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Three Protests That Shaped The United States

Three Protests That Shaped The United States

Protest and peaceful demonstration is a part of America’s history. On a few occasions, protesters were met with violence. However, their resistance stirred the government to review existing laws or initiate new laws to protect the interest of those marginalized.

The year 2020 protest will be remembered as one of America’s largest turnout. People of different colors, states, and religions joined the March for an end to police brutality, inequality, and systemic racism in the United States. The death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis black man choked to death by a police officer, Derek Chauvin, led to one of America’s greatest protests on May 26, 2020. Over 15 million people were estimated to have participated in the demand for justice. The protest sparked a demand for equality around the world, especially in England and Australia.

Legislators gave an immediate response by introducing the “justice in policing act.” The act limited legal protection for police, banned the use of chokeholds, and created a national database of excessive force incidents.

Women’s suffrage March

The March 6, 1913 movement was the first national protest in the United States. Women turned out in their numbers to demand their right to vote and participate in an election. The 60-year demand generated little response from the government until the protest was staged. The protest’s organizers selected a day before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson to mount pressure on the newly elected president. The women were met with violence. About a hundred of them were injured, but they pressed on to achieve their desire. The event led to the ratification of the 19th amendment on August 18, 1920. Historians also believe that the event was the major reason why March was picked as women’s history month. Women now occupy different positions in the United States and are even constitutionally empowered to become the president. The labors of the women who participated in the 1913 protest will never be forgotten.

March on Washington

On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 Americans came out to demand an end to inequality and racial injustice. The protest was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, who delivered his famous ” I have a dream” speech. The movement began after Rosa Parks had failed to give up her seat for a white passenger on a Montgomery bus. The protest demanded an end to discrimination based on color. The movement had a tremendous impact on America’s history. It led to equal voting rights in the United States and removed all sorts of racial prejudice in transportation. To date, the United States celebrates Martin Luther King’s day, as a remembrance of his struggle against inequality.

March for our lives

On February 14, 2018, 17 people were killed, and another 17 were injured after a former student shot sporadically at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School campus in Parkland, Florida. The sad incident took the demand for a reform of the existing gun laws to another dimension. More than a million protesters, mostly young people participated in the protest. The protest achieved the desired reform as the legislators introduced a new law. The act raised the minimum age of a person to purchase a gun from 18 to 21. And it made provision for a background check before the purchase was completed. The act also allocated millions to make school buildings more secure.

Protest and demonstrations have been useful tools for demanding reform in the United States. The tremendous effect of protest makes it inevitable in the United States. Moreso, it’s a demonstration of the people’s freedom of speech and expression. A right guaranteed by the constitution.

Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Bill Gates’ Lifestyle

Bill Gates
Bill Gates

People often seek to model their lives with notable successful individuals globally. One such man is Bill Gates, being one of the richest men in the world! You probably might not know all that there is to the Microsoft founder, but don’t be shocked as you’re about to discover that despite his dedication, amazing entrepreneurship qualities, years of sheer hard work and billions of dollars as net worth, Bill Gates does have a pretty simple lifestyle!

The first thing about the simple lifestyle of Bill Gates you might not know is that he does love to do the dishes at home! Being a wealthy man, he can employ people to wash his dishes. However, the billionaire does love to wash his own dishes at night. A simple man, right? We thought so too. According to him, washing dishes helps him relax his mind.

Another thing that will interest you about his simple lifestyle is that he has made it clear that his children will not inherit anything from him. Pretty ironic. Well, he duly noted that he would give his children the best education in the world, and he wants them to do ahead and start their own respective business with full support from him. This means that he doesn’t want his children to be poor – he prefers them working hard and starting their careers, but inheriting his wealth is a no from him. That’s simplicity accentuated with being principled!

Bill Gates’s simple lifestyle is further seen in that he somehow, despite his crazy schedules and responsibilities, monitors a tree in his house. Well, he sure has found one unique way to find some peace and maintain his calm mind. This tree is as old as 40 years and is close to the driveway in his house. Interestingly for 24 hours, that tree is monitored. Bill Gates confirms monitoring it to be some addiction he got to develop over the years. This easily proves that even the richest men on earth can be very simple in their daily dealings with life.

