+

Here's a story about Martin Luther King Jr. you don't hear too often (the hilariously drunk version)

A little-known (drunk) story.

In March 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.

The speech is (of course) very famous and was a pretty huge moment for the civil rights movement. But did you know about its darker side? Its unintended consequences?

See, J. Edgar Hoover heard the speech and was really ticked off.

Hoover was the director of the FBI. He'd been pretty obsessed with tracking King for a while, but when he heard that famous speech in '63 ... well, he didn't respond too kindly.


In response, he decided to ramp up the FBI's monitoring of King and the civil rights movement. The FBI had King's phone wiretapped, followed him pretty much everywhere, and recorded his private meetings.

At one point, Hoover held a press conference and went so far as to call King "the most notorious liar in the country." Whoa.

This is also around the time when the FBI sent King an anonymous letter calling him a fraud and insinuating that he commit suicide. Yeah, that actually happened.


(The letter is public domain.)

Geeze, FBI, maybe you need to take it easy on the middle-school-level insults? The letter says, "[Y]our last name calls to mind only the type of King such as King Henry the VIII and his countless acts of adultery and immoral conduct lower than that of a beast."

Needless to say, tensions were high.

In December 1964, Hoover and King had a meeting.

It probably didn't go exactly like this...

...but whatever did happen in that meeting, it definitely didn't ease tensions between the two. The FBI continued to eavesdrop on King, badger him and his family, and track his every move, right up until King's assassination in 1968. (For the record, at that point the FBI launched a full-scale investigation to find the killer).

So, one of America's most celebrated heroes was being intensely watched and intimidated by the FBI. How's that for some history trivia?

Here's the "Drunk History" version of the story. Check it out for a laugh!

@thehalfdeaddad/TikTok

Dad on TikTok shared how he addressed his son's bullying.

What do you do when you find out your kid bullied someone? For many parents, the first step is forcing an apology. While this response is of course warranted, is it really effective? Some might argue that there are more constructive ways of handling the situation that teach a kid not only what they did wrong, but how to make things right again.

Single dadPatrick Forseth recently shared how he made a truly teachable moment out of his son, Lincoln, getting into trouble for bullying. Rather than forcing an apology, Forseth made sure his son was actively part of a solution.


The thought process behind his decision, which he explained in a now-viral TikTok video, is both simple and somewhat racial compared to how many parents have been encouraged to handle similar situations.
Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Badass bikers show up for abused children, offering advocacy and protection

They become an abused child's "biker family," and they let the child—and everyone else—know that NO ONE messes with their family.

When you are a child who has been abused by people who are supposed to protect you, how do you feel safe?

That question is the heart of Bikers Against Child Abuse International (B.A.C.A.), an organization dedicated to creating "a safer environment for abused children." With specific training and extensive security checks, the frequently big and burly members of B.A.C.A. serve as protectors of chid abuse survivors, giving vulnerable children people to call on when they feel scared, and even showing up in court when a child asks them to.

Keep ReadingShow less
Photo by Igor Ferreira on Unsplash

Florida principal fired after showing statue of "David."

If you ask most teachers why they went into education, they'll share that it had nothing to do with the money and everything to do with their passion for teaching. Even with rapid changes in curriculum and policies, teachers who remain in the classroom are lovers of education and are doing their best to help kids learn.

Hope Carrasquilla, the former principal of Florida's Tallahassee Classical School, was one of those teachers who simply enjoyed teaching. As the principal, Carrasquilla was required to teach two classes. During her sixth grade lesson about Renaissance art, which is also a requirement of the school, Carrasquilla showed a picture of Michelangelo's "David" statue.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, three parents complained about their children being shown the picture. Two of those parents were mostly upset that there wasn't sufficient notice given before the photo of the sculpture was shown. The third parent reportedly complained that the statue of the Biblical figure was pornographic.

Keep ReadingShow less

When Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi both landed their high jumps at 2.37 meters, they were in the battle for Olympic gold. But when both jumpers missed the next mark—the Olympic record of 2.39 meters—three times each, they were officially tied for first place.

In such a tie, the athletes would usually do a "jump-off" to determine who wins gold and who wins silver. But as the official began to explain the options to Barshim and Tamberi, Barshim asked, "Can we have two golds?"

Keep ReadingShow less
via YouTube

These days, we could all use something to smile about, and few things do a better job at it than watching actor Christopher Walken dance.

A few years back, some genius at HuffPo Entertainment put together a clip featuring Walken dancing in 50 of his films, and it was taken down. But it re-emerged in 2014 and the world has been a better place for it.

Keep ReadingShow less

English metal detector hobbyist finds a real treasure near Nottingham.

A retired merchant navy engineer in England has found a treasure that would have made his country’s most popular folk hero proud. Graham Harrison, a 64-year-old metal detector enthusiast, discovered a gold signet ring that once belonged to the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The discovery was made on a farm in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire, 26.9 miles from Sherwood Forest. The forest is known worldwide for being the mythological home of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. A central road that traversed the forest was notorious in Medieval times for being an easy place for bandits to rob travelers going to and from London.

Keep ReadingShow less