Nicole Johnson

[Michael Harriot @michaelharriot]

Fun fact: Almost no one from SC refers to the Gamecocks as “South Carolina”

If you’re from there, they’re either “Carolina” or “USC”

[Nicole Johnson @NicoleRJay]

I remember watching a PBS special on him. Very interesting and fascinating story.

[AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY @AfricanArchives]

Blind Tom' Wiggins was an African American musical prodigy. Born blind, as an infant he Tom Wiggins was sold into slavery, along with the rest of his family. He also survived attempted murder as he had no economic value to his owners.

However, Tom had access to a piano, and his talent for perceiving, remembering, and reproducing sounds was immediately apparent. Many historians also believe that Tom was on the autism spectrum, which could explain his extraordinary memory. He would go on to perform at concerts throughout the Americas and Europe.

—Thomas Greene Wiggins was born May 25, 1849 to Mungo and Charity Wiggins, enslaved on a Georgia plantation. He was blind and autistic but a musical genius with a phenomenal memory. In 1850 Tom, his parents, and two brothers were sold to James Neil Bethune, a lawyer and newspaper editor in Columbus, Georgia. Young Tom was fascinated by music and other sounds, and could pick out tunes on the piano by the age of four. He made his concert debut at eight, performing in Atlanta.

In 1858 Tom was hired out as a slave-musician, at a price of $15,000. In 1859, at the age of 10, he became the first African American performer to play at the White House when he gave a concert before President James Buchanan. His piano pieces “Oliver Galop” and “Virginia Polka” were published in 1860. During the Civil War he was back with his owner, raising funds for Confederate relief. By 1863 he played his own composition, “Battle of Manassas.” By 1865, 16-year-old Tom Wiggins, now “indentured” to James Bethune, could play difficult works of Bach, Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, and Thalberg. He also played pieces after one hearing, and memorized poems and text in foreign languages. Advertising claimed Tom was untaught, but in fact he was tutored by a Professor of Music who traveled with him.

James Neil Bethune took Tom Wiggins to Europe where he collected testimonials from music critics Ignaz Moscheles and Charles Halle, which were printed in a booklet “The Marvelous Musical Prodigy Blind Tom.” With these and other endorsements, Blind Tom Wiggins became an internationally recognized performer. By 1868 Tom and the Bethune family lived on a Virginia farm in the summer, while touring the United States and Canada the rest of the year, averaging $50,000 annually in concert revenue. James Bethune eventually lost custody of Tom to his late son’s ex-wife, Eliza Bethune. Charity Wiggins, Tom’s mother, was a party to the suit, but she did not win control of her son or his income.

Blind Tom Wiggins gave his last performance in 1905. He died three years later on June 13, 1908 at the age of 59 at his manager’s home in Hoboken, New Jersey.—

[Hayden @the_transit_guy]

This is the Bronx River the same year the EPA was founded, a place the city referred to as an "open sewer." This week, three dolphins were found eating fish in the river for the first time in decades. Yeah, environmental protection is actually a great thing.(Camilo Vergara, 1970)

[Paul Gundlach @PaulSGundlach]

This is really stunning footage. It almost looks like animation it’s so perfect. Wow!

[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District @USACESacramento]

Are you curious why some California reservoirs are letting out water during these storms and not storing it for the summer? This short video explains everything you need to know about reservoir operations. #USACE #CAwater #CAwx #infrastructure

[Ida Bae Wells @nhannahjones]

Two years in the making, we can finally announce the Jan. 26 @hulu premier date for the #1619Project six-part docuseries. I am SO proud of this work. Join us for this new American origin story. @Shoshana_Guy @RogerRossWill @caitlinroper @Oprah @nytimes #1619hulu

[AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY @AfricanArchives]

Isaac Woodard, WWII veteran, hours after being honorably discharged, was attacked by South Carolina police while still in uniform when taking the bus home & left permanently BLIND

The officers were acquitted by an all white jury #VeteransDay2022 

A THREAD!

[The Associated Press @AP]

There is significant radioactive contamination at an elementary school in suburban St. Louis where nuclear weapons were produced during World War II, according to a new report by environmental investigation consultants. https://t.co/imuWv6zBrg

[NPR @NPR]

These Black men saved lives as part of Freedom House — which was widely acknowledged as the first paramedic program in the U.S.

Now, some worry their memory is in danger of being forgotten: not because of time, but deliberate erasure.
https://t.co/mREBjy2QcA

[philip lewis @Phil_Lewis_]

Tests performed for thousands of Chicago residents found lead, a neurotoxin, in amounts far exceeding the federal standards in the city’s tap water

One home, in a majority-Black neighborhood, had lead levels 1,100 ppb – *73 times* the EPA limit of 15ppb https://t.co/Bnpd2u9Ezp

[J Chris @BlacktrickEwing]

ESPN being too quiet about Brett Favre…. We saw Vick dogfighting coverage headlines for months, this is considerably worse.

[Molly Minta 🐟 @mintamolly]

My water just now in Jackson, MS

[adam mahoney (he/him) @AdamLMahoney]

"Black employees were subjected daily to such slurs as the N-word, Aunt Jemima, negra fea (ugly Black woman), cochina, (pig) and 'cucaracha, (cockroach)"

“'They’d write stuff on the bathroom walls — ‘gorillas, go back to Africa.’"

All this for $12/ hour
https://t.co/gRoCg8X5sN

[NPR @NPR]

BREAKING: The Supreme Court has dealt a major blow to the EPA's power to regulate carbon emissions that cause climate change. https://t.co/ZIME1qcipC

[Kevín @KevOnStage]

I greatly underestimated how much you could love a dog.

[AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY @AfricanArchives]

The 369th Infantry Regiment, The Harlem Hellfighters.

Though they spent more time in battle than any other regiment and were one of the most decorated, they never got the recognition they deserved.

—THREAD—

[Mulindwa Moses @mulindwa_guy]

This article is 109 years old. And we still aren't doing enough to act on climate change.

[Nakabuye Hilda F. @NakabuyeHildaF]

Africa possesses 39% of the world’s potential for renewable energy and yet it receives just 2% of global investment in renewables.
#SustainableDevelopment
#InvestInRenewables #RefuelingAfrica

[Greenpeace International @Greenpeace]

As the palm oil industry swept across Indonesian archipelago, the Indigenous communities have to endure years and decades sitting with poverty and receiving only broken promises.

"Nothing was returned to us. They took everything."

#PeopleOverProfit https://t.co/G4VrlTUM9x