In conclusion, it’s a great idea to emulate the positive and humbling personalities and characters of globally respected men, like Bill Gates, despite their great influence and wealth! You can have a simple lifestyle while succeeding immensely!

Five Top Saving Tips You Need To Know About

Five Top Saving Tips You Need To Know About

Saving can be an almost impossible task, considering your expenses and unexpected costs that sometimes arise. However, regardless of how little it is, you can save from your earnings and accomplish projects you’ve always dreamed about! Let’s delve right into the top tips to save efficiently you need to know.

First, you need to create a spending budget. A budget allows you to identify and regulate your expenses. Make a list of everything you spend on and allocate specific percentages of your earnings to your needs.

Next, you might need to generate a saving plan. Try to draft a plan to save periodically. You can determine what would be left of your earnings after deducting your expenses from the budget you created. You can then decide how much and how frequently you want to save.

Also, make sure you cut down on nonessential costs. This might hurt a little, but you would have to sacrifice many things you can do without and reduce your spending at every possible instance. Instead of eating out, you can prepare and pack your own meal. Instead of going to the coffee shop, you can make your coffee yourself! Little alternative actions like these go a long way in helping you have more money to save.

Now, you should consider adopting suitable saving tools, regarding how to save. If you plan on saving for a short term, a savings account or Certificate of Deposit might be your best bet. However, for long-term savings, security investments, or specific options like an FDIC retirement account might be better suited.

Having set all these in motion, conduct accountability checks. Periodically check your spending and saving habits to ensure you’re in line with your plans. As you develop a consistent saving habit, you can increase the saving percentage of your earnings as time goes by.

Saving requires effort, dedication, and discipline. With a solid resolve and applying these tips, you’re sure to save up excellently and achieve your goals.

 

Oprah Winfrey: The Journey From Mississippi

Oprah Winfrey

Born in Mississippi by a maid, raised by an abusive grandmother, molested by a cousin, uncle, and family friend since the age of 9, ran away from home at 13, pregnant at 14, lost the child at 15, and got a scholarship at 17. It was a catastrophic beginning for Oprah Winfrey, but she found her way to the top.

Mississippi reminds Oprah Winfrey of her terrible beginning. She had to steal to meet up with her peers’ spending, raised by a single mother without clearly knowing who her father was. She became a subject of ridicule by her peers because of the poverty she was known for. Unlike every other member of her family, Oprah decided to rise above her situation. She lost her half brother to AIDS and her half-sister to drug-related illness. She bears her scar too, but she has become one of the most influential women in the universe.

Oprah Winfrey became a media mogul, a talk show host, an actress, television producer, and philanthropist. She has often been tagged as the greatest Black philanthropist in America’s history. Her empathy, which is often displayed in her talk show, pulls out more from her guest than they’ll ever want to share with a national audience.  She has also used her platform to advocate for a free press, equal treatment, and an end to gender violence.

The scars of her undesirable childhood may have laid the foundation of her decision not to get married or give birth. She enjoys the love of the young people who she has lifted from a similar background to hers. Her long term partner, Stedman Graham, has also been highly supportive despite their decision not to commit to an official union.

The influence of Oprah Winfrey has also been felt in the political space. Winfrey showed a lot of support for a former president, Barack Obama, during his campaign. It was also estimated that Winfrey might have won him up to a million votes during the landmark election. Winfrey was rewarded with the presidential medal of freedom, having been inducted into the national women’s hall of fame in 1994.

Winfrey found a way to turn her wound into wisdom, as she often quotes. Her journey from Mississippi looked unlikely, but she has made it to affluence, a height achieved by only a few.

Barack Obama: America’s Greatest Presidential Orator

Barack Obama

You don’t have to be a fan of Barack Obama’s administration in the United States to agree that he is America’s greatest presidential orator of the modern world. The former US president need not apply the high tone of Hilary Clinton or childishly disagree with reporters as Donald Trump does. However, one thing is clear. Obama gets his message across in a way the United States has never witnessed.

As a young senator, Barack Obama gave a keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. His 16minutes and 11 seconds speech was longer than Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, the speech often referred to as the greatest in America’s history. The similarity with Obama’s “Audacity of Hope” was how his eloquence moved the audience. A deep conviction in his voice as he spoke about unity, equality, and change.

