Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family

glossary

Abernathy, Ralph (1926–1990): Civil rights leader, a founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the man Martin Luther King Jr. described as his best friend. In 1968, when King was shot, Abernathy held him in his arms as he died. Weeks later, Abernathy went on to lead the Poor People’s Campaign march on Washington. He continued to spearhead efforts to improve the lives of disenfranchised Americans of all races until his death.

Affirmative Action: Policy of offering increased economic, political, and social opportunities to minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups with the goal of increasing diversity and correcting years of discrimination. The practice is the subject of much controversy.

Albright, Tenley (1935–): American figure skater, winner of the silver medal at the 1952 Olympics and the gold medal at the 1956 Olympics. Albright took up skating when she was a girl as part of her recovery from polio. In 1961, she graduated from Harvard University and became a surgeon.

Attica Correctional Facility: In September 1971, inmates of this New York prison revolted to protest bad conditions, taking control of the facility and holding a number of guards hostage. The riot ended after four days with ten prison employees and twenty-nine prisoners dead.

Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685–1750): German composer highly regarded for his religious pieces and organ works.

Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770–1827): Influential pianist and composer of symphonies. Before he turned thirty, he began to lose his hearing, but he continued to produce extraordinary pieces despite his deafness later in life.

Berlin Wall (1961–1989): Guarded barrier separating West Berlin from East Berlin and East Germany during the Cold War. By the early 1950s, Germany and its capital city, Berlin, had been divided into two territories: West Germany, allied with the United States, Great Britain and France, and East Germany, allied with the Soviet Union. The Wall became symbolic of the divide between communist Eastern Europe and the democratic West. The Berlin Wall collapsed on November 9, 1989, ushering in a series of events that unified East and West Germany and ended the Cold War.

Black Panthers: Activists in Oakland, California, founded the Black Panther Party for Self-defense to protect their communities from police brutality. The influential party grew controversial when it began to call for radical measures such as arming all blacks. Conflicts between the Black Panthers and the police were common in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Bond, Julian (1940–): Black activist and civil rights leader who helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and was elected to the Georgia state legislature as a representative and then as a senator. For many years Bond was the president of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the national chairman of the NAACP.

Brezhnev, Leonid (1906–1982): Communist leader of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982.

Brown, Jim (1936–): Running back for the Cleveland Browns football team for nine years.

Bush, George H. W. (1924–): Elected the forty-first president of the United States. Joined the U.S. Navy at age eighteen, becoming its youngest flier, and served in World War II, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in action, among other awards. Later Bush attended Yale University, then moved to Texas, where he started an oil business and became active in politics. After serving as vice president under Ronald Reagan (1981–1989), Bush served as president from 1989 to 1993. Nine months into his presidency, the Berlin Wall was torn down. When Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait, Bush sent U.S. troops to join allied forces in expelling Saddam Hussein’s forces from its neighbor during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Bush, George W. (1946–): One of four sons of George H. W. Bush. He spent six years as governor of Texas before being elected the forty-third president of the United States (2001–2009). Within eight months of his taking office, on September 11, 2001, terrorists flew two commercial airplanes into the World Trade Center towers in New York and one into the Pentagon in Washington; a fourth hijacked plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. In all, nearly three thousand people died. President Bush declared a war on terror and launched military campaigns in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.

Carmichael, Stokely (1941–1998): Black activist, a founder of the SNCC, and the originator of the motto “Black Power.” Carmichael was a good friend of the Rice family and frequently lectured in John W. Rice’s courses at Denver University.

Carter, James Earl “Jimmy” (1924–): Thirty-ninth president of the United States (1977–1981). After his bid for reelection failed, he founded the Carter Center, which works to advance global peace and human rights. Carter is also an ardent supporter of Habitat for Humanity, an organization through which volunteers build houses for those in need. He remains active in international diplomacy and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Civil Rights Act of 1964: Historic legislation passed during the civil rights movement and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson that prohibited segregation in places of public accommodation.

Clinton, William Jefferson “Bill” (1946–): Forty-second president of the United States (1993–2001). Clinton served during a time of relative peace and economic expansion. In 1998, Congress began impeachment proceedings against him after he was accused of misconduct with a White House intern; he apologized to the nation, and his approval rating remained high until he left office. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, was elected to the U.S. Senate and became secretary of state under President Barack Obama.

