Thursday, October 8, 2026
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
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74: Putin
Today (October 7th) is Russian President
Vladimir Putin’s 74th Birthday.
The
best thing I can wish him and his country today is a defeat in Ukraine.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Werner Teitz
Today is World Cerebral Palsy Day.
(Werner with his Mother.)
Werner Teitz was a bright boy who
loved collecting stamps and writing letters to his Parents and Relatives.
At 6 years old in 1931, he was
diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and was admitted to a Medical Facility in Munich.
Shortly after a rise in
Antisemitic violence in 1938, the facility informed Werner’s Parents, Emil and
Sophie Teitz, that it would no longer care for Jewish Patients.
While the Family managed to move
Werner to a Facility in the Netherlands, the rest of the Family, including
their younger Son, Walter, eventually found refuge in England.
They left Werner behind,
believing he would be out of harm’s way in the Netherlands.
When their Visas arrived, Emil,
Sophie, and Walter immigrated to the United States in April 1940.
US and UK Immigration laws
forbade entry to People who were likely to become dependent on Government
Support.
Werner likely would not have
received Visas for either Country due to his Physical Disability.
Germany invaded the Netherlands
just one month later in May 1940.
“I hope that I will be able to go
home next year,” Werner wrote in a letter to his Parents in 1942. “I so would
like to be at home next year for our dear Walter’s Bar Mitzvah. How is father’s
business? Does Mother still knit mittens? Where is Grandmother now? I wait with
anticipation on a letter from my Parents … .”
Werner, however, never made it
home.
A year after he wrote this
letter, Werner was removed from his Facility because he was Jewish and taken to
the Westerbork Transit Camp.
From there, he was deported to the Sobibor Death
Camp in German-Occupied Poland, where he was murdered upon arrival in May 1943.
He was 18 years old.
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Saturday, October 3, 2026
36: Reunification
Today is German Unity Day (German: Tag der Deutschen Einheit.)
It
remembers when West Germany united with East Germany in October 1990 – when
Communism collapsed in the East.
After
Nazi Germany was defeated in May 1945 Germany was split into 4 Occupation Zones
(French, British, Soviet and American.)
Berlin,
located 100 miles inside the Soviet Occupation Zone, was also split between the
French, British, Soviet and Americans.
In
1949 the western French, British and American Occupation Zones joined together
to become the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) - it was also known as West Germany.
Its
Capital was Bonn.
In
1949 the eastern Soviet Occupation Zone of Soviet became the Democratic
Republic of Germany (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik) - it was also known as East Germany.
Its
Capital was East Berlin.
West
Germany was a Democracy while East Germany was a Communist Dictatorship.
West
Germany joined NATO in 1955 while East Germany joined the Warsaw Pact in 1955.
West
Germany used the West German Mark (German: Deutsche Mark) – which was
Internationally Traded - while East Germany used the East German Mark (German: Mark
der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik) from 1951-July 1990 – which wasn’t
Internationally Traded - and then the
West German Mark from July 1990-October 1990.
East
Germany closed travel between East Germany and West Germany from 1945-1990 with
the Inner-German Border (German: innerdeutsche Grenze) and between East Berlin
and West Berlin from 1961-1990 with the Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer)
and killed or arrested any East Germans trying to flee to freedom.
German
Reunification (German: Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) began when the Berlin Wall
was unexpected opened (on November 9, 1989) to East German Citizens for the
first time in 28 years.
The
first Free Elections in East Germany (since before the Nazis took power in 1933
or the Communists took power in 1945) occurred in March 1990 and resulted in
Pro-Unification Parties gaining power over the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
(German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands) Communist Party that had
been the only allowed Political Party since 1945.
East
Germany, which had always been a poor Communist Country full of Rationing and
Shortages of Basic Things entered into a Monterrey Union with West Germany in
July 1990 to use the stable West German Mark.
