Green Book

Traveling in the 1950's-before the Civil Rights Act-African Americans would use a guide called The Green Book to direct them to businesses that would provide them services without discrimination. This would make travel with their families less humilitating and less likely to result in conflict. In 1936 Victor H. Green of NYC published the travel guide that would indicate "lodging and gas stations to tailor shops and doctors offices across the nation" where African Americans would be welcome.

The Negro Travelers Green Book was the official name. One of the places noted was Robbins, Illinois being "owned and operated by Negroes". A professor at Dickenson College-Cotton Seiler-refered to the book as a guide to "driving while black".

(Source: "Travel guide helped African Americans navigate tricky times" by Emma Lacey-Bordeaux and Wayne Drash. Article found on cnn.com/2011/US/02/24/green.black.history/index.html?hpt=C1 on 2/25/11)

Nathan Bedford Forrest

General Forrest was considered by some to be an excellent soldier; he fought for the south in the Civil War-or the War Between the States as some would say. He was also responsible for the massacre of black Union soldiers at Fort Pillow, Tennessess in 1864. Forrest later became the organizer of the Ku Klux Klan. Forrest is now making news again; he is being considered by Mississippi for a "specialty license plate". The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) think this is a good idea, some history professors in Mississippi do not. The south is conducting a 150th anniversary of the Civil War from now till 2015. The plate is due to be issued in 2014.

(Source: "Miss. licence plate series may honor Klan leader" by The AP. In The Record on2/11/11).

Hitler song

I game across this bit of history while watching the movie "John Rabe" recently. Rabe was a German industrialist working in China in 1937; at the time the Japanese army attacked and destroyed much of that city. Rabe spearheaded an effort by foreign nationals there to save 200,000 Chinese civilians from certain death at the hands of the Japanese. He was able to do this-to some degree-because Germany and Japan were allies and Japanese military officials did not want to treat him too harshly. The obvious irony here is that Rabe-a German under Hitler-who may not have been a devoted Nazi, helped save innocent civilians from genicide.

On a lighter note the movie noted a anti-Hitler song written in 1939 who's basic lyrics were;

"Hitler has only one ball,

Goering has two but very small,

Himmler is somewhat sim'lar,

But poor Goebbels has no balls at all".

The lyrics are set to the "Colonel Bogie March".

If you google the song's first line you will find other verses to the song under Wikipedia.org. I am not sure how you might or should use this in a public school classroom, but I include it anyway.

(Source: John Rabe, a movie and Wikipedia.org under the song title. Researched on this date).