Trivia #27

A. American football

American football is the most popular sport to watch in the United States, followed by baseball, basketball, and ice hockey, which makes up the "4 major sports." Soccer, tennis, golf, wrestling, auto racing, arena football, field lacrosse, box lacrosse and volleyball are also played in the country.

B. Military unit designed to prevent the retreat of its soldiers.

Blocking units, barrier troops, or anti-retreat forces were military units located in the rear of the front line (behind the main forces) to maintain military discipline, preventing the flight of servicemen from the battlefield. In the Soviet Union, the Red Army (National Revolutionary Army) concept of “blocking units” first arose in August 1918 on the Eastern Front during the Russian Civil War. Bolshevik War Commissar Leon Trotsky authorized the 1st Army to station blocking detachments behind unreliable Red Army infantry regiments, with orders to shoot if front-line troops either deserted or retreated without permission. The barrier troops were also used to enforce Bolshevik control over food supplies in areas controlled by the Red Army, a role which soon earned them the hatred of the Russian civilian population. The concept was re-introduced on a larger scale during the Second World War in response to unit disintegration in battle and desertion from the ranks in the Soviet Red Army.

During the Battle of Nanking (December 12, 1937) in the Second Sino-Japanese War, a Red Army (NRA) battalion was guarding the Yijiang Gate with orders to 'let no one through'. The NRA collapsed against the Japanese onslaught, and units tried to retreat without orders through the gate The battalion shot into the crowd, killing many people.

C. Philadelphia

Mark Twain (or perhaps Tennessee Williams, Will Rodgers, a French newspaper, anonymous)  had touched on a complaint that many American cities where monotonous cookie cutter versions of each other, where one place was not much different from another. Granted this is well-over a hundred years ago, when Las Vegas, Seattle and Anchorage were still struggling little villages and outposts. Plus, at the time of the quotation, the very distinctive and historical city of Santa Fe, New Mexico had barely joined Union, and was not traversed by many writers, still regarded as a faraway Mexican capital city.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (later Mark Twain) was born November 30, 1835 in the village of Florida, Missouri. Recent state census report the village as uninhabited. The Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site is located in Florida, with Mark Twain State Park nearby. Clemens grew up in the small town of Hannibal, Missouri with his sister and two brothers. The town of Hannibal was located right on the Mississippi River and Samuel loved to watch the river boats pass by as a child. Many of his stories later were inspired by his own adventures on the river. Growing up, Samuel dreamt of becoming a steamboat pilot. At the age of 11, his father died, and Samuel quit school and went to work as an apprentice for a printer to support his family. It was here that he learned about writing, which eventually reflected his offbeat and humorist personality. Around the age of 21, Samuel decided to pursue his dream. He trained as a pilot on a steamboat. He had to learn all the potential dangers and snags along the lower Mississippi river. It took him two years of hard work and study, but he eventually earned his pilot's license. At the start of the Civil War, he joined a Confederate militia for two weeks, but quit before he had to face combat. Clemens moved out west, earning a living writing for newspapers in Nevada and San Francisco. When he started writing, he took on the pseudonym of Mark Twain, stemming from a term used on steamboats to signal that the water was 12 feet deep. He soon began writing short stories for the newspapers, full of humor and adventure that captivated readers. His first popular short story was called "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," bringing him national attention. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches is the title of his first book, a collection of 27 short stories by Twain which were previously published in magazines and newspapers. Twain moved on to writing novels,  where some told funny stories from his own travels such as Roughing It and Innocents Abroad. Other popular books include The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Life on the Mississippi, and Pudd'nhead Wilson. Twain's most famous books are the two "river novels" that tell the adventures of young boys on the Mississippi River. The first was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and was followed by its sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), which many consider "The Great American Novel."

Twain's love for adventure and risk got him into financial trouble later in life. He invested his earnings into failed businesses and inventions. In order to pay the bills, he traveled around the world giving lectures and speeches. They were very popular and he was eventually able to pay off his debts. Twain married the former Olivia Langdon in 1870; she died in 1904, and the melancholy tone of Twain’s later writings is often attributed to his depression over her death. None-the-less Twain was remarkably progressive; a strong supporter of the abolitionist movement to end  to slavery, and a champion for women's rights and suffrage. Mark Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910 in Redding, Connecticut.

Quotes by Mark Twain

• "Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
• “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.”
• "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
• "The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up."
• "The secret of getting ahead is getting started."
• "Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
• "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."
• “When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it’s always 20 years behind the times.”

C. The Tulsa Race Riot (May 31 & June 1, 1921)

The Tulsa Race Riot (also called the Tulsa Race Massacre, the Greenwood Massacre, or the Black Wall Street Massacre) took place on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents attacked black residents and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, demanding an innocent black man to be lynched. It has been called "the single worst incident of racial violence in American history." The attack, carried out on the ground and from private aircraft, destroyed more than 35 square blocks of the district – at that time the wealthiest black community in the United States – known as "Black Wall Street". More than 800 people were admitted to hospitals and as many as 6,000 black residents were interned at large facilities, many for several days. The Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics officially recorded 36 dead, but the American Red Cross estimated 150–300 deaths.

Read Ed Boitano’s article about the Greenwood Cultural Center and the Tulsa Race Riot.