East
Germany withdrew from the Warsaw Pact in 1990.
East
Germany dissolved itself and merged with West Germany on October 3, 1990 under
the Declaration of Accession (German: Beitrittserklärung) and the Reunification
Treaty (German: Wiedervereinigungsvertrag) between East Germany and West
Germany.
East
Berlin joined with West Berlin and became Berlin - the Capital of the Federal Republic of
Germany.
Large
Construction Projects were made to bring the Former East Berlin and the Former
West Berlin into a Unified City and Capital for the first time in 45 years.
The
Former East German Federal States also merged with the West German Federal
States.
The
current Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is not
a Successor State of West Germany, but is a continuation of West Germany
founded in 1949.
A
Reunited Germany continued West Germany’s Seats in the United Nations, NATO,
The
Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (German: Vertrag über
die abschließende Regelung in Bezug auf Deutschland) was signed by the French,
the British, the Soviets and the Americans in September 1990 in which each
Occupation Force gave up all control over every part of Germany - East Germany
and West Germany – back to the German People.
The
British, French and Soviets did not initially want to allow for German
Reunification, but America worked with each Country and West Germany to get the
required approval.
There
was little to no Lustration in Reunited Germany after 1990.
Most
of the Communist Leaders, Stassi Officers, East German Border Guards, etc.were
allowed to either continue in their previous Jobs or were not brought to
justice for their Crimes (just like West Germany did with its Nazis from
1949-1990.)
After
Reunification eastern Germany faced a Brain Drain with Former East German
Doctors, teachers, Highly Skilled Workers and the Young moving to western
Germany leaving eastern Germany with High Unemployment and a Lack of Skilled
Professions.
The
Last Russian Troops left Reunited Germany on August 31, 1994 (after 49 years of
Occupation.)
Even
after 36 years of German Reunification there is still a distinct difference
between weatern and eastern Germany.
It
is often referred to as the "Wall in the Head" (German: Mauer im Kopf.)
Ossis
(Easterners) are stereotyped as Racist, Poor, and largely influenced by Russian
Culture, while Wessis (Westerners) are usually considered Snobbish, Dishonest, Wealthy,
and Selfish.
The
Reunited German Government spent a total of $2 Trillion US Dollars ($24
Trillion US Dollars in 2026) to bring the Standard of Living of eastern Germany
to that of western Germany.
Most
of the money came from the Solidarity Surcharge (German: Solidaritätszuschlag) that was paid by
western Germans to support eastern Germans.
Even
after 35 years of Reunification there is Ostalgie (Nostalgia for East Germany)
by Former East Germans who want the Old Products, TV Shows, Music and
Dictatorial Structure that they had in Communist East Germany.
In
2025 40% of Former East Germans continue to identify as East Germans instead of
just Germans.
