Idi Amin was the third President of Uganda, maintaining power from 1971 to 1979. As a young man, Amin was a member of the British colonial regiment, the King’s African Rifles. Following decolonization, Amin worked his way up to the rank of major general in the Ugandan Army and became … Continue reading
Howard Zinn was an American historian, author and social activist. He taught political science at Boston University and history at Spelman College. Zinn wrote more than 20 books, including his best-known A People’s History of the United States. In this video, Zinn discusses his book A Young People’s History of … Continue reading
Lieutenant Colonel D R Butler was a helicopter pilot with the 229th Aviation Battalion in Vietnam. In this video, Butler discusses why he wanted to become a pilot and the lessons he learned in Vietnam that helped shape his life once he returned home.
Reverend Thomas Lane Butts discusses meeting Martin Luther King Jr., as well as his participation in the march on Selma.
The Rwandan Genocide took place over approximately 100 days from April to July of 1994. Between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Rwandans were killed, constituting as much as 20% of the country’s total population. Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slain by the Hutu majority. In this video, a survivor of the genocide … Continue reading
During World War II, Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish businessman and diplomat, saved the lives of tens of thousands of Jews living in Nazi-occupied Hungary. While working as Sweden’s special envoy in Budapest from July to December of 1944, Wallenberg issued protective passports and sheltered Jews in buildings designated as Swedish … Continue reading
Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury on January 21, 1950. Whitaker Chambers, a former Communist Party member, had testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) that Hiss had secretly been a Communist. Hiss denied this allegation. Chambers then produced evidence that he and Hiss had been involved in espionage, … Continue reading
On January 21, 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned hundreds of thousands of men who had evaded the Vietnam War draft by either fleeing the country or failing to register. The pardon occurred on President Carter’s first day in office and was the fulfillment of a campaign promise. Not included in … Continue reading
Boko Haram is a terrorist organization with a base of operations in northeastern Nigeria. In April of 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from a town called Chinok in northeast Nigeria. More than 50 of the girls were able to escape, but the remainder still have not been released. In … Continue reading
Former U.S. Senator Harris Wofford shares his favorite memory of meeting Martin Luther King Jr. and remembers discussing the inevitable assassination of such a prominent civil rights leader with his wife, Coretta Scott King. Continue reading