Four years after, Barack Obama was the president of the United States. His campaign was thrilled with persuasive speeches displaying his wealth of information about the United States Constitution, Declaration of Independence, essential texts of civic culture, speeches of Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.

His preparation and rigorous study were the secrets to his great speeches. His ability to change his tone, raise his volume, and naturally increase his speed. Barack Obama’s prowess in oratory is unmatched. Undoubtedly, America has a great history of some of the world’s most powerful speeches. The inaugural address of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933 and John Kennedy’s inaugural address in 1961 are some of the most famous speeches in America’s history. However, it’s the technique used by Obama that differentiates him from the other United States presidents. His audience can feel his calmness and empathy.

Beyond his campaign speeches filled with messages of unity and equality, Barack Obama’s speech has been one of the best ways to pay tribute to heroes of civil rights. His great speech at the burial of Nelson Mandela summed up his relevance. Obama’s one-time political rival, John McCain, got Obama to promise to deliver a speech on his burial, one which the African American honored. Obama was also given the honor of delivering a speech at the burial of the civil rights icon, John Lewis, on July 30, 2020.

Like every other American president, Obama may have instituted controversial reforms during his tenure in Washington. Still, one undeniable fact was that no one listened to him without admiring his public speaking ability.

 

Electric Cars: The Advantages And Limitations You Should Know About

Electric Cars

Have you ever thought of the largest source of climate pollution in the United States? Transportation. Emissions from cars and trucks are not only bad for our planet, but they’re also bad for our health. Air pollutants from gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles cause asthma, bronchitis, cancer, and premature death.

Electric cars are 100 percent eco-friendly as they run on electrically powered engines. They do not emit toxic gases or smoke in the environment as it runs on a clean energy source. You’ll be contributing to a healthy and green climate.

Electric cars are entirely charged by the electricity you provide, meaning you don’t need to buy gas ever again. Driving fuel-based cars can be costly as prices of fuel have gone all-time high. The average American pays about 15 cents a mile to drive a gas-powered vehicle. In contrast, many electric cars run on five cents a mile.

An electric car is safer to drive, given their lower center of gravity, which makes them much more stable on the road in case of a collision. In case an accident occurs, one can expect airbags to open up and electricity supply to be disconnected from the battery. This can prevent you and other passengers in the car from serious injuries. They are also less likely to explode in the absence of any combustible fuel or gas.

In the world of automobiles, electric cars have the simplest driving method. Commercial electric cars come with a transmission comprising of only one really long gear. Also, they don’t suffer from the stalling problem as petrol cars do.

Another really useful feature is regenerative braking. In normal cars, the braking process is a total wastage of kinetic energy that gets released as frictional heat. However, in an electric vehicle, the same energy is used to charge the batteries.

Now, despite all these exciting features, electric cars have some limitations you should be aware of. Take, for instance, they can travel only about 100 miles on average, and on a single charge. The technology of Chrysler’s proposed EVs is supposed to have the cars run longer, though. Sure, it won’t match gasoline in terms of range and availability.

Batteries that power these cars are a costly affair. The long-lasting lithium-ion batteries cost about thousands of dollars each, which for the most part, makes these cars expensive. And if the batteries last only about 4 years, they could add to the maintenance costs.

Electric cars can also be a hassle on your energy bill if you’re not considering the options carefully. If you haven’t done your research into the electric car you want to purchase, you may be making an unwise investment. Sometimes electric cars require a huge charge to function properly, which may reflect poorly on your electricity bill each month.

Electric cars are not suitable for cities facing a shortage of power as electric cars need the power to charge up, and cities already facing acute power shortages are not suitable for electric cars. The consumption of more power would hamper their daily power needs.

Henry Ford, a Successful Entrepreneur: Did He Ever Fail?

Henry Ford

Every entrepreneur has a story to tell. A story of how they moved from the point of despair to hope. Henry Ford’s story is not an exception. It perfectly depicts what it means to move from obscurity to limelight. He was an industrialist, entrepreneur, business tycoon and founder of Ford Motor Company. He was also the chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. He achieved this great feat with persistence and dedication to his work. However, his life was not a fairy tale. It was full of ups and downs.

