Celebrating Asian American, Native Hawai'ian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Elizabeth Ohi, first Asian American female to practice law

Kuma Elizabeth Ohi, born February 9, 1911 in Chicago, Illinois, became the first Japanese American female to practice law in the United States in 1937.  

She was detained after the attack on Pearl Harbor, but Arthur Goldberg, the attorney for whom Ohi was working as a clerk, intervened.   She served as an ensign in the US Navy, and afterwards moved to Washington, DC.  She became an attorney at the Office of Management and Budget and the US Department of Labor.

She passed away in August 1976 in Washington, DC.
 

Celebrating Black History Month: Edith Sampson, first African American to represent US at the UN

Edith Sampson, born in 1901 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, graduated from Peabody High School, and then studied at the New York School of Social Work. She got married to Rufus Sampson and moved to Chicago.  She studied law at night, working as a social worker during the day, and graduated from the John Marshall Law School in 1925.

Later, she became the first woman to earn a Master of Laws from Loyola University's Graduate Law School in 1927, and passed the Illinois bar exam. In 1934 was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court. 

In 1949, Sampson participated in the Round-The-World Town Meeting, as one of twenty-six prominent Americans traveled to foreign countries, meeting with their leaders. Sampson countered the Soviet Union's propaganda regarding the treatment of black people in the US.  She also compared communism to slavery.

President Truman appointed her as an alternate US delegate to the United Nations, making her the first African American to officially represent the US to the UN.  She served until 1953.  During the Eisenhower Administration, she was a member of the US Commission for UNESCO.  In 1961-1962, she became the first black US representative to NATO.

Sampson ran for associate judge of the Municipal Court of Chicago and became the first black woman elected judge in Illinois.   She continued as a Circuit Court judge until retirement in 1978.  

She passed away in October 1927.

Celebrating Black History Month: Percy Lavon Julian, African American chemist

Percy Lavon Julian, born April 11, 1899 in Montgomery, Alabama, was a research chemist and a pioneer in synthesizing medicinal drugs from plants.  His work paved the way for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, and artificial hormones that led to birth controls.

He attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, which only accepted a few African-Americans.  He was not allowed to live in the dormitory, and at first, stayed in a boarding home, which refused to serve him meals.  He was allowed to live in a fraternity house, in their attic (or basement, according to which source), and do servant work.  He graduated from DePauw in 1920 as valedictorian.

In 1929, he received a Rockefeller Foundation to continue his education at the University of Vienna, where he earned his PhD. In Europe, he didn't have the racial prejudices that had stifled his opportunities in the states.  However, his freedoms and liberties in Europe would cause trouble in the future back in the US.  He admitted in letters about his dalliances with Viennese women, wine, dances, and also made some derisive remarks about members of Howard University's faculty, where he had been an instructor before he left for Vienna. The scandals led to his dismissal.

A former mentor offered him an organic chemistry teaching position at DePauw University in 1932, but he was denied a professorship in 1936 because of racism.  

W. J. O'Brien, a vice-president at Glidden Company, supplier of soybean oil products, offered him a position of director of research at Glidden's Soya Products Division in Chicago.  He discovered a way of producing large quantities of soy sterols on a daily basis.  The soy stigmasterol could be converted into commercial quantities of progesterone, the female hormone. The large production of these hormones, reduced the cost of treating hormonal deficiencies.  

Julian left Glidden in December 1953 after Glidden decided to leave the steroid business. He founded his own research firm, Julian Laboratories, Inc. in Chicago, and hired his best chemists including African Americans and women from Glidden. He continued his research and synthesis of hormones throughout his life  He sold his company in 1961 for $2.3M, making him one of the first black millionaires.

He passed away of liver cancer in April 1975 in Waukegan, Illinois.

Celebrating Pride Month: Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame

The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame was created in June 1991, originally as the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. It is dedicated to LGBT people, organizations, and communities in the US who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Chicago.

The HoF does not have a physical facility, but maintains a website for people to visit at any time.  In 2016, its name was changed to Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. 

Some of the inductees are:

Chuck Renslow, co-founder of Gold Coast, one of the first gay leather bars in the world.

Dom Orejudos, dancer, choreographer, and artist of masculine gay male erotica

Proud Black Lesbians and Gays

Lionheart Gay Theater and Company, which hosts LGBT themed works

Greg Harris, gay politician

Larry McKeon, first gay Illinois state senator

International Mr. Leather

Many straight people and transgender people are honored each year.

Celebrating Black History Month: Gwendolyn Brooks, first African-American to win Pulitzer Prize

Gwendolyn Brooks, born June 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas, was an American poet and author.  She won the Pulitzer Prize Prize for Poetry in May 1950 for her book Annie Allen, making her the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Her first book of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville, was published in 1945.  It gained instant critical acclaim.  It was her second book Annie Allen, about the life of a young black girl growing up in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.  

