This discussion post comes with a trigger warning that the contents may make some readers uncomfortable.  That being said, Michelle quotes from an NPR story about Charley Parkhurst, a famous stagecoach driver from the Gold Rush Era who was born a woman but passed as a man until she died.  The post goes on to list other famous historical figures who were gender non-conforming.

This discussion post is linked directly to the NHD theme for 2020, "Breaking Down Barriers". It also connects directly to this album for finding primary sources about difficult and controversial topics.  It has sent me off to Chronicling America to see if there are articles about Parkhurst in California newspapers at the time of his/her death.

Thanks   Michelle Zupan !

Brooke Boutwell, Virginia Tech, 2018, searched for "Lynching" in the Teachers Page and wrote this reflection in her journal.

I selected this resource because I was looking for primary sources related to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Eleanor Roosevelt's letter connects to the broader historical context of the novel, as well as to the content/plot of the novel itself in that black people were often accused and lynched for the alleged raping of white women. Another interesting fact that this letter reveals is that federal action in the "lynching situation" was considered unconstitutional.

Jackie McGuinness, Virginia Tech, 2018,  searched for "Terrorism in the  Exhibitions and wrote this rationale in her journal.

I really was intrigued by the comic depicting the aftermath of 9/11. I think this is a great picture to use to help teach students about that event. In most cases, students do not know what happened because they are a part of the first generation of students to not remember the event. It can be very devastating to students to show some pictures of the event, so this cartoon is a great example of how to depict the event without showing grim photographs.

Lindsay Behne searched for Great Migration & Segregation in the North and wrote this rationale for selecting this primary source.

The Great Migration brought thousands of black Southerners to the North faster than the region could assimilate them. They were confronted with discrimination, socially sanctioned segregation, and racial violence born of white resistance. The majority who went to Michigan settled in Detroit to work in the auto industry, which was willing to hire black workers for lower wages. The NAACP founded a branch there in 1912. This monthly report notes the efforts of the Ku Klux Klan to set up a chapter in Detroit, segregation in Eastern High School, and the refusal of a drug store soda fountain counter to serve black customers.

Jenn Hanson searched for LBJ and wrote this rationale for selecting this primary source.