Browsing: Religion

A Brief History On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court of the US ruled that “separate but equal” was a legal doctrine for segregating Caucasian Americans from Americans of sub-Saharan African descent, especially regarding school children.  The case known as Plessy v. Ferguson is frequently referred to as the most egregious error in judgement ever made by the Supreme Court.  Oddly enough, the case has never been overturned, except regarding the classroom. Digging Deeper Some other cases that have attracted the ire of Supreme Court critics include Dred Scott v. Sandford of 1857 claiming that American citizenship did not extend…

A Brief History Today, March 17, 2023, I, Dr. Zar, wish all of my family, friends, colleagues, students, and subscribers a Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Digging Deeper As Saint Patrick is considered the foremost patron saint of Ireland and March is also Women’s History Month, here are some notable American women with Irish ancestry: Maureen Dowd (born 1952) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, currently writing for The New York Times. Eileen Collins (born 1956), a retired astronaut and United States Air Force colonel, was the first woman to command a Space Shuttle mission. Stephanie McMahon (born 1976), a retired professional wrestler, currently serves…

A Brief History On March 10, 483, the Bishop of Rome, Pope Simplicius, died after a 15 year reign on “the Throne of St. Peter.”  While we do not know a lot about Simplicius, we do know he succeeded Pope Hilarius as the Bishop of Rome. Digging Deeper With the seeming adjective birth names of these 2 Popes, we find future Popes, starting in the 6th Century, beginning to take a new name to serve under when elected.  By the 10th Century, virtually all new Popes chose a new name.  Since 1555, every new Pope has chosen a new name.…

A Brief History On March 4, 938, the relics of Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs, were translated, which means moved to a more permanent location.  Not really a king during his life, Wenceslaus was posthumously promoted to “King of the Czechs” after his death. Digging Deeper Wenceslaus was born in Prague, Bohemia in 907, and became Duke in 921.  In 935, he was assassinated by his own brother, the aptly named Boleslaus the Cruel.  The family murders had begun when Wenceslaus’s own mother had his grandmother and regent killed to prevent the grandmother’s influence.  The evil…

A Brief History On February 25, 1870, history was made when Hiram Rhodes Revels, an African American man from Mississippi, was sworn in as a US Senator, the first African American member of the US Congress. Digging Deeper Despite being born in North Carolina in 1827, Revels was not born a slave, and later lived in Indiana and Ohio.  The son of a Baptist minister, Revels was educated in Quaker seminaries and at Knox College, in Illinois, later being ordained in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Revels served in the US Army during the American Civil War as a chaplain,…