She won many awards for her poetry over her lifetime.  She passed away in December 2000.

Billy Joel releases "My Life" 1978

My man Billy Joel released My Life, a single from his album 52nd Street on October 28, 1978.  It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Peter Cetera and Donnie Dacus from the band Chicago sang the background vocals.

Celebrating Black History Month: Edward Boyd, African-American advertising executive for Pepsi

Edward Boyd, born June 27, 1914, was an advertising executive for Pepsi-Cola and responsible for marketing products specifically to African-Americans.  This was a time when Jim Crow laws were still in effect and blacks were discriminated, mocked or ignored in advertising.  Businesses could be attacked if it was discovered they sold products to the African-American community.

His efforts allowed Pepsi to substantially increase market share to the detriment of Coca-Cola.  He assembled a sales team of African-Americans to travel around the country to promote Pepsi.  Racial discrimination and hatred were rampant and the salesmen faced racial barriers constantly.  They attacked Coke's reluctance to hire blacks and Coke chairman's support of segregationist Herman Talmadge (Georgia Governor at the time).

After the sales team visited Chicago, Pepsi's share overtook Coke for the first time.

Happy birthday, Styx rocker James Young!

James Young, born November 14, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois, is guitarist and vocalist for the super rock group Styx.  He also wrote and co-wrote songs for the band, including Snowblind, one of his biggest hits where he sings lead with Tommy Shaw.  It comes from my favorite Styx album, Paradise Theatre.

Right now, he is the only original band member left and has appeared on all Styx's albums. 

Celebrating Pride Month - Henry Gerber, early gay rights activist, born 1892

Henry Gerber, born June 29, 1892 in Bavaria, Germany, was an early advocate for gay rights in the U.S.  He emigrated to the United States in 1913 and settled in Chicago because of its large German immigrant population. 

He founded the group Society for Human Rights (SHR) with John Graves, an African-American clergyman, and was granted a charter by the State of Illinois on December 10, 1924, becoming the first documented gay organization in the U.S.

Gerber also created the first known American gay publication called Friendship and Freedom, which was the SHR newsletter.  However, at the time all gay publications were considered obscene until 1958 and the Friendship and Freedom last only two issues.

He died in Washington, DC December 31, 1972, at the age of 80.

Gene Cernan, last man on the moon, born 1934

Eugene "Gene" Cernan, born March 14, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, was the last man to walk on the moon.  He made two trips to the moon on separate occasions, the first in Apollo 10 and the second in Apollo 17. 

His first mission in space was on Gemini IX with Tom Stafford in June 1966.  They were selected as the backup crew but the primary crew (Elliot See and Charles Bassett) was killed in a crash on February 28, 1966.  Cernan and Stafford performed rendezvous procedures that would be used on Apollo 10.

He and Stafford went into space on Apollo 10 in May 1969 on what would be the final "dress rehearsal" for the moon landing, which Apollo 11 accomplished two months later.

His final flight was as commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972. It was the last mission of the Apollo program.  He and Harrison Schmitt performed three EVAs for about 22 hours.  He was the last man to climb up the ladder into the Lunar lander.

Cernan published his memoir The Last Man on the Moon in 1999.

He passed away in January 2017 at 82 years old.

Happy birthday, astronaut Joan Higginbotham!

Joan Elizabeth Higginbotham, born August 3, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois, is the third black woman in space, behind Mae Jemison and Stephanie Wilson.  She flew on the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-116) as a mission specialist in December 2006.  It was the first shuttle mission to carry two African-American astronauts and the first time the ESA had two astronauts in space at the same time.

Janet Jackson and The Cars nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2016

Janet Jackson, The Cars, Chicago and The Steve Miller Band have been nominated for induction into next year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Of the fifteen nominees, eight are on the list for the first time.  Chaka Khan and Cheap Trick are also first-timers.

The remaining seven have been here before, including Chic, who are up for the tenth time.  No other artists have been nominated this many times without being inducted.

I like Chic, but they didn't have many hits other than "Le Freak".  Janet should be a shoo-in with her work but I think The Cars, Chicago and The Steve Miller Band will be the ones inducted.  Still, I wish all the artists good luck this year.


http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/janet-jackson-chicago-the-cars-nominated-for-rock-hall/ar-AAfdDt5?ocid=ansmsnent11#image=4

When The Dead Speak by S. D. Tooley

It was the paranormal aspect of S. D. Tooley’s novel, When the Dead Speak that caught my attention. The sleuth, Sergeant Samantha (Sam) Casey has a unique gift. She can sense images and intuition from the dead. They tell her things. Being an author of paranormal abilities, I had to read this book.

