May 4: This Day In History

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May 4, 2015 – Segment 1

Today in history, an event in Chicago spurred International Workers Day, the first Black-owned and -operated hospital in the United States opened, and the Freedom Riders left Washington DC for New Orleans to challenge segregation on interstate busses and bus terminals.

Transcript of this day in history included below.

This is Marc Steiner, and today is May the 4th. Welcome to This Day In History.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame (Instrumental)

Today in Fort Wayne, Indiana 1871 the first baseball was thrown And Professional baseball was born with the founding of the National Association, which threw out its first ball today.

A few days ago, we celebrated May Day .. May the 1st. We know that going around the maypole is an ancient Celtic tradition, but May Day is also International Workers Day. It is celebrated because today in 1886, on May the 4th, the Haymarket Affair erupted when a bomb was thrown at a policeman trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, Illinois. That killed 8 and wounded 60, and police fired into the crowd. This was all precipitated because one day earlier during a peaceful march by Chicago workers for an 8 hour day, the police shot and killed several protesters as they marched for justice. So May 1st is celebrated throughout the world as International Workers Day, except here in the United States where it all began.

Today in 1891, Provident Hospital opened in Chicago, Illinois, becoming the first Black owned and operated hospital in the United States. It was founded by Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, who started the hospital because African American doctors were not allowed to work in any Chicago hospitals.

The Jaybird Democratic Association had a cool sounding name, but in 1889 it started unofficial primary elections in Texas to exclude Black voters. On this day in 1953, they were found to be in violation of the 15th Amendment of the US Constitution in a case known as Terry v. Adams. The Supreme Court decided that the Jaybird Democratic Association in Texas was excluding Black people from participation. For 64 years, White voters were automatically members of the Jaybird Democratic Association and Black voters were excluded. This decision marked the end of the Southern White primaries.

A historic series of events in the annals of Civil Rights history and American history began today in 1961. Led by James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality, known as CORE, the Freedom Riders left Washington DC for New Orleans to challenge segregation on interstate busses and bus terminals. In the coming weeks, they were met with severe violence by Southern white mobs and law enforcement. Images of those encounters helped America begin to remove its blinders when it came to the terror of racism in the South.

And there are a few anniversaries that we should remember on this day:

The United States began construction of the Panama Canal today in 1904.

And in 1932 Al Capone started his eleven year prison sentence for tax evasion

One of the greatest short books of all time won the Pulitzer Prize for its author today in 1953: Ernest Hemingway for “The Old Man and the Sea.”

The first Grammy Awards was held today in 1959.

And, in 1994, Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin signed a peace accord regarding Palestinian autonomy, which granted self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank,. The great hope of that moment has never been fulfilled.

Here’s a song for your May the 4th. Today is the birthday of soul singer Tyrone Davis, who was born today in 1938 in Greenville, Mississippi. In celebration of his birthday, we’re hearing his song, “Turning Back the Hands of Time.”

Tyrone Davis – Turning Back The Hands Of Time

To continue your exploration of this day in history, take a look at some of our favorite sources: Charles H. Wright Museum: Today in Black History; African American Registry; BlackPast; NYTimes on this Day; EyewitnessToHistory.com; The Civil War Trust; Voices in Labor: Today in Labor History; Union Communication Services at The Worker Institute: Today in Labor History; BBC On This Day; The Holocaust History Project; PBS African American World; PBS; Today in Women’s History; South African History Online; This Day In North American Indian History; Jewish Virtual Library; The People History; Wikipedia List of Historical Anniversaries; Yenoba; and This Day in Music