered when a man approached Sheriff Green with the information about eight runaway slaves. The man arranged to have the slaves with him in Dover that night.

At about 4 o’clock on a Tuesday morning, the man along with the slaves appeared at the jail. While the sheriff was getting dressed, they all entered the jail and went upstairs. The eight slaves found an open room. The sheriff, knowing the group was upstairs, headed up there to dead bolt the room and seize them.

However, the sheriff found them in the entry way. He turned around and went back to retrieve his revolver, but the slaves followed him down to his room. The slaves entered the room where the sheriff’s wife and children were sleeping before he could seize his revolver.

elliott71

One of the slaves reportedly became suspicious of the sheriff. The law enforcement officer quickly seized the man and, while in a struggle, the other slaves burst through a window and escaped. They made a fire scatter across the floor, which resulted in awakening the sheriff’s family. The sheriff released the slave for a split second, which allowed him to escape as well.

POSTED BY JAE JONES

Six of the eight slaves were later tracked down to a house in Camden, but the officers could not enter the home because they did not have a proper warrant. Later, the six men were moved through the country by the forest woods, which was later known as the “underground railroad.” The other two escaped slaves were seen heading north right after they escaped.

source:

http://aasc.oupexplore.com/undergroundrailroad/#!/event/slave-escape-dover

THE DOVER EIGHT

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Chinedu Okobi – Demand Justice in Police Taser Killing of Chinedu Okobi


Chinedu Okobi :

On October 3, 2018, San Mateo sheriff deputies tased Chinedu Okobi to death.

Chinedu was a 36-year-old Nigerian-American who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area California, a graduate of Morehouse College. He was a great father, a cherished son, a beloved brother, a trusted friend, a respected community member, and a gifted poet.

Sadly, Chinedu is part of a tragic trend of unarmed Black people who’ve been killed by police. He was walking in broad daylight and had committed no crime. Five sheriff deputies escalated the interaction when they approached Chinedu who was walking in and out of busy traffic. Rather than offer support to Chinedu, who unfortunately was struggling with mental health issues, the deputies viciously tased Chinedu to death.

We need your help to make sure that the sheriff deputies who killed Chinedu Okobi are held accountable for their crimes. The investigation has barely started and yet the District Attorney is already publicly trying to justify the deputies’ actions, by making the assumption that because Chinedu was ” 6’3 tall, and weighed 330 pounds, he was automatically deemed a threat and seen as dangerous. We know the deputies should not have killed Chinedu, and they must be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

We know that police are only held accountable when people come together to demand justice. Please join us as we come together with our comrades at Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), Chinedu’s family, friends, and community in demanding that San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe charge and prosecute every single officer involved in Chinedu’s murder.

Below is the letter we will send to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe:

Here is the Petition:

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe,

We demand that you charge and prosecute San Mateo deputies John DeMartini, Alyssa Lorenzatti, Joshua Wang, Bryan Watt, and Sgt. David Weidner for the killing of Chinedu Okobi. He was a great father, a cherished son, a beloved brother, a trusted friend, a respected community member, and a gifted poet. He was an unarmed man who did nothing to justify being tased to death.

We are concerned that you have already made public statements that suggest you have already decided the deputies who killed Chinedu should not be held accountable for their actions. Too often District Attorneys turn a blind eye to police murder against unarmed Black people. Police are not above the law. We demand transparency and accountability.

On October 3, 2018, San Mateo sheriff deputies tased Chinedu Okobi to death.

Chinedu was a 36-year-old Nigerian-American who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area California, a graduate of Morehouse College. He was a great father, a cherished son, a beloved brother, a trusted friend, a respected community member, and a gifted poet.
Sadly, Chinedu is part of a tragic trend of unarmed Black people who’ve been killed by police. He was walking in broad daylight and had committed no crime. Five sheriff deputies escalated the interaction when they approached Chinedu who was walking in and out of busy traffic. Rather than offer support to Chinedu, who unfortunately was struggling with mental health issues, the deputies viciously tased Chinedu to death.

We need your help to make sure that the sheriff deputies who killed Chinedu Okobi are held accountable for their crimes. The investigation has barely started and yet the District Attorney is already publicly trying to justify the deputies’ actions, by making the assumption that because Chinedu was ” 6’3 tall, and weighed 330 pounds, he was automatically deemed a threat and seen as dangerous. We know the deputies should not have killed Chinedu, and they must be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

We know that police are only held accountable when people come together to demand justice. Please join us as we come together with our comrades at Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), Chinedu’s family, friends, and community in demanding that San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe charge and prosecute every single officer involved in Chinedu’s murder.

