“Long ago it was said that "one half of the world does not know how the other half lives." That was true then. It did not know because it did not care. The half that was on top cared little for the struggles, and less for the fate of those who were underneath, so long as it was able to hold them there and keep its own seat. There came a time when the discomfort and consequent upheavals so violent, that it was no longer an easy thing to do, and then the upper half fell to inquiring what was the matter. Information on the subject has been accumulating rapidly since, and the whole world has had its hands full answering for its old ignorance.”
― Jacob A. Riis, How the Other Half Lives
"Street Arabs in Night Quarters" (1888-1889). Credit...Jacob A. Riis, Museum of the City of New York
“Five Cents a Spot” (circa 1890) Credit… Jacob A. Riis, Museum of the City of New York
“Children’s Playground, Poverty Gap” (1892). Credit… Jacob A. Riis, Museum of the City of New York
“Street Arabs in Night Quarters” (1888-1889). Credit...Jacob A. Riis, Museum of the City of New York
“They use everything about the hog except the squeal.”
― Upton Sinclair
“I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.”
― Upton Sinclair
Rockefeller and his associates did not build the Standard Oil Co. in the boardrooms of Wall Street banks. They fought their way to control by rebate and drawback, bribe and blackmail, espionage and price cutting, by ruthless efficiency of organization.
-Ida Tarbell
Lynchings: By Year and Race
Under Washington's leadership, Tuskegee became a leading school in the country. At his death, it had more than 100 well-equipped buildings, 1,500 students, a 200-member faculty teaching 38 trades and professions, and a nearly $2 million endowment. Washington put much of himself into the school's curriculum, stressing the virtues of patience, enterprise, and thrift. He taught that economic success for African Americans would take time, and that subordination to whites was a necessary evil until African Americans could prove they were worthy of full economic and political rights. He believed that if African Americans worked hard and obtained financial independence and cultural advancement, they would eventually win acceptance and respect from the white community.
Born to a slave on April 5, 1856, Booker's life had little promise early on. In Franklin County, Virginia, as in most states prior to the Civil War, the child of a slave became a slave. At an early age, Booker went to work carrying sacks of grain to the plantation’s mill. Toting 100-pound sacks was hard work for a small boy, and he was beaten on occasion for not performing his duties satisfactorily.
In 1909, Du Bois was among the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and from 1910 to 1934 served it as director of publicity and research, a member of the board of directors, and founder and editor of The Crisis, its monthly magazine.
The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.
Still very active today!
W.E.B. Du Bois was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University (1895).
In 1916, Planned Parenthood was founded on the idea that women should have the information and care they need to live strong, healthy lives and fulfill their dreams. Today, Planned Parenthood affiliates operate more than 600 health centers across the United States, and Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people. Planned Parenthood is also the nation’s largest provider of sex education.
“The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.”
“True peace is not merely the absence of war, it is the presence of justice.”
“Nothing can be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon and left one unexpended effort which might have saved the world.”