Thursday, October 1, 2026
Holidays
Daily October Holidays 2026 Calendar
October
Monthly Celebrations
Adopt
a Shelter Dog Month
American
Cheese Month
American
Pharmacist Month
Apple
Jack Month
Awareness
Month
Breast
Cancer Awareness Month
Clergy
Appreciation Month
Computer
Learning Month
Cookie
Month
Domestic
Violence Awareness Month
Eat
Country Ham Month
International
Drum Month
National
Pizza Month
National
Popcorn Poppin’ Month
National
Vegetarian Month
Sarcastic
Month
Seafood
Month
October
Weekly Events
Week
1
Get
Organized Week
Customer
Service Week
Week
2
Fire
Prevention Week
Pet
Peeve Week
14
– 20 Earth Sciences Week
Week
3
National
Pharmacy Week
Pastoral
Care Week
Daily
October Holidays 2026 Calendar
October
1
International
Coffee Day
International
Day for the Elderly
National
Homemade Cookies Day
Pumpkin
Spice Day
World
Vegetarian Day
October
2
National
Custodial Worker Day
Name
Your Car Day
World
Farm Animals Day
World
Smile Day
October
3
International
Frugal Fun Day
National
Boyfriends Day
Techies
Day
Virus
Appreciation Day
World
Card Making Day
October
4
National
Golf Day
National
Taco Day
Oktoberfest
October
5
Do
Something Nice Day
World
Teacher’s Day
October
6
Come
and Take it Day
Mad
Hatter Day
Physician
Assistant Day
October
7
Bald
and Free Day
Frappe Day
International
Walk to School Day
National
Forgiveness Day
National Kale Day
October
8
American
Touch Tag Day
National
Pierogi Day
October
9
Curious
Events Day
Fire
Prevention Day
Leif
Erikson Day
Moldy
Cheese Day
World
Egg Day
October 10
International
Newspaper Carrier Day
National
Angel Food Cake Day
National
Motorcycle Ride Day
Tender
Loving Care Day
World
Homeless Day
Fall
Leaves Turning Point Park
October
11
International
Day of the Girl Child
It’s
My Party Day
October
12
Canadian
Thanksgiving Day
Columbus
Day
Cookbook
Launch Day
Indigenous
People Day
Old
Farmer’s Day
Moment
of Frustration Day
National
Gumbo Day
October
13
International
Skeptics Day
National
M&M Day
October
14
Be
Bald and Free Day
Emergency
Nurses Day
Fossil
Day
National
Dessert Day
National
Take Your Parents to Lunch Day
Take
Your Teddy Bear to Work Day
October
15
National
Grouch Day
White
Cane Safety Day
October
16
Bosses
Day
Dictionary
Day
World
Food Day
October
17
National
Pasta Day
Sweetest
Day
Wear
Something Gaudy Day
October
18
National
Meatloaf Appreciation Day
No
Beard Day
October
19
Evaluate
Your Life Day
National
Seafood Bisque Day
October
20
Brandied
Fruit Day
International
Chefs Day
U.K.
National Waiters Day
October
21
Babbling
Day
Count
Your Buttons Day
International
Nacho Day
Pumpkin
Cheesecake Day
October
22
National
Nut Day
Smart
is Cool Day
October
23
National
Mole Day
TV
Talk Show Host Day
October
24
Make
a Difference Day
National
Bologna Day
United
Nations Day
October 25
Howl
at the Moon Night
International
Artist Day
Mother-In-Law
Day
Punk
for a Day Day
World
Opera Day
World
Pasta Day
October
26
National
Mincemeat Day
National
Pumpkin Day
October
27
Black
Cat Day
National
Tell a Story Day
Navy
Day
October
28
National
First Responders Day
Plush
Animal Lover’s Day
October
29
Hermit
Day
National
Cat Day
National
Frankenstein Day
October
30
Frankenstein
Friday
Haunted
Refrigerator Night
National
Candy Corn Day
Mischief
Night
October
31
Carve a Pumpkin Day
Halloween
Increase
Your Psychic Powers Day
Witch
Stirring Cauldron, Witchcraft
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Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Last Soldier
Today (September 30, 2026) the last American Soldier has left Iraq.
This
ends the American Military Presence in Iraq after 23 years (since 2003.)
4,500
Americans died in Iraq.
32,000
Americans were wounded in Iraq.
Remembrance Day
Today
(September 30th) is National Day of Remembrance for US Indian Residential
Schools.
There
were 417 American Indian Forced Boarding Schools inside the US (run by the US
Federal Government, 37 US States and US Territories, different Protestant
Churches and the Catholic Church) from 1819 to 1998 to “beat the Indian out of
them.”
There
were an unknown number of Indian Forced Assimilation Day Schools across the
Country as well.
An
estimated 250,000 Students were forced into these Indian Residential Schools
inside the US.
There
were 50,000 mysterious Children’s deaths at these Residential Schools with the
Children simply being buried in Mass Graves or in Unmarked Graves on the School
Property with no explanation or justice for their Parents.
