Almanac for June 3rd

Today's Observance: Feast Day of St. Kevin of Glendalough
Artist Birthday: Josephine Baker

https://www.everand.com/audiobook/919398501/Josephine-Baker-in-Berlin

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for June 3rd: https://ko-fi.com/post/June-3rd-Thermos-H-Christ-N4N21G1G66

Bummer June 3rd

June 3, 1943: In the so-called Zoot Suit Riots, white servicemen stationed in Los Angeles go on a racist rampage, beating young men of Mexican, Black, and Filipino backgrounds. The military members are allegedly outraged that largely Latino members of the “pachuco” subculture wear the flashy style of suit that requires a large amount of fabric, which is supposed to be rationed during wartime. More than 150 people are severely beaten, and police arrest over 500 people. Young men of color, not their Caucasian attackers, make up the bulk of those arrested.

June 3, 1991: Mount Unzen on the island of Kyushu in Japan erupts. The eruption kills 43 people, include married vulcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft. 

June 3, 1998: A high-speed train in Germany derails and crashes into a bridge, killing 101 people.

June 3, 2009: Actor David Carradine dies at the age of 72 of apparent autoerotic asphyxiation in Bangkok, Thailand, at what was then the Swissôtel Nai Lert Park Hotel (as of 2022, Mövenpick Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Wellness Resort).

August Is Black Business Month

POWERHANDZ is a business that makes products for athletic rehabilitation and training. They make products for all kinds of sports, but of course my favorite is basketball.

https://amzn.to/3O2upwX

If you're not into basketball, maybe a vegan, cruelty-free makeup kit from Bossy Cosmetics is more your style. 

https://amzn.to/3XGnFrC

The Josephine candle, inspired by Josephine Baker, has top notes of citrus and bergamot.

https://amzn.to/3O4nPpv

Harlem Candle Co.'s other scents include Lady Day, with top notes of neroli blossom and lush green leaves. 

https://amzn.to/44xvKkL

There's also a candle scent inspired by Langston Hughes.

https://amzn.to/44rLZ2O

I've been to Venice Beach, but I've never been to the Venice Beach Beverage Store. If I had been, I surely would have had one of these delicious-sounding ginger teas. Probably the chai.

https://amzn.to/44xQ5X6

A Few Awesome Women in Honor of Black History Month

Happy Wednesday! I've been really uninspired to blog this last week - it may have something to do with my work period being 13 days (February 16-28) instead of the usual 15-16 days. Time crunch? Yeah, just a little bit.

I still had time to finish reading Carrie's Story and interview Molly Weatherfield. As part of the book tour, I'll be sharing the interview and my review on April 4th.

This is just a small sample of the women of African descent I admire. I could keep going but the post would quickly get too long.

The poet Ntozake Shange, who wrote For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. Even if you don't read poetry, you may remember it from its adaptation into a Tyler Perry movie with an ensemble cast including Thandie Newton, Janet Jackson and Kerry Washington.



Lucille Baldwin Brown is an everyday woman who blazed a trail (with an extraordinary sense of style!) - she was the first Black public librarian in Tallahassee, Florida.



Author Alice Walker.



Sojourner Truth. (It's a little hard to read here, buy easier to see on Pinterest.)



Josephine Baker - the singer/dancer/actor/civil rights activist was also an Allied spy during World War II!



Rosa Parks - there's so much more to her story than the time she refused to give up her seat on the bus. She was a lifelong civil rights activist who also worked to bring more attention to the issue of violence against women. When she passed away, she was the first woman to lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda and only the second African-American. With Sojourner Truth, she's soon to be one of two African-American women honored with a statue in the Capitol.



Raina Lamont, age 3, wore her Captain America costume to the polling place during last year's election.



Music and style icons Grace Jones and Tina Turner hung out together in 1981.



Going back one more generation, here's Billie Holiday hanging out with Ella Fitzgerald.



Finally, our strong (and beautiful) First Lady of the United States, Ms. Michelle Obama. Whether you agree with her husband's politics or not, you must admit wherever she goes and represents American women, she makes a good impression.

Audiobook at Everand (Scribd): https://www.everand.com/audiobook/919398501/Josephine-Baker-in-Berlin

Audiobook at Kobo, Walmart: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/josephine-baker-in-berlin-1?sId=bbcce908-210e-4557-8179-79b7234cf528&ssId=frYh4xBx4uHpTEfoAAVY4&cPos=1