Cold War (c. 1947–1991): State of political hostility and military threats that existed after World War II between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Communism: Political ideology in which the central government controls the economy. In contrast to democracies, leaders in communist governments rise from within a single political party, and the state places strict limits on personal freedoms and political expression.

Connor, Theophilus Eugene “Bull” (1887–1973): Public safety commissioner of Birmingham, Alabama, during the 1960s and a staunch supporter of segregation known for his brutality.

Cuban Missile Crisis: In October 1962, the United States discovered that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missile sites in Cuba, ninety miles off the coast of Florida. President Kennedy demanded that the missiles be removed and instituted a naval blockade of the island. After tense negotiations and close confrontations that many believed would lead to nuclear war, the USSR acceded, with concessions on both sides.

Dickens, Charles (1812–1870): Famous English novelist whose works include A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Bleak House, and A Christmas Carol.

Farrakhan, Louis (1933–): Black activist, social critic, and leader of the Nation of Islam, an organization that champions black nationalism and cultural awareness through the teachings of Islam.

German unification (1989–1991): Diplomatic process at the beginning of the 1990s that united West Germany and East Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, leaders negotiated a settlement unifying the two countries into a single German state.

Gorbachev, Mikhail (1931–): General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985–1991), then elected president of Russia (1990–1991). Gorbachev presided during a time of momentous changes, most notably the formation of an elected parliament in the USSR, the reunification of Germany, and the end of the Cold War. His liberalizing policies made him popular in the West, where he often was referred to as Gorby.

Gregory, Dick (1932–): Came to fame as an edgy comedian who confronted racial prejudice. Over the years, he has developed into a writer, social critic, and health activist.

Hamer, Fannie Lou (1917–1977): The granddaughter of slaves, Hamer became an activist when she was forced to leave the plantation where she was a sharecropper after trying to register to vote. In 1964, she led an alternate delegation to the Democratic National Convention to challenge the all-white Mississippi delegation.

Hesburgh, Theodore (1917–): Roman Catholic priest and president of the University of Notre Dame (1952–1987). During his term of office, Notre Dame became a coeducational school.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU): Institutions founded specifically for the education of black people. The first all-black colleges include Grambling State University (founded in 1901), Howard University (1867), Meharry Medical College (1876), Miles College (1898), Morehouse College (1867), Spelman College (1881), Stillman College (1876), Tuskegee University (1880), and Wilberforce University (1856).

Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace: Organization on the Stanford campus that produces research on domestic and international affairs.

Johnson, Frank (1918–1999): Federal judge whose rulings helped end segregation in the South. Johnson received so many death threats that his family was under federal protection for more than twenty years.

Johnson, Lyndon Baines (1908–1973): When President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in November 1963, Vice President Johnson was sworn in and became the thirty-sixth president of the United States. The following year, he was elected to the office, and he served from 1963 to 1969. He signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He also escalated American involvement in the Vietnam War.

Joint Chiefs of Staff: Group of military officials who advise the president and nonmilitary leaders of the Defense Department. The Joint Chiefs is made up of the leaders of the four branches of the military—the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines—and the chairman, who is generally considered the president’s top military advisor.

Kennedy, John Fitzgerald (1917–1963): Thirty-fifth president of the United States (and first Catholic to be elected). Kennedy ran on a platform of commitment to civil rights legislation, and it became a priority of his presidency. He also established the Peace Corps, which trains Americans who volunteer to live and work in developing countries. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

Kennedy, Robert Francis “Bobby” (1925–1968): Appointed U.S. attorney general by President Kennedy, his older brother, he remained in that position under President Johnson until he left in 1964 to run successfully for the U.S. Senate from New York. In 1968, while running in the Democratic primary for president, he was assassinated in Los Angeles.

Khrushchev, Nikita (1894–1971): First secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and premier from 1958 to 1964. After the death of dictator Josef Stalin, who ordered political purges and mass murders during his twenty-five-year reign, Khrushchev declared a desire for “peaceful coexistence” with Western governments. In practice, however, he often pursued a more confrontational stance with the United States and its allies. In 1964, he was replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.

