By August 9, 2014, the public in Ferguson was outraged at how Mike Brown's body was neglected after his death in the summer heat. Things would develop more. Crowds of people are angry at the police. By August 10, 2024, there was a candlelight vigil in Ferguson. Then, the Ferguson rebellion officially started. It was the first major rebellion on this scale in America since the 1992 rebellion in Los Angeles, California. Some people were protesting Mike Brown's death in the street peacefully. Other people started to smash car windows, carry award food, alcohol, and other items stolen from stores. Some people stood on police cars to taunt officers. I agree with peaceful protest, but I don't agree with violence against innocent people or innocent property (as those actions only hurt the cause of justice and allow the government to enact more suppressive laws. Many people doing violence unjustly are agent provocateurs too). A QuikTrip convenience store on West Florissant Avenue, just blocks from where Brown was shot, was looted and burned. Many businesses were damaged or destroyed. This was the first of many nights of unrest. The peaceful protesters have every right to protest, and many people from the Black Lives Matter movement came to Ferguson, Missouri too. It is important to note that grassroots movements fought for change in Ferguson too. By August 11, 2014, the FBI opened an investigation into Michael Brown's death. Two men said that they saw the shooting and told reporters that Brown had his hands raised when the officer fired repeatedly. During the night of August 11th, the police were in riot gear and fired tear gas and rubber bullets to try to disperse a crowd of protesters. Many innocent protesters were harmed by tear gas and rubber bullets too. By August 14, 2014, the Missouri State Highway Patrol takes control of security (over the local Ferguson and St. Louis County officers) being the head law enforcement officers after days of the rebellion. This was a turning point when officers had military-style gear like armored vehicles, body armor, and assault rifles. Many law enforcement members had sound weapons too. Photos circulated online show officers pointing their weapons at demonstrators which is inappropriate and unjust. During August 15, 2024, the police identified Darren Wilson as the officer who shot Mike Brown. There was surveillance video released showing Brown grabbing large amounts of cigarillos from behind the counter of the Ferguson Market and pushing a worker who confronted him as he left the convenience store. The police said that Brown took almost $50 worth of cigarillos. The release of the video upset protesters.
By August 16, 2014, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in Ferguson. By August 18, 2014, Governor Nixon called the National Guard to Ferguson to help restore order. He lifted the curfew. By August 20, 2014, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder visited Ferguson to offer assurances about the investigation into Brown's death to meet with investigators and Brown's family. A grand jury begins hearing evidence to determine whether Wilson should be charged. By August 21, 2014, Nixon ordered the National Guard to withdraw from Ferguson. On September 25, 2014, Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson released a videotaped apology to Brown's family and attempted to march in solidarity with protesters. The move backfired when Ferguson officers scuffled with demonstrators and arrested one person moments after Jackson joined the group. He places Ferguson police in charge of security in Ferguson, with orders for them to work as a unified command with other departments. On November 18, 2014, Nixon declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard again ahead of a decision from a grand jury. He placed Ferguson police in charge of security in Ferguson, with orders for them to work as a unified command with other departments. On November 24, 2014, St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced that the grand jury had decided not to indict Wilson. Protests that were passionate but peaceful earlier in the day turned violent. At least a dozen buildings and multiple police cars are burned, officers are hit by rocks and batteries, and reports of gunfire force some St. Louis-bound flights to be diverted. On November 29, 2014, Wilson announced his resignation from the Ferguson Police Department effective immediately.
One World War II veteran part of the Historic 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion is retired Air Force Major Fannie Griffin McClendon. She now lives in Temple, Arizona. She is now over 100 years old. Being humble is part of her personality. When she was 19 years old, she enlisted in the United States Army. Back then, her work changed the whole world. The Battalion was made up of about 855 black women who went to England and France to fight fascism during World War II. "To be able to be over in Europe and all and see the things that I had studied about over the years – really quite enlightening," McClendon said. The motto of the organization was "no mail, low morale." McClendon was the first woman commander of an all-men squadron with the Strategic Air Command. Her late husband was Roy.