Henry Ford was born on the 30th of July, 1863, in Dearborn Township, Michigan. He was born into the family of William and Mary Ford. He developed a passion for building and creating masterpieces at an early age. At age 15, Ford could disassemble and reassemble watches for his friends. This earned him the reputation of a watch repairman. He worked in Detroit and James Flower & Bros as a machinist. Again, he worked at Westinghouse, where he repaired their steam engines. Ford was a person who knew what he wanted at a young age. And he pursued it with much diligence.

Ford started building a two-cylinder engine in 1887. And by 1892, he had completed his first car. This car featured a two-cylinder engine, four horsepower motor. It had a two-and-half-inch bore and six-inch stroke. It was recorded that Ford drove this car for about 1000 miles from 1895 to 1896. He began building a second car in 1896. This iconic man died in 1947.

“Failure is only an opportunity to begin all over again, this time more intelligently.”
Henry Ford

Henry Ford’s beginning was not all rosy. It seems as though his failures were more than his successes. He started as a brilliant, skillful, and intelligent engineer who could not invent anything. But he remained audacious and resolute in his resolve to achieve success. He also remained dedicated to perfection. He wanted to produce a near-perfect car. It was because of his love for perfection that deliveries were delayed. This contributed negatively to his reputation.

Asides his damaged reputation among customers, nobody wanted to finance his business. Most financial heavyweights saw his company as a lost course. But he did not lose hope. He continued to press further, even more tenaciously into greatness.

He went on to build the Ford “Model A.” This was met with a lot of setbacks, as there were complaints all over the country. The car began to break down all over the place. But he didn’t stop; he learned from his mistakes and created “The Ford Model T.” This new model revolutionized the automobile industry at that time. Ford Motors was brought to the limelight. Today, Henry Ford is no more, but his name still lingers in many because he refused to give up.

Yes, Henry Ford failed at some point in his life. But his endless and relentless efforts were sufficient to overcome all his setbacks. Every entrepreneur should learn from Henry Ford’s life. You must learn to convert your failures to success through persistence and doggedness.

Three Times Zuckerberg Has Been Grilled By Congress

Three Times Zuckerberg Has Been Grilled By Congress

The evolving trends in digital technology continue to impact every sector of our nation. Hence, the need for government regulation without discouraging the private sector from innovating is crucial. Government intervention is also inevitable, based on the quality of information shared and data possessed by the tech industry.

One platform that has regularly come under fire is Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook. The app has about 2.5 billion users worldwide, making it the most popular social media platform. The availability of a wide range of data stored on the platform by independent users makes it an attractive place for advertisement. Since the 2016 election in the United States, Zuckerberg has been summoned thrice by the Congress.

The billionaire’s first appearance before Congress was on April 10, 2018. Zuckerberg was grilled by lawmakers on how “Cambridge Analytics”, a political consulting firm, acquired data and influenced the 2016 elections. The Facebook founder was questioned whether his company had been selling data to advertisers. As a response, Zuckerberg said,” We allow advertisers to tell us who they want to reach, and then we do the placement… That’s a very fundamental part of how our model works and something that is often misunderstood”. He further admitted his greatest regret in running the company was that they were slow in identifying the Russian information operations in 2016. Zuckerberg faced 600 questions in the meeting, which lasted for ten hours.

The second meeting of Zuckerberg with the Congress was October 2019, 11 months before the next election. The major difference from his first appearance was the range of questions he faced. The tech expert was questioned on free speech, hate groups, fake news, and electoral interference. The lawmakers also questioned his plan to engage in the provision of financial services. Zuckerberg responded on how the company intends to fight online child exploitation, political misinformation, and data privacy lapses.

The Facebook founder was summoned again on July 29,2020. Zuckerberg sounded confident before the lawmakers this time. It was his third appearance before the Congress in just two years. The lawmakers questioned Zuckerberg’s acquisition strategy of Instagram following some leaked emails that showed the Facebook founder threatened his former rivals with fierce competition. The tech expert was also questioned further on the protection of data before the 2020 US elections.

It is the government’s role to protect the state from foreign interference while also protecting its citizens. As the tech industry flourishes and social media grows, more government intervention will be expected. This may be the start of many meetings between the Congress and tech leaders.