King, Jr., Martin Luther (1929–1968): Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and advocate of nonviolent civil disobedience. In 1955 and 1956, King led the Montgomery bus boycott, an early demonstration of the power of peaceful resistance, and in 1957, he helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). His powerful speeches, including the “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, influenced the nation and helped lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that year. King was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.

Korbel, Josef (1909–1977): Czech diplomat, founder of Denver University’s Graduate School of International Studies, specialist on the Soviet Union, and father of former secretary of state Madeleine Albright. Professor Korbel was an influential mentor for Condoleezza Rice and inspired her to pursue a PhD in international politics.

Kosygin, Alexei (1904–1980): Premier of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1980. Initially, Kosygin shared power with Leonid Brezhnev and Nikolai Podgorny (chairman of the Presidium), but gradually Brezhnev assumed control and Kosygin retired.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK): White supremacist organization founded in Tennessee in 1866 by Confederate soldiers returning from the Civil War; they opposed Reconstruction and civil rights for blacks. Men dressed in white sheets and hoods to frighten their victims, whom they pursued in nighttime raids; they often maimed or killed blacks and Northern sympathizers. The Klan died down during the 1880s, only to rise again at the turn of the century and spread across the country. At its peak during the 1920s, membership was estimated at four million. Today the KKK is officially listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

The Mickey Mouse Club (1955–1959): Walt Disney TV program featuring mouse ear–wearing “Mouseketeers,” talented preteens and teenagers who sang, acted, and danced.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756–1791): Prolific Austrian composer of more than six hundred works, including symphonies, operas, and piano music. A musical prodigy, he began playing as a child before princes and monarchs throughout Europe.

National Security Council: Group of foreign policy experts and specialists who advise the president on national security and foreign affairs. Led by the national security advisor, the National Security Council helps coordinate the efforts of various departments and agencies involved in shaping the nation’s foreign policy.

Netanyahu, Benjamin “Bibi” (1949–): Born in Israel, attended high school in the United States, then returned to Israel from 1967 to 1972 for mandatory military service. Netanyahu was prime minister from 1996 to 1999 and assumed the office again in 2009.

Nixon, Richard Milhous (1913–1994): Thirty-seventh president of the United States (1969–1974); also served in the House of Representatives and as a senator from California. Nixon was vice president under President Dwight Eisenhower from 1953 to 1961. As president, Nixon negotiated a cease-fire with North Vietnam in 1973, ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. In 1974, he resigned to avoid impeachment after the Watergate scandal erupted.

Parks, Rosa (1913–2005): On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white man and move to the back of a city bus. She was arrested for her defiance of the Jim Crow laws enforcing segregation. In protest, Martin Luther King Jr. led the 381-day boycott that ended in desegregation of the buses.

Persian Gulf War (1991): A conflict in the Middle East between Iraq and international forces led by the United States. After Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s forces invaded neighboring Kuwait in August 1990, U.S. President George H. W. Bush assembled an international coalition of forces that successfully expelled Hussein’s forces from Kuwait and pushed them back to the Iraqi capital.

Powell, Colin (1937–): Four-star general in the U.S. Army and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–1993) during the Persian Gulf War. President George W. Bush appointed Powell secretary of state (2001–2005), making Powell the first African American to hold that office.

Prokofiev, Sergei (1891–1953): Twentieth-century Russian composer.

Provost: Chief academic officer of a college or university; second-in-command to the university president. Responsible for managing academic resources and the university budget.

Putin, Vladimir (1952–): President of Russia from 1999 to 2008; former member of the Soviet secret police organization known as the KGB (Committee for State Security). Although term limits prevented Putin from running for the office again, he was confirmed as prime minister in 2008 under the new Russian president, Dmitri Medvedev.

Reagan, Ronald (1911–2004): Ronald Reagan was a popular movie actor, TV star, and governor of California before he was elected the fortieth president of the United States (1981–1989). His economic policies reduced government regulation of business and cut taxes; he also cut spending on many social welfare programs and increased military spending. His administration had a tense relationship with the Soviet Union, which he called an evil empire, and his anti-Soviet rhetoric, combined with the U.S. military buildup, escalated the arms race. Gradually, President Reagan began to see Gorbachev as a true reformer and pursued more conciliatory relations with the Soviet leader.