The Supremes featured amazingly talented black women. Diana Ross was very ambitious and eager to show her talents to the world. By January 1961, the Supremes signed with Barry Gordy and Motown. Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Barbara Martin were in the group by January 15, 1961. Barbara Martin left the group, so The Supremes became a trio. In late 1963, the Supremes ad their first hit When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes. It peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. Diana Ross became the lead singer by the edict of Gordy. In June 1964, while on tour with Dick Clark's Cavalcade of Stars, the group scored their first number-one hit with "Where Did Our Love Go", paving the way for unprecedented success: between August 1964 and May 1967, Ross, Wilson, and Ballard sang on ten number-one hit singles, all of which also made the UK Top 40. The group had also become a hit with audiences both domestically and abroad, going on to become Motown's most successful vocal act throughout the sixties.
Ross began to dominate interviews with the media, answering questions aimed at Ballard or Wilson. She pushed for more pay than her colleagues. In 1965, she began using the name Diana from the mistake on her birth certificate, surprising Ballard and Wilson who had only known her as Diane. Following significant issues with comportment, weight, and alcoholism, Florence Ballard was fired from the Supremes by Gordy in July 1967, hiring Cindy Birdsong from Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles as Ballard's replacement. Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, making it easier to charge a larger performance fee for a solo star and a backing group, as it did for other renamed Motown groups. I disagree with Berry Gordy for these decisions for many reasons. One is that Florence Ballard was a victim of rape who deserved the opportunity to have compassion and therapy, not to be fired quickly. Also, Florence Ballard should have stayed in the group a lot longer as a means of solidarity. Florence Ballard is an underrated vocalist. The Supremes is about women's empowerment and black talent.
The group appeared as a trio of singing nuns in a 1968 episode of the popular NBC TV series Tarzan. Between their early 1968 single "Forever Came Today" and their final single with Ross, "Someday We'll Be Together", Ross would be the only Supremes member to be featured on many of their recordings, often accompanied by session singers the Andantes or, as in the case of "Someday We'll Be Together", Julia and Maxine Waters and Johnny Bristol. Still, Wilson and Birdsong continued to sing on recordings. Gordy drove Ross relentlessly throughout this period and Ross, due to anxiety arising from Gordy's demands of her, began suffering from anorexia nervosa, according to her autobiography, Secrets of a Sparrow. During a 1967 performance in Boston, Massachusetts, Ross collapsed onstage and had to be hospitalized for exhaustion. In 1968, Ross began to perform as a solo artist on television specials, including the Supremes' own specials such as TCB and G.I.T. on Broadway, The Dinah Shore Show, and a Bob Hope special, among others. In mid-1969, Gordy decided that Ross would depart the group by the end of that year, and Ross began recording her initial solo work that July. One of the first plans for Ross to establish her own solo career was to publicly introduce a new Motown recording act. Though she herself did not claim their discovery, Motown's publicity department credited Ross with having discovered the Jackson 5. Ross would introduce the group during several public events, including The Hollywood Palace. In November, Ross confirmed a split from the Supremes in Billboard. Ross's presumed first solo recording, "Someday We'll Be Together", was eventually released as a Supremes recording and became the group's final number-one hit on the Hot 100. It was also the final number-one Billboard Hot 100 single of the 1960s. Ross made her final appearance with the Supremes at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 14, 1970
World War One started on June 28, 1914, when there was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne. He was murdered in Sarajevo, along with his wife Sophie Duchess of Hohenberg, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serbian person who was a member of the group The Black Hand. Princip used a FN 1910 semi-automatic handgun. Princip was part of the student revolutionary group called Young Bosnia. The assassination was a conspiracy with conspirators like Muhamed Mehmedbasic, Vaso Cubrilovic, Nedeljko Cabrinovic, Cvjetko Popovic, and Trifko Grabez including coordinating by Danilo Illic. The political assassination desired to free Bosnia and Herzegovina of Austria-Hungary rule to make a common South Slavic (Yugolsav) state. This situation caused the July Crisis and WWI. