This is Martin Luther King Jr. day, which is a holiday. We don’t have any meetings, and many of the museums are closed. Some of us went to an event this afternoon at the Gem Theatre across the American Jazz Museum. The program included poetry, dance, music and talk in recognition of King’s life and work. The underlying theme of the program is that the black community has to take responsibility for its own advancement. A young university prof, Boris Eugene Ricks, made a speech that combined encouragement and criticism. One statistic he gave that stuck with me is that 62 per cent of African American children do not have a father at home. He also had a great line: “The thing to try when all else fails is again.”
Before going to the King commemoration, we went to Harry S Truman’s presidential museum in Independence, Missouri — a suburb of Kansas City and Truman’s hometown. Truman was Franklin Roosevelt’s vice president, so when FDR died on April 12, 1945, Truman was thrust into oval office while WWII still raged. He ran for president in 1948 and won narrowly over Thomas Dewey. Newspapers actually went to print saying Dewey had won, but by 4:00 a.m. the morning after the election, Truman was given word that victory was his. I haven’t given you any trivia for a few days, so here are a few questions to test yourself.
What is Harry S Truman’s middle name? A: “S” His parents couldn’t agree on a middle name. His father wanted him to be named after his father, Anderson Shipp Truman. His mother wanted a middle name to recognize her father, Solomon Young. So they gave him a middle initial to recognize both grandfathers.
What three significant WWII events occurred on August 6, August 9 and August 14, 1945? A: The U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima August 6, it dropped the second bomb on Nagasaki August 9, and Japan surrendered August 14.
What was the name of the U.S. plan to rebuild Europe after WWII? A: The Marshall Plan, after Secretary of State George C. Marshall.
Why did the U.S. introduce the Marshall Plan? A: Because communism was rising in Europe, and the U.S. wanted to keep a lid on Russia’s sphere of influence. Between 1948 and 1951, the U.S. spent $13 billion on housing, infrastructure and industry in Western Europe.
Why did Harry Truman fire the very popular General Douglas MacArthur in 1951? A. Because Douglas wanted to launch an offensive attack on China during the Korean War, but Truman didn’t want to start WWIII. Douglas became critical of Truman’s leadership.
Supper…
We had a “home hospitality” meal tonight. Our host, Havaca Johnson, had Henry, Ranissah and me over to her home in an attractive older neighbourhood south of the Plaza area where our hotel (the Courtyard Marriott) is located. Kansas City is hillier than I had imagined, but its look and feel reminds me of any Prairie city in Canada. Havaca’s home was built in the 1920s and is a lot like the first house my wife and I owned in Winnipeg. Havaca also invited two of her friends, Julia and Ellen. We ate vegetarian lasagna and drank California wine. Julia says there are some very good Missouri wines, but we didn’t try any of them. Thank you Havaca for a great time.
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