The Man Who Made Our Family Room Feel Like Home: Remembering Hal Williams
Every family has a show, and for ours it was Sanford and Son. This week we lost Hal Williams, the actor behind Officer "Smitty," at 91. What we didn't know until now: he was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, the same city where our family gathered episode after episode, and he even went to the same high school as my niece. A tribute to the man, his remarkable career, and the hometown connection we never saw coming.
The Pearl Escape of 1848: Seventy-Seven People Who Tried to Sail to Freedom in the Shadow of the U.S. Capitol
In April 1848, seventy-seven enslaved people boarded a small schooner called The Pearl in Washington, D.C., hoping to sail 225 miles to freedom. Their coordinated escape attempt, planned in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, became one of the largest mass escape efforts in American history and helped shape national debates on slavery.
The 761st Tank Battalion: Black Heroes Who Liberated Gunskirchen (And Got Erased)
The 761st Tank Battalion, known as the “Black Panthers,” fought in World War II and helped liberate Gunskirchen concentration camp—yet their role was long overlooked.