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and World WWI was on. Gavrilo Princip was caught, tried for murder and treason, and sent to 20 years in prison. Princip died when he was 23 years old over health issues on April 28, 1918. He had tuberculosis and malnutrition. On July 5, 1914, Austria-Hungary sought German support for a war against Serbia in case of Russian military intervention. German Empire gave assurances of support. By July 23, 1914, there was the beginning of the "Black Week." Austria-Hungary sent an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. The Kingdom of Serbia responded that night, agreeing to most but not all terms of the ultimatum. The Serbian response is seen as satisfactory by the Kaiser, but German diplomats do not pressure Austria to make peace. July 24, 1914, was when the Kingdom of Serbia mobilized expecting Austria to declare war after the refusal of the ultimatum. During the next day, Austria mobilized its military forces. Russia prepares for war in a partial mobilization. By July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary officially declared war on Serbia. There was the Willy–Nicky correspondence. Wilhelm II, German Emperor, and Nicholas II of Russia communicated via telegram on July 29, 1914. Germany sent Russia an ultimatum by July 30, 2024. Sweden promotes neutrality in the war. Russia mobilized for war on July 31, 1914. Then, Germany declared war on Russia and mobilized its forces on August 1, 1914. France mobilized its forces and Italy was neutral during this time. There is the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire signed a secret alliance treaty on August 1, 1914 too. This was the German-Ottoman alliance. Germany invaded Luxembourg on August 2, 1914. There is the first military action on the Western Front at Joncherey. From August 2-26, 1914, Germany besieged and captured fortified Longwy, "the Iron Gate to Paris", near the Luxembourg border, opening France to the mass German invasion. Throughout August 1914, more events happen during WWI. Germany declared war on France. Belgium denied permission for German forces to go through to the French border. Switzerland became neutral and built its defense forces. The war is now between Germany, Russia, and France. Germany invaded Belgium on August 4, 1914, in trying to outflank the French army.
Britain protests against the violation of Belgian neutrality, guaranteed by the Treaty of London (1839), The German Chancellor replies that the treaty is just a chiffon de papier (a scrap of paper). The United Kingdom declares war on Germany, automatically including all dominions, colonies, etc. of the British Empire including Canada, Australia, and British India. America by August 1914 declared neutrality. That will obviously change. Geramny captures the fortresses at Liege, Belgum. There were weapons fired in Melbourne, Australia by Australian troops. Australia attacks German forces in the Pacific. German Steamer SS Pfalz surrenders after being fired on by Fort Nepean, south of Melbourne, Australia. Montenegro declared war on Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire closed the Dardanelles. Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia, the Kingdom of Serbia declared war on Germany, and Spain becomes neutral. There was the Battle of the Frontiers when Germany had a victory against the British Expeditionary Force and France's Fifth Army.
The Battle of Mulhouse was a phase of the Battle of the Frontiers. Montenegro declared war on Germany. The Togoland Campaign started. France declared war on Austria-Hungary on August 11, 1914. The United Kingdom declared war on Austria-Hungary. The Battle of Halen was part of the Battle of Frontiers including the Battle of Lorraine. Germany invaded Belgium again in the Battle of Dinant. Germany came into East Africa. World War I continued with Germany occupying Brussels. Japan declared war on Germany, and the Russian army had a heavy defeat by the Germans in the Battle of Tannenberg. Russia captured Lviv in the Battle of Galicia. From August 27 to November, there was the siege of Tsingtao when the British and Japanese forces capture the German-controlled port of Qingdao in the Republic of China (1912–1949). The UK wins early Naval battles. By the end of 1914, World War I became more global. Germany is invaded in South Africa. Germany used U-boats to attack Allied Forces globally. Japan occupied the Marshall Islands. Ottoman forces bombard the Russian ports of Odessa and Sevastopol. France and the United Kingdom declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Mehmed VI declared war on the Allies of WWI. At the end of 1914, the war had victories among the Allied Powers and Central Powers. It was fundamentally a stalemate.
