Frederick Douglass, leader in the abolitionist movement and an early champion of women’s rights.
"The soul that is within me no man can degrade. I am not the one that is being degraded on account of this treatment, but those who are inflicting it upon me."
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born around 1818 into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland.
Defying a ban on teaching slaves to read and write, Baltimore slaveholder Hugh Auld’s wife Sophia taught Douglass the alphabet when he was around 12. When Auld forbade his wife to offer more lessons, Douglass continued to learn from white children and others in the neighborhood.
It was through reading that Douglass’ ideological opposition to slavery began to take shape. He read newspapers avidly and sought out political writing and literature as much as possible.
With Douglass moving between the Aulds, he was later made to work for Edward Covey, who had a reputation as a "slave-breaker.” Covey’s constant abuse nearly broke the 16-year-old Douglass psychologically.
Eventually, however, Douglass fought back.
The fight lasted almost two hours. After losing a physical confrontation with Douglass, Covey never beat him again.
"It is, perhaps, not altogether creditable to my natural temper, that, after this conflict with Mr. Covey, I did, at times, purposely aim to provoke him to an attack, by refusing to keep with the other hands in the field, but I could never bully him to another battle."
Douglass tried to escape from slavery twice before the finally succeeded.
He became one of the most famous intellectuals of his time, advising and lecturing to thousands on a range of causes.
The women guards of Nazi concentration camps: the faces of evil.
📷 Helene Kopper (left), sentenced to 15 years imprisonment; Juana Bormann (right), sentenced to death.
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Herta Ehlert, a former bakery saleswoman, began her criminal career in November 1939, when she became a Nazi guard at Ravensbrück. She went on to work in other camps too, including Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen.
She was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, and died aged 92.
Ilse Forster received a 10-year prison sentence for her role as a guard at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
Did you know that students with conditions like autism, ADHD, or dyslexia have unique learning needs?
It's #AutismAcceptanceWeek, and I would like to share some tips on how educators can support neurodivergent students in the classroom.
🧵 Follow the thread.
1) A safe and inclusive learning environment is crucial for neurodivergent students. This can mean providing clear expectations, minimizing distractions, and offering accommodations such as extra time or preferential seating.
2) It's important to remember that all students learn differently, not just the neurodivergent. So, it's essential for educators to use a variety of teaching strategies and materials. Making this a normal part of education can benefit all students, regardless of neurodiversity.
Did you know that in 1962, a mysterious epidemic of uncontrollable laughter broke out in Tanganyika (now Tanzania)?
It became known as the "Laughter Epidemic of Tanganyika" and it's one of the strangest events in medical history.
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The laughter epidemic started in a girls' school and spread rapidly, affecting over 1,000 people in the area. The symptoms included laughing fits, crying, and even fainting. The epidemic lasted for several months and disrupted daily life in the affected areas.
The cause is still unknown, but there are a few theories. Some believe it was caused by 'mass hysteria' or a psychological disorder, while others think it may have been caused by a viral or bacterial infection.
However, no definitive explanation has been found.
March 25 marks the anniversary of the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which killed 146 garment workers, mostly young immigrant women, in 1911.
This disaster remains one of the deadliest workplace accidents in U.S. history.
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The fire broke out on the eighth floor of the factory and quickly spread due to the flammable materials and locked exit doors. Many workers were unable to escape and were trapped inside the burning building.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire brought to light the unsafe and inhumane working conditions of many garment factories in New York City. It sparked a movement for workers' rights and led to significant changes in workplace safety regulations.
On this day in history, March 13, 1925, the Tennessee General Assembly approved a bill prohibiting the teaching of evolution in public schools.
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This bill, also known as the Butler Act, made it illegal for public school teachers in Tennessee to teach any theory that denied the biblical account of man's creation.
This law would eventually lead to the famous Scopes Monkey Trial, where a high school teacher named John Scopes was charged with violating the Butler Act by teaching evolution.
In the late 19th century, cocaine was a popular treatment for a variety of medical conditions. It was believed to be a powerful painkiller and was even used as an anesthetic during surgeries.
The famous Sigmund Freud was a proponent of cocaine and used it himself.
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Patients who received cocaine as a treatment often became addicted to the drug, which could cause a wide range of physical and psychological problems.
In addition to cocaine, doctors in the past also used some other bizarre substances in their medical treatments. For example, leeches were a common treatment for various ailments, as they were believed to draw out "bad blood" from the body.