General Order #3, Headquarters, District of Texas, Galveston, Texas, June 19, 1865, Issued by Order of Major General Granger Juneteenth Order. National Archives 182778372
明天是六月节156周年, the oldest commemoration marking the end of slavery in the United States of America. Frederick Douglass, a former enslaved person himself, even referred to it as the second Independence Day. Also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day, the word “Juneteenth” is an amalgamation of “June” and the “19th.”. Let’s turn back the hands of time for a moment and look at what happened 156 years ago.
On June 19, 1865, federal troops under Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to deliver an unexpected but welcomed order to the enslaved population living in and around this city located on a barrier island. General Order Number 3 states as follows:Read more
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Harriet Ida Pickens (left) and Ensign Frances Wills photographed after graduation from the Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School (WR) at Northampton, Massachusetts, in December 1944. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
With this blog post, I’ll be taking us back, once again, to World War II. You may already be familiar with the WAVES, or Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, which functioned as the women’s reserve branch of the Navy during WWII. While we did have a previous blog post on theWAVESand what some of their members did when serving at theHampton Roads Port of Embarkation (HRPE), with this blog I’d like to delve a little deeper, and talk about two specific WAVES: Lt j.g. Harriet Ida Pickens and Ensign Frances Wills, the first African American women to join the WAVES, and the first African American officers in the WAVES.
We often think of WWII as being a general call to arms, an “all hands on deck” time in our history. Despite this sentiment and the genuine need for troops, the military often barred or refused to enlist African Americans. While theWomen’s Army Corps(or the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps until 1943) andArmy Nurse Corpsallowed African American to enlist in 1942, they were both segregated institutions. The Navy’s WAVES, the Coast Guard’s SPARS, and Navy Nurse Corps did not integrate for several more years. Despite the racist policies and practices put in place by the military, many African Americans (and BIPOC) continued to fight against these bigoted policies and attempted to enlist.Read more
Chad Kālepa Baybayan Image Credit: oldsaltblog.com
We here at The Mariners’ Museum and Park take pride in our mission which states that we connect people to the world’s waters, because that is how we are connected to one another. On our website, museum president Howard Hoege III emphasizes that, “We strive to provide an intellectual and emotional experience that is shared by generations, across cultures, and without barriers or judgment.”1The museum would like to take this opportunity to share that May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. As May draws to a close, please take a moment to reflect on the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have contributed to our understanding of the Pacific Ocean, ocean navigation, and maritime knowledge in general.
In Memoriam – A Loss to the Maritime and Polynesian CommunityRead more
Two American Red Cross volunteers hand out donuts to soldiers. Accession # P0003-01–L-16193
We return to our research on the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation (HRPE) with the American Red Cross. The Red Cross played a vital role in maintaining morale and the mental health of those in the military, especially those abroad. During World War II, the Red Cross was the only civilian service organization authorized to work with overseas military personnel, and in fact began providing aid to civilian victims of the war in Europe before the US entered the war in 1941. Red Cross members were a mix of volunteers and employees, who served both at home and abroad. The Red Cross provided supplies, aid, and refreshments to all those who needed it. Many volunteers signed up to be nurses aids through the Red Cross. However, during WWII the Red Cross was probably most famous for their free donuts, to the point that many volunteers were referred to as ‘Donut Dollies’!
Likemanyorganizationsat thetime, the American Red Cross held applicants to a very high standard. Female volunteers had to be college graduates, at least 25 years of age, have excellent reference letters and pass physical examinations. The application standards were so high, only 1 in 6 applicants were accepted. After accepting the volunteer position, women were then sent for training in Washington D.C. before being assigned a position on the Homefront or abroad.Read more
We made it! The City Nature Challenge began at 12:00 AM April 30 (Friday) and ends at 11:59:59 PM on May 3 (Monday)! Please get outside and take some snaps of wildlife (animals, plants, and fungi)!
If you do come to Mariners’ Park or you’re in the area, you might be wondering what some common critters you might encounter. I would suggest reading a great blog post from Erica, our park department manager, posted last year that talks in detail about the wildlife in the Park (clickHEREto read her blog). Erica’s post should give you a good idea of what to see in the Park from trees to mammals to turtles and even dragonflies.Read more
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