Scowcroft, Brent (1925–): U.S. Air Force lieutenant general who served twice as national security advisor: from 1974 to 1977, under President Gerald Ford, and from 1989 to 1993, under President George H. W. Bush.

Sharecropping: System by which people work on a farm they don’t own in return for a share of the money from the sale of crops. Generally, sharecroppers make little or no money for their efforts.

Shockley, William (1910–1989): Scientist who shared the 1956 Nobel Prize for Physics for coinventing the transistor. Later in his career, he promoted a number of controversial theories about differences between races; he believed that blacks were genetically inferior to whites.

Shostakovich, Dimitri (1906–1975): Twentieth-century Russian composer.

Shuttlesworth, Fred (1922–): Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and a founder, along with Martin Luther King Jr., of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Smith, Tommie, and Carlos, John: American track stars. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Tommie Smith won the gold medal in the 200-meter race and John Carlos won the bronze. During the awards ceremony, they raised their arms in a black power salute. An uproar followed, and the International Olympic Committee suspended Smith and Carlos from the U.S. team.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC): Formed in 1957 by Fred Shuttlesworth, Ralph Abernathy, and Martin Luther King Jr., among others, with King as its first president. The goal of the organization was to actively pursue racial equality through nonviolent means.

Stanford University: Institution of higher education based in Silicon Valley in Northern California. Founded in 1891 by former California governor and senator Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford, the university counted women, an African American, and future U.S. president Herbert Hoover among the students in its first graduating class.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): Political organization that advocated nonviolent protest against racial injustice through such activities as sit-ins. The SNCC played a major role in organizing the Freedom Riders, interracial activists who took bus trips through the segregated South.

Tet Offensive (1968): On January 31, 1968, in violation of a truce called for the lunar new year, or Tet, North Vietnam launched a major attack on several South Vietnamese cities. Media coverage of the attacks increased U.S. opposition to the Vietnam War.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR): Also known as the Soviet Union. At one time the largest country in the world, comprising fifteen political divisions called republics. Until 1991, when the USSR dissolved, the republics had little autonomy. The Communist Party controlled the central government, which was based in Moscow.

United Nations: International organization founded in 1945 to provide a world forum for all nations to promote peace and security, defend human rights, and alleviate disease and poverty.

Verdi, Giuseppe (1813–1901): Italian composer who wrote popular operas such as Aïda and La Traviata. He is well known for his “Triumphal March.”

Vietnam War (1964–1973): Conflict in Southeast Asia during the Cold War in which the United States fought on behalf of the South Vietnamese government against the Northern Viet Cong and its communist allies. As President Lyndon Johnson escalated America’s military involvement in the region, the war became deeply unpopular at home and sparked nationwide protests. President Richard Nixon withdrew all remaining U.S. troops from Vietnam in 1973; the war ended in 1975 after the fall of Saigon, the Vietnamese capital, and the victory of the North Vietnamese communist forces.

Voting Rights Act of 1965: Landmark civil rights legislation that prohibited literacy tests and poll taxes, which had been used in the Jim Crow South to prevent blacks from voting.

Wallace, George (1919–1998): Four-term governor of Alabama, unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. presidency, and outspoken segregationist during the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1970s, Wallace became religious and changed his views, apologizing to African Americans for his behavior.

Watergate scandal: In the summer of 1972, five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. The men were arrested on charges of burglary and were eventually linked to the reelection campaign of President Richard Nixon. The subsequent effort to cover up these events led to the highest levels of the U.S. government. Eventually, President Nixon was implicated in the cover-up and resigned to avoid impeachment.

X, Malcolm (1925–1965): Born Malcolm Little, he educated himself while in prison for robbery, where he changed his last name to X because it was not a “slave name,” a name given to his ancestors by white slaveholders. He became a leader of the Nation of Islam, gaining fame for speeches urging blacks to defend their rights “by any means necessary.” He left the organization after repeated conflicts with its leadership but did not moderate his outspoken views. Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965; three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of his murder.