There
were unknown numbers of Verbal, Physical and Sexual Abuse at both the
Residential and Day Schools well into the 1990s.
The
US Government only started looking at these Abuse and Mysterious Deaths Claims
in 2021 – called the “2021 Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative” - after
several Unmarked and Mass Graves were found on Former Indian Boarding Sites in
Canada and the United States.
The
Federal Government, the State Governments, the Protestant Churches or the
Catholic Church – which ran these Residential and Day Schools where these
abuses were committed, have ever apologized for their role.
Orange Shirt Day
Today
(September 30th) is Orange Shirt Day in Canada.
Also
known as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada.
It
remembers the Indian-Forced Boarding Schools, those Children Abused (Verbally,
Physically and Sexually) and those Children who died under Mysterious
Circumstances and were buried in either Mass Graves or Unmarked Graves on the
School Grounds.
There
were 140 Federally and Religiously-Run (Protestant Churches and the Catholic
Church) Indian Residential Schools in Canada between 1831 and 1998.
Schools operated in every Province and Territory with the exception of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
150,000
Indigenous Children were separated from their Families and forced to attend
these Boarding Schools to “beat the Indian out of them.”
An
estimated 30,000 Indigenous Children died under Mysterious Circumstances and
were buried in Mass Graves or Unmarked Graves on the School Grounds.
From
2008-2015 the Canadian Government funded the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission to investigate the crimes. The findings were that it was Cultural
Genocide.
In
1994, the Presbyterian Church of Canada apologized for their Church’s role in
the Residential Schools and the abuses committed there.
In
2004, the Canadian Royal Mounted Police apologized for their role in the
Residential Schools and the abuses committed there.
In
2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for the Canadian Government’s
role in the Residential Schools and the abuses committed there.
In
May 2022, Justin Wellby, the Bishop of Canterbury for the Anglican Church,
apologized for their Church’s role in the Residential Schools and the abuses
committed there.
In
July 2022, while visiting Canada, Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic
Church’s role in the Residential Schools and the abuses committed at them.
The
British Monarch, the British Government and the Canadian Monarch have not
apologized for their roles in the Residential Schools or the abuses committed
there.
Since
2021, 59 Unmarked and Mass Graves have been discovered at these Residential
Schools across Canada with more being discovered as more work is done at the
sites.
Former
Residential School Students can call 1-866-925-4419 for emotional crisis
referral services and information on other health supports from the Government
of Canada. Indigenous peoples across Canada can also go to The Hope for
Wellness Help Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for counselling and crisis
intervention. Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or connect to the
online chat.
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
85: Dina Pronicheva
Dina Pronicheva
(Dina
Pronicheva on the Witness Stand at a Kiev War Crimes Trial of 15 Members of the
German Police responsible for crimes in the German-Occupied Kiev on January 24,
1946.)
Dina
Pronicheva (Ukrainian: Діна Пронічева or Russian: Дина Проничева) was born Dina
Mstislavskya January 7, 1911 in Chernihiv, Czarist Russian Empire (Present Day:
Chernihiv, Ukraine) to a Jewish Family.
When
she was 5 years old her Family moved to Kyiv.
In
1922 Ukraine was incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Ukrainian Soviet
Socialist Republic (Ukrainian: Українська Радянська Соціалістична Республіка or
Russian: Украинская Советская Социалистическая Республика.)
In
1932, she married Viktor Pronichev.
She
gave birth to a Daughter, Lydia (born in 1938), and a Son, Volodymyr (born in
1940.)
She
completed Theatrical and Military Communications School.
When
the Germans invaded in June 1941 Dina was working at a Puppet Theater before
joining the 37th Army of the Soviet Union to work in the Communications Branch.
In
September 1941, with the Germans about to enter Kyiv, Dina was told by her Military
Supervisors to stay behind in the City – despite being Jewish and seeing how
the Germans forced the Jews of Poland into Ghettos and Shot them.