History of Other U.S. Race Riots

The Manhattan Draft Riots (July 13-16, 1863): The explosion of anger at being conscripted into the Union army quickly turned racist, as immigrants from Ireland began attacking blacks and their property, including an orphanage for black children. The official number of dead is either 119 or 120. The Draft Riots are so-called because the Union army began conscripting citizens for military service, but if a payment of $300 could be made (worth about $9,000 now), then conscription could be avoided. Manhattan’s wealthy could buy their way out of military service, while the city’s poorer immigrant population, mostly from Ireland, could not. The turn from the draft to African-Americans is attributed to resentment and fear on the part of the immigrant community. Manhattan’s black community virtually disappeared after the riot.

The Atlanta Race Riot ( Sept. 22-24, 1906): The Atlanta Race Riot of 1906 made headline news throughout Europe and the Americas for its especially brutal character. The Atlanta race riot was an attack by armed mobs of white Americans against African Americans in Atlanta, Georgia According to the Atlanta History Center, some black Americans were hanged from lampposts; others were shot, beaten or stabbed to death as white mobs invaded black neighborhoods, destroying homes and businesses. The immediate catalyst was newspaper reports of four white women raped in separate incidents, allegedly by African American men. An underlying cause was the growing racial tension in a rapidly-changing city and economy, with competition for jobs, housing, and political power.

The Detroit  Race Riot of 1943 (June 20-22, 1943): Detroit’s three-days of rioting was the result of racial tensions between migrated blacks from the U.S. rural South and migrated whites also from the U.S. rural South, who had both arrived in the industrialized North for better opportunities. As they competed for jobs against one another, the situation intensified, leading to the bloodiest and costliest race riot of 1943. Thirty-four people died and about 1,800 were arrested. Detroit’s auto industry was, at the time of the riots, churning out machines for the Allies’ war effort, and while the riots didn’t affect production, the Japanese Empire used the incident as propaganda and called on American blacks to not participate in the war effort against the Axis.

Los Angeles Rodney King Riots, (April 29-May 4, 1992): The brutal beating of African-American Rodney King, and the subsequent acquittal of the LAPD officers for that beating (which was caught on camera) led to the worst riot in the United States since the late 1960s. The reaction to the acquittal in South Central Los Angeles — now known as South Los Angeles — was then an area where more than half of the population were black. Tension had already been mounting in the neighborhood in the years leading up to the riots: the unemployment rate was about 50 percent, a drug epidemic was ravaging the area, and gang activity and violent crime were high.

Another contributing factor: The same month as Rodney King's beating, a Korean store owner in South Los Angeles shot and killed a 15-year-old African-American girl named Latasha Harlins, who was accused of trying to steal orange juice. It was later discovered Harlins was clutching money to pay for the juice when she was killed. The store owner received probation and a $500 fine. The incident heightened tensions between Koreans and African-Americans, and intensified the black community's frustration with the criminal justice system. At the same time, the community's anger was also deepening against Los Angeles police, who felt they were not protected during this almost lawless period, but instead were being harassed without cause.

C. Smokestack Lightning

Chester Arthur Burnett (1910 –1976), known as Howlin' Wolf, was a Chicago blues singer, guitarist, and harmonica player. Originally from White Station, Mississippi, he moved to Chicago in adulthood and became successful, forming a rivalry with fellow bluesman Muddy Waters."Smokestack Lightning" (also "Smoke Stack Lightning" or "Smokestack Lightnin'") is a blues song recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1956. It became one of his most popular and influential songs. It is based on earlier blues songs, and numerous artists later interpreted it. In the early to mid-1960s, it became a live staple of British Invasion rock and roll bands, including the Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, the Animals, and the Who as well as American groups, such as Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Electric Prunes, Kaleidoscope and the Wailers. The song has also been performed or recorded by Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, John Lee Hooker, John Mayer, Bob Dylan, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

William James Dixon (1915 – 1992), known as Willie Dixon, was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Dixon was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Along with Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues.

Dixon was an important link between the blues and rock and roll. His songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles. In particular, his songs have been adapted by numerous rock artists; Jeff Beck, Canned Heat, Cream, the Doors, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones, which opened the ears of the America’s audience to what they thought was a new sound. A short list of his most famous compositions include:

"Hoochie Coochie Man" (originally titled "I'm Your Hoochie Cooche Man") is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954. The song makes reference to hoodoo folk magic elements and makes novel use of a stop-time musical arrangement. It became one of Waters' most popular and identifiable songs and helped secure Dixon's role as Chess Records' chief songwriter.

“I Just Want to Make Love to You" is a 1954 blues song written by Willie Dixon, first recorded by Muddy Waters, and released as "Just Make Love to Me." Backing Waters on vocals are Little Walter on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on drums. Waters recorded the song again for the album “Electric Mud” in 1968.

“Little Red Rooster" (or "The Red Rooster") is a blues standard credited to Willie Dixon as arranger and songwriter. The song was first recorded in 1961 by American blues musician Howlin' Wolf in the Chicago blues style. His vocal and slide guitar playing are key elements of the song. It is rooted in the Delta blues tradition and the theme is derived from folklore. On December 1964, the Rolling Stones reached number one on the UK Singles Chart with their cover of the song.

"Spoonful" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. Called "a stark and haunting work," it is one of Dixon's best known and most interpreted songs. Etta James and Harvey Fuqua had a pop and R&B record chart hit with their duet cover of "Spoonful" in 1961, and it was popularized in the late 1960s by the British rock group Cream. The lyrics relate men's sometimes violent search to satisfy their cravings, with "a spoonful" used mostly as a metaphor for pleasures, which have been interpreted as sex, love, and drugs.

Dixon devoted much of his time in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s to the organization he founded, Blues Heaven Foundation. His vision was to allow the echoes of great American Blues to continue to develop, to encourage a new generation of blues greats and to provide for the on-going welfare of senior Blues musicians.