A quote from Mystery news is printed on the cover above the title: “The book opens with a bang, literally.” Well, not so much ‘literally’ but it does open with an eighteen wheeler smashing into a concrete support on a highway overpass. As the column crumbles, a body is exposed, encased in the concrete. That is a good way to open a novel.

Meanwhile, Sam Casey is working undercover, infiltrating the household of a state senator, who has his eyes set on the governor’s seat. She is nearly caught by a security guard but manages to escape.

After hearing reports of a break-in at the senator’s home, her chief suspects Sam of using her off-duty hours for private work and transfers her to another precinct. There, Sam comes face to face with her near-captor, Jake Mitchell and his partner Frank Travis. She is assigned to work with them to investigate the body in the concrete pillar. Since she was in disguise when he almost caught her, she hopes he won’t recognize her. Unfortunately, Jake never forgets a perfect set of legs.

The find themselves at odds with each other, exacerbated by Sam’s mother, Abby, who soon has Jake staying at their house, fixing him meals and washing his clothes. They manage to forge a working relationship as they try to solve the mystery. The man, Harvey Wilson, was reported as AWOL during the Korean War. So what happened to him between 1951 when he went missing and 1977 when the overpass was built? The leads they uncover lead to the state senator, Washington, DC and even to Sam’s father, who was an investigative reporter who died in 1977, the same year as Harvey Wilson. The common bond between all of them is a pin in the shape of a lightning bolt.

The investigation is hampered by the length of time since the Korean War. Most of the men who fought have long since died, narrowing down the number of people they can rely on for clues. But it seems there are those still alive and want those secrets to stay buried and Sam finds herself in increasing danger. She’ll need all of her powers if she is going to come out alive.

Tooley incorporates Native American mysticism into the story, more so than the paranormal. Abby has the ability to communicate with the spirits and ask for their intercession. Whether the spirits answer her supplications is conjectural, but Abby knows that Jake is meant for her daughter and makes certain that they see each other through her eyes. If they can stop being hostile to each other.

There is more than spirits and clairvoyance here. Tooley’s characters Sam, Abby and Alex, a Native American man living on Sam’s sprawling estate, can talk to the animals. Birds, especially, act as messengers and spies. Of course, not all conversations are aboveboard as Sam demonstrates when she has two pigeons do their business on her new commander’s paper work.

So the book has a sense of humor, too. Tooley spins a great tale mixed with government cover-up, blackmail, the unknown and love. It’s reminiscent of Brad Thor’s thrillers, which also involve government officials all the way up to the president.

When the Dead Speak is an exciting mystery with interesting turns every chapter.

Kept Boy by Robert Rodi

There is a reason why I don't read gay literature, It's the same reason I don't watch gay cinema or "Queer as Folk". The message is all the same: You can only find true love, happiness and sex, if you're young, extremely good-looking and have a great body. If you are older (i.e., over 35), you are to be pitied. The only way you will get someone to share your life is with money and LOTS of it. But Robert Rodi's "Kept Boy" looked like it might be different, so I decided give it the benefit of the doubt. I was SO wrong.

The only twist in this story is that the pretty boys start out as rivals, vying for the attentions (i.e., money, money, and money) of a wealthy, over-fifty, theatrical producer Farleigh Nock in Chicago. Dennis is his 'kept boy'. When Nock hires a new pool boy, the much younger Jasper, Dennis goes on a narcissistic warpath spending copious amounts of Nock's cash to keep his good standing.

Rodi makes it very clear that the only reason the novel's sugar-daddy is being fought over by two young men is because he is loaded. Otherwise, Rodi's novel would have been placed into a different universe far more fanciful than anything Gene Roddenberry, Isaac Asimov or Ray Bradbury could have dreamed of. I lived most of my adult life in Dallas, the most superficial city in the most superficial state, and came out there in 1991. I have seen first hand how wealth can cover many flaws but when it comes to age, there is only so much happiness that money can buy.

In the final pages, Dennis realizes that his love for Farleigh is only "companionly" and "pitying". Dennis and Jasper finally fall in love with each other. When they break the news to Farleigh, he expresses his happiness for them, then promptly drops dead. Dennis is the sole heir of Farliegh's vast wealth. As SNL's Church Lady would say, "How conv-E-nient!"

The book does have its funny moments, though. For example, the houseboy Christos is a former lover of Farleigh and, although a very reminiscent of the houseboy from "La Cage aux Folles" or "The Bird Cage", delivers some of the best lines in the book. Another instance, a trip to visit a 100 year-old grandmother ends in hysterical violence. The old woman herself is hilarious. Other than this, humor comes only in the form of snarky, bitchy comments.

The point of Rodi's book is if you're young and beautiful, find yourself a much older sugar-daddy and use your sexiness to worm your way into his bed and his will. You won't have to endure it long, because if your sugar-daddy has any sense, he will die before he gets any older and leave you all of his money.