On
September 17, 1941 the Germans entered Kyiv.
After
several explosions (set by undercover Soviet NKVD Officers) rocked the City on
September 24th and 25th the Germans went house to house
looking for Jews to kill.
Dina
was living with her Mother-In-Law (who was an Orthodox Christian) and showed
the Germans all the Christian Icons hanging in their Apartment.
The
Germans left and Dina was safe.
On
September 28, 1941 a notice (in German, Ukrainian and Russian) was posted
telling all Jews in Kyiv to meet at 8 am the next day – with all their
Documents and luggage - so they could be
resettled.
The
notice also said that any Jews left in Kyiv afterwards would be shot on sight.
On
September 29, 1941, Dina left her 2 Children with her Husband (an Orthodox
Christian) and walked to the Assembly Point with her Parents and Sister (her
Brothers were fighting with the Soviet Red Army elsewhere.)
As
they walked outside of Kyiv to Babyn Yar (a Ravine) Dina noticed the German Soldiers
and Ukrainian Paramilitary Collaborators using Anti-Tank Obstructions and Truncheons
to force the over 33,000 Men, Women and Children into a narrow pathway towards an
Undressing Area.
Dina
separated from her Parents and Sister, threw her Soviet Internal Passport (that
stated she was Jewish - until 1991 Soviet Internal Passports stated if you were
Jewish) away and told a Ukrainian Guard that she was Russian and not Jewish and
that she had been Rounded-Up by mistake.
The
Ukrainian Guard believed her after seeing her Russian Patronymic Name (the Name
of her Father with a Female Ending used like a Middle Name) on her Soviet Trade
Union Card.
He
told her to stand to the side and that “We'll let you go after we've shot all
the Jews.”
While
waiting, Dina watched as Thousands of Men, Women and Children undressed, were beaten
up to the ravine and then shot and fell into the ravine.
She
described how Mothers begged to be killed before their Children so they wouldn’t
have to watch their Children die, but the Germans and Ukrainian Collaborators played
a “game” where they shot the Children first to torture the Mothers before
shooting the Mothers.
Babies
and Children under 3 years old were simply thrown alive into the ravine where
the mass of thousands of dead and dying bodies crushed them to death.
After
seeing all the death around her a German Soldier ordered her and the other “Non-Jews”
to be killed so there wouldn’t be any Witnesses.
She
was forced onto the ledge of the ravine, fell into the ravine the moment the
gunshots were heard and managed to hide while the Germans and their Ukrainian Collaborators
continued to kill.
While
hiding Dina met a 14 year old named Motia who was also hiding.
Motia
was later killed by the Germans, but Dina managed to crawl out of the ravine
and escape.
After
the Massacre (in which 33,771 Men, Women and Children were murdered in just 2
days) Dina hid with a Cousin.
On
February 2, 1942 she was arrested by the Gestapo and spent 28 days in the Lukyanovka
Prison.
She
escaped with the help of a Policeman who was actually a Partisan.
She
continued to move from place to place until the Soviet Red Army liberated her
area on December 28, 1943.
She
learned that her Husband, Viktor, had been arrested by the Germans and shot in
February 1942.
She
searched many Orphanages and on March 14, 1944 found both her Daughter and her
Son.
After
the War she worked at the Puppet Theater.
She
married Grigory Afanasyev (a Disabled Stage Operator at the Puppet Theater) in
1945.
In
January 1946 she was a Witness (the only Survivor of Babyn Yar - out of 29
People) who testified in the Kyiv War Trials held by the Soviets.
With
the help of her Testimony 12 of the 15 accused Germans were executed for their
crimes at Babyn Yar.
She
visited the Babyn Yar Massacre Site every year and was at the 25th
Anniversary Ceremony in 1967 (the Soviets made it illegal to mention that Jews
were killed there or anywhere else during the War and so only “Soviet Citizens”
could be mentioned.
