Week 20: May 18-24
May 18, 1952
On this day, singer, actor, athlete, scholar, and political activist Paul Robeson performed an outdoor concert for more than 25,000-45,000 people gathered on both sides of the United States/Canadian border at Peace Arch Park in Blaine. An outspoken supporter of civil rights worldwide and an admirer of the Soviet Union, where he perceived there to be no racism, Robeson had been increasingly persecuted for his political views since the late 1940s. His passport has been confiscated by the State Department, denying his right to travel and perform outside of the United States, and he had been prevented from crossing the border to Canada, which at the time did not require United States citizens to show a passport.
May 18, 2008
On this day, in Seattle, the University of Washington held a graduation ceremony to honor 450 Japanese American (known as Nikkei) students who were forced to leave the UW for incarceration camps during World War II under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066.
Nearly 200 Nikkei students or their surviving family members attended and received honorary diplomas after a 66-year wait. A crowd of 900 attended the ceremony at UW’s Kane Hall.
May 20, 1968
May 20, 1972
May 23, 1943
May 23, 1991
This post is in partnership with HistoryLink, and Warren Seyler, former chairman Spokane Tribe of Indians, the Black Muse Resource Center, and the Living Arts Cultural Heritage.
We encourage you to engage in further research through your local historic societies, museums, archives, and community.
