May 4, 2025

Dates with Destiny

This weekend marks several significant anniversaries, so many in fact that we couldn’t choose just one to highlight. Friday is the anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, the greatest real estate bargain in American history; it’s also the 25th anniversary of GPS being released to the public. Sunday is the anniversary of the 1886 Haymarket Riot, a turning point in the American labor movement, as well as the date of the first Freedom Rides, a pivotal moment in the American civil rights movement. And Sunday is also Star Wars Day—as in “May the fourth” be with you.
Mark Hamill(Left), David Prowse(Right), Luke Skywalker(Left) and Darth Vader(Right), Start Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back(1980), Irvin Kershner
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The Haymarket Riot in Chicago - A Dynamite Bomb exploding among the police, Chicago, Illinois. (McCormick Strike, Haymarket Square, Anarchist Riot)
The Haymarket Riot and the Struggle for Workers’ Rights
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
On May 24, 1961 Freedom Riders get ready to board a Greyhound bus in Montgomery, Alabama. They were escorted out of Montgomery by the National Guard and highway patrol. (SEE NOTES) Freedom Rides, American civil rights movement, racism, segregation
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Perry Aycock/AP Images

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Odds and Ends

The world of American theater has announced the nominees for its highest honor, while the Kentucky Derby rides again.

Tony Awards

The nominees for this year’s Tony Awards, which celebrates American theater, were recently announced. Leading the pack are three shows each with 10 nominations: Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, and Maybe Happy Ending. Some notable nominated names include six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, for her role in the revival of Gypsy. Meanwhile, three very familiar faces are up for their first Tony: Bob Odenkirk, for his star turn in a new production of Glengarry Glen Ross, George Clooney, for the stage version of Good Night, and Good Luck, and Mia Farrow, nominated for a leading actress award for The Roommate. Additionally, actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein will be honored with a lifetime achievement award.

And they’re off

The Kentucky Derby, the most prestigious American horse race, will be held this weekend. Established in 1875, it has become one of the most popular single-day sporting events in the world, attracting some 150,000 spectators to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

Musical birthdays

What do Bing Crosby, James Brown, Pete Seeger, and John Lewis have in common? From a musical standpoint, not much—a quintessential 1930s crooner, the Godfather of Soul, a folk music icon, and the leader of the Modern Jazz Quartet. But each of these musicians share a birth date of May 3: Crosby in 1903, Seeger in 1919, Lewis (pictured below) in 1920 and Brown in 1933.

John (Aaron) Lewis with the Modern Jazz Quartet.
Frank Driggs Collection

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