Dina
Pronicheva died of Kidney Disease in 1977 in Kiev, Ukraine SSR, USSR (Present
Day: Kyiv, Ukraine.)
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85: Babyn Yar
85 years ago today (September 29, 1941) the
German Nazis and their Collaborators murdered 33,771 Men, Women and Children at
Babyn Yar (Бабин Яр in Ukrainian) in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The
name Babyn Yar refers to an old Woman (Baba) selling the ravine (Yar) to a
Monastery in 1401.
A
notice (in German, Ukrainian and Russian) was posted telling all Jews in Kyiv
to meet at a certain time and place – with all their Documents and luggage
- so they could be resettled following a
series of explosions throughout the city (caused by undercover Soviet NKVD
Secret Police.)
The
notice also said that any Jews left in Kyiv afterwards would be shot on sight.
The Germans expected around 6,000 people to
show up, but instead over 33,700 came to the meeting point.
The
Men, Women and Children were walked several miles to the Babyn Yar Ravine (then
outside the city), made to undress and run naked through a column of Ukrainian
Para-Military Collaborators to an open pit where the Germans shot them –
children under 3 and babies were simply thrown in alive to be buried by the
other bodies.
Only
29 people are known to have survived the Massacre (by being shot and wounded
then falling into the pit and hiding under the thousands of dead bodies until
they could climb out in the darkness.)
Babyn
Yar is the single largest Massacre of the Holocaust. 33,771 Men, Women and
Children were murdered on September 29-30, 1941.
A
total of 150,000 People (Jews, Gypsies, Communists, Soviet Prisoners of War,
Catholic Priests, Orthodox Priests and Partisans, etc.) murdered at the same
spot until Kyiv was liberated in November 1943.
Paul
Blobel (the German who organized and executed the Babyn Yar Massacre as well as
other Massacres resulting in the deaths of 1 Million Men, Women and Children)
was found guilty by a US Military Court in West Germany and hanged in 1951.
Monday, September 28, 2026
Dennis Haskins
Dennis Haskins died on September
27, 2026 at his home in Burbank, California at the age of 75.
He played Principal
Richard Belding in the Teen Sitcom “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” in 1987 and then
in “Saved by the Bell”, which ran from
1989 to 1993 on NBC.
He then went on
to star in “Saved by the Bell: The New Class”, which aired from 1993 to 2000.
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Oleshky
Oleshky
is in Russian-Occupied Ukraine (since 2022) and Russia refuses to feed the
People living there – letting them starve.
Ukraine
used drones to deliver 4 tons of Food to the Civilians there across 100
locations around the City – all while Russia tried to shoot the Drones down despite
knowing there was only food in them.
This
shows why Ukraine MUST Win the War and why it WILL win this War.
Elizabeth Eckford
Elizabeth Eckford
(Elizabeth Eckford attempts to enter Little Rock Central High on September 4,
1957; Hazel Bryan shouts behind her in September 1957.)
Elizabeth
Eckford was born on October 4, 1941 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
She
lived in the Jim Crow South.
Jim
Crow Laws were Anti-White (mostly against Blacks) Official Laws that were made after
the southern US States (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia) were readmitted into the United
States of America after they lost the Civil War.
Jim
Crow started in 1877 (following the Compromise of 1877) in which Federal US
Troops were removed from the southern States.
Jim
Crow Laws determined where Non-White People could live, where they could eat,
where they could shop, what they could do for a living, where they could sit,
how they were given an education, etc.
Education
was a major part of Jim Crow.
White
Southerners did not want their Children to be taught by a Non-White Teacher or
learn with Non-White Students (because then the truth about things like the
American Civil War would come out and make the White Southerners feel bad)
In
1954 the US Supreme Court decided in the case of Brown v. Board of Education
that Racial Discrimination in Education (under Jim Crow) violated the Equal
Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution.