Below is the letter we will send to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe:
Here is the Petition:
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe,
We demand that you charge and prosecute San Mateo deputies John DeMartini, Alyssa Lorenzatti, Joshua Wang, Bryan Watt, and Sgt. David Weidner for the killing of Chinedu Okobi.

Chinedu Okobi was a great father, a cherished son, a beloved brother, a trusted friend, a respected community member, and a gifted poet. He was an unarmed man who did nothing to justify being tased to death.

We are concerned that you have already made public statements that suggest you have already decided the deputies who killed Chinedu should not be held accountable for their actions. Too often District Attorneys turn a blind eye to police murder against unarmed Black people. Police are not above the law. We demand transparency and accountability.

colorofchange.org

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

2026 ~ National Governors Association Dinner


Statement from Governor Moore on National Governors Association Bipartisan Dinner

Published: 2/8/2026

​​“This week, I learned that I was uninvited to this year’s National Governors Association dinner — a decades-long annual tradition meant to bring governors from both parties together to build bonds and celebrate a shared service to our citizens with the President of the United States. My peers, both Democrats and Republicans, selected me to serve as the Vice Chair of the NGA, another reason why it’s hard not to see this decision as another example of blatant disrespect and a snub to the spirit of bipartisan federal-state partnership.

“As the nation’s only Black governor, I can’t ignore that being singled out for exclusion from this bipartisan tradition carries an added weight — whether that was the intent or not.

“What makes it especially confounding is that just weeks ago I was at the White House with a bipartisan group of governors, working with the administration on reforms to lower energy costs and strengthen grid reliability. We proved in that moment what’s possible when we stay focused on outcomes over politics.

“As Governor of Maryland and Vice Chair of the NGA, my approach will never change: I’m ready to work with the administration anywhere we can deliver results. Yet, I promised the people of my state I will work with anybody but will bow down to nobody. And I guess the President doesn’t like that.”​

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

History… February 9


1825 – The U.S. House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president. No candidate had received a majority of electoral votes.

1861 – The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America elected Jefferson Davis as its president.

1870 – The United States Weather Bureau was authorized by Congress. The bureau is officially known as the National Weather Service (NWS).

1884 – Thomas Edison and Patrick Kenny executed a patent application for a chemical recording stock quotation telegraph (U.S. Pat. 314,115).

1885 – The first Japanese arrived in Hawaii.

1895 – Volley Ball was invented by W.G. Morgan.

1895 – The first college basketball game was played as Minnesota State School of Agriculture defeated the Porkers of Hamline College, 9-3.

1900 – Dwight F. Davis put up a new tennis trophy to go to the winner in matches against England. The trophy was a silver cup that weighed 36 pounds.

1909 – The first forestry school was incorporated in Kent, Ohio.

1932 – America entered the 2-man bobsled competition for the first time at the Olympic Winter Games held at Lake Placid, NY.

1942 – The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate military strategy during World War II.

1942 – Daylight-saving “War Time” went into effect in the U.S.

1943 – During World War II, the battle of Guadalcanal ended with an American victory over Japanese forces.

1950 – U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy charged that the State Department was riddled with Communists. This was the beginning of “McCarthyism.”

1958 – CBS radio debuted “Frontier Gentleman.”

1960 – A verbal agreement was reached between representatives of the American and National Football Leagues. Both agreed not to tamper with player contracts.

1960 – The first star was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star was for Joanne Woodward.

1969 – The Boeing 747 flew its inaugural flight.

1971 – The San Fernando Valley experienced the Sylmar earthquake that registered 6.4 on the Richter Scale.

1971 – The Apollo 14 spacecraft returned to Earth after mankind’s third landing on the moon.

1975 – The Russian Soyuz 17 returned to Earth.

1984 – NBC Entertainment president, Brandon Tartikoff, gave an interviewer the “10 Commandments for TV Programmers.”

1989 – Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. completed the $25 billion purchase of RJR Nabisco, Inc.

1997 – “The Simpsons” became the longest-running prime-time animated series. “The Flintstones” held the record previously.

2001 – “Hannibal,” the sequel to “Silence of the Lambs,” opened in theaters.

on-this-day.com