 

Facts About Beyoncé You Probably Didn’t Know That May Shock You

Beyonce

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is one of the greatest entertainers of all time. She has managed to maintain a firm status of an excellent singer, songwriter, international icon representative of power, activism, and sheer confidence for about three decades of her career! As much as she keeps private life, there’s not much she can hide as a celebrity. Millions of fans and others are always in search to know more about their favorite star. She has done great work in keeping her private life private. However, here are some facts about Beyoncé you probably didn’t know.

The gorgeously looking Beyoncé had just one boyfriend before Jay-Z named Lyndell Locke back in high school. They split up before she went ahead to pursue her glorious career. On one occasion, she told Telegraph that when she was 12-13, she had her first boyfriend, who remained her boyfriend until 17. She acknowledged that she has always been quite loyal and a little more mature despite her young age as at then. And ever since, she’s had only one boyfriend after that in her entire life – Jay-Z.

She Struggled with Depression

Beyoncé’s father, who was the then girl group’s manager of Destiny’s Child, was sued for mismanagement when the group split up. It made Beyoncé battle depression, which made her seclude herself without eating quite much while the depressed state lasted. She acknowledged her mother, who helped her recover as she encouraged her to care for her mental health.

Beyoncé Is Allergic to Perfume

Although she’s allergic to perfume, she went ahead to launch her perfume line in the year 2010, and over the years, she has endorsed and released other scents. Her fragrances are noted to have been chemically altered during the development process of its making because she’s quite allergic to most perfumes.

She Added A Word to The Dictionary

After releasing ‘Bootylicious,’ which was a hit song under Destiny’s child, guess who paid apt recognition to the title and went further to coin it as an official word? The Oxford English Dictionary! ‘Bootylicious’ is now an adjective that means “(of a woman) sexually attractive.” The super talented singer has sure had her print in the vocabulary world!

A Fly Is Named After Her

In 2012, a scientist, Bryan Lessard, actually discovered a species of horsefly in Northern Queensland, Australia, and he named it Scaptia beyonceae, due to the golden hairs noticeable on the fly’s abdomen. As it stands, the fly is known as the all-time diva of flies! Pretty impressive, right?

Beyoncé is one of a kind among millions. These facts succinctly accentuate this point and show she’s truly a unique gem!

Why Rihanna Is A Fashion Icon Forever

Why Rihanna Is A Fashion Icon Forever

As far as the fashion lifestyle is concerned, Rihanna is simply a goddess of style! Fashion isn’t just about what you wear but how you wear what you wear. For this, Rihanna is perhaps everything and even more. She has no boundaries as she creatively “legally” breaks the rules regarding style preferences and clothing choices. It will interest you to know that she won the first-ever CDFA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Fashion Icon Award in 2014. She emphasized that fashion rules were meant to be broken, and she sure lives up to her word always! Here’s why she is a fashion icon, not just for now but forever.

Rihanna sure looks good in anything. Over the years, her arrival at any red carpet is like an event itself. She looks fabulous in all wears as she pushes the boundaries and delivers timeless looks! It is not a doubt that her looks and outfits – elegant, gothic, or risqué – have been risky. Nevertheless, she wears them with confidence, and her style turns out to be trending and glorious!

It is a fact that just about anything looks good on her. Even styles or clothes that are pretty outdated and well-considered a fashion faux pas for the world still looks good on her. When Rihanna wears it, she makes the old new! Besides, her confidence encourages people to be comfortable with their bodies and wear what truly makes them happy. A vivid example is a big pink, poufy Giambattista Valli princess dress she wore on a red carpet at the 2015 Grammy Award. It immediately became an Internet sensation. To tell you that she decides what’s pretty, ugly, and fashionable.

She’s not just awesome with the clothes and wears, but also pretty great with the shoes. She wears her products, and now the public has gradually adapted to her exclusive style. When she wore her Fenty Puma Sneaker heels, people joined the trend in no time!

She is truly an icon not just for blacks, but for women generally. She has done well as a girl by influencing the fashion industry with her Caribbean style. She looks fabulous in dreadlocks as well as Rastafarian colors. She truly embodies what it means to be a Caribbean queen in every sense of it.

Although Rihanna is just for Rihanna, anyone can model their fashion inspiration and aspirations after her. Rihanna owns her company, Fenty. It is home to several fashionable wears and accessories and even skin products. She sure is an icon for the elegant fashion lifestyle!