On
September 4, 1957 Elizabeth Eckford was one of 9 Black Students (later known as
the Little Rock Nine) that the first to attend the previously All-White Little
Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The
Group of 9 were supposed to arrive together, with their Parents, and enter
through a back door of the School.
Elizabeth
didn’t receive those instructions as her Family had no telephone and so she went
to the High School by herself.
An
angry White Mob of 400 People yelled Swear Words as Elizabeth tried to enter
the High School.
In
that angry Whitey Mob was 15 year old Hazel Bryan who shouted "Go home,
nigger! Go back to Africa!" to Elizabeth.
Will
Counts of the “Arkansas Democrat” took several pictures that showed Elizabeth
being followed by an angry White Group; this and other photos of the day's
startling events were circulated around the US and the world by the Press.
When
Elizabeth made it to the front door of the High School the Arkansas National
Guard, under orders from Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, refused her entry by blocking
her way with their bayonets.
When
Elizabeth fled the School the White Mob chased her to a Bus Stop and threatened
to lynch her.
Elizabeth
was crying when a Reporter, Benjamin Fine, tried to comfort her and told her,
"don't let them see you cry."
Soon,
she was also protected by a White Woman named Grace Lorch who escorted her onto
a city bus and went home.
For
the next two weeks, the Little Rock Nine stayed home to study instead of going
to the Little Rock Central High School.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower was reluctant
to do anything about the Mob or the rioting.
Eventually,
Eisenhower invoked the Insurrection Act of 1807, and the following day, took
control of the 10,000 Member Arkansas National Guard from the Governor and sent
1,200 Members of the 101st Airborne Division to accompany the Students to School
for protection.
On
September 23, 1957, the Little Rock Nine approached Central High again, and
Elizabeth Eckford along with the other eight Students, accompanied by City Policemen,
were let into the High School through a side door while a Mob of 1,000 Whites surrounded
the School again as the Students attempted to enter.
Both
Federal Troops and Federalized National Guardsmen were deployed at the school
for the entirety of the school year, although they were unable to prevent
incidents of violence against the group inside the facility
Elizabeth
and the other Students were spat upon, punched, hit with eggs and vegetables
and faced with a barrage of slurs and insults all year long.
Elizabeth
managed to finish the School Year,
All
of Little Rock’s High Schools were closed the following year, so Elizabeth did
not graduate from Central High School (known as the “Lost Year.”)
Instead,
she took Correspondence and Night courses and earned enough credits for her High
School Diploma.
In
1959 Elizabeth moved to St. Louis, Missouri.
Elizabeth
attended Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, where she earned a BA
in History in 1962.
In
1963, having changed her mind on Integration and feeling guilt for her
treatment of Elizabeth Hazel Massery contacted Elizabeth and apologized.
In
1967 Elizabeth then served in the United States Army for five years, first as a
Pay Clerk, and then as an Information Specialist.
She
also wrote for the Fort McClellan (Alabama) and the Fort Benjamin Harrison
(Indiana) Newspapers.
After
that, she has worked as a Waitress, History Teacher, Welfare Worker, Unemployment
and Employment Interviewer and a Military Reporter.
She
was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
In
1997, Elizabeth shared the Father Joseph Biltz Award—presented by the National
Conference for Community and Justice—with Hazel Bryan Massery (the White
Student in the Photograph who was shouting Swear Words to Elizabeth in 1957.)
In
1997 Elizabth and Hazel went on a “Reconciliation Rally” for the 40th
Anniversary of the Integration of Little Rock Central School and the Infamous
Photograph.
The
two then went their separate ways.
In
1999, President Bill Clinton awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to Elizabeth
and the other Members of the Little Rock Nine.
In
2018 she wrote her Autobiography “The Worst First Day: Bullied While
Desegregating Little Rock Central High.”
Elizabeth
Eckford is still alive and is 84 years old.
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