The 1990's saw an increase of console wars along with the modern-day World Wide Web Internet system. The Internet has been around since the 1960's (with DAPRA, etc.), but the World Wide Web was invented in 1990. The famous Computer game of Solitaire came about in 1990. Solitaire is still one of the most popular electronic games of all time found in computers, cell phones, and other devices worldwide today. Sonic the Hedgehog of the Sega game system in 1991 has inspired TV shows and movies for generations. Military strategy games were innovated from the 1992 game of Dune II from Westwood Studios. The video game rating system was created after the 1993 game of Mortal Kombat and other games where graphic violence was presented. A new era of the video game era was when Sony released the game system of PlayStation in 1995. It's easy-to-use hand device and simplistic console device made it a huge hit among people of all ages. Back then, it sold for $100 less than Sega Saturn. Nintendo 64 came out in 1996. The controversial video game of Tomb Raider existed in 1996. Critics back then claimed that the video game promoted sexism. In 1997, IBM's supercomputer chess program Deep Blue defeated world champion Gary Kasparov in a match. One of the most popular video games was Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 1998. In 1999, Sony Online Entertainment's Everquest led many users to play in the multiplayer online world of Norrath.
By the 2000's, the video game landscape has changed. There was more online play in dealing with consoles and computers. By the year of 2000, we have the Sims computer games. Will Wright's The Sims try to model real-life people and landscapes. There were simulation games before The Sims, but The Sims became a very potent best-selling computer game. The Sims is still played by tons of people to this very day. In 2001, Microsoft enters the video game market with Xbox. Many love their Halo: Combat Evolved. Later in 2005, there was Xbox 360 with advanced graphics, seamless online play, and millions of fans worldwide. In 2002, the U.S. Army created America's Army video game to gain new recruits and talk with a new generation of electronic gamers. Steam is a PC gaming distribution platform that allows players to download, play, and update games. The 2004 handheld video game Nintendo DS was easy to use and had multiplayer capacities plus a stylus for the touchscreen. Super Mario Kart DS helped with the gaming system too. I remember when Ninetendo Wii came about in 2006 that allow people to have motion sensitive remotes for sports, music, etc. In 2007, Rock Band allows people to use a guitar, microphone, and bass or drums to play music from Harmonix. In 2008, the World of Warcraft was popular in Massively Multiplayer Online games, Farmville was a great mobile game, and Angry Birds are found in iPhone and Facebook.
In our generation, people need to be reminded of the brutality of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery in America. This was part of the Maafa when evil people kidnapped innocent black African men, women, and children and forced them to go into the Americas, Europe, Asia, etc. These human beings were raped, beaten, families split, and forced to do inhumane actions on the ships and plantations. Easily, the Maafa was the worst form of slavery in all of human history. In our generation, many far-right extremists want to sugarcoat the Maafa (like in Florida, Texas, etc.), but we won't do so here. The Maafa lasted from the late 1400's to the 1800's. Afterward, black people in the world are still fighting for justice and human liberation. Slavery still exists in Mauritania, Yemen (with Houthis harming black people), and other places in the world. Most victims of the Maafa came from Western and Central Africa. My DNA ancestry is mostly from Nigeria and the Congo/Angola. Therefore, I know fully about this subject. Many people from Europe, the Middle East, and traitors from Africa were complicit in the Maafa, but the racist Europeans controlled the major functions of the Maafa and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. In America, black people were forced into slavery in brutal terms. Yet, we still rose up in slave revolts to fight back. We were involved in the American Civil War to defeat the evil Confederacy to end overt, legalized slavery. Still, we fight voting rights suppression, book bans, suppression of the rights of minorities, and the MAGA movement. We are on the right side of history, and we shall be victorious in the end.
By Timothy
