1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: Hey y'all. We're rerunning two episodes today, which means you 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: might hear two hosts. Enjoy the show. Welcome to this 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,160 Speaker 1: Day in History Class from how Stuff Works dot com 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: and from the desk of Stuff you missed in History Class. 5 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: It's the show where we explore the past, one day 6 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: at a time with a quick look at what happened 7 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: today in history. Hi there, and welcome to the podcast. 8 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: I'm Christopher haciotas your temporary hosts, sitting in for Tracy V. Wilson. 9 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: Will be back in four days. But today is December thirteenth, 10 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 1: and Ibn Batuta completed the account of his world travels 11 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: on this day in thirteen The man born Abu Abdullah 12 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: Mohammed ibn Batuta became one of the most accomplished travelers 13 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: of history. He was born in Tangier on February four 14 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: Now Tangier is in what's today known as Morocco, but 15 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: the city's history may go back as far as the Phoenicians. 16 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: In the tenth century b C. When Ibn Batuta was born, 17 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: Morocco was ruled by the Marinids, one of several Berber 18 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: dynasties from medieval times, but Tuta left Tangier when he 19 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,119 Speaker 1: was twenty years old, setting out on the Hajj to Mecca. 20 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: He wrote, I left Tangier's my birthplace, on Thursday, the 21 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: second of Rajab, that's the Hider Islamic calendar, with the 22 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 1: intention of going on pilgrimage to Mecca. I set out alone, 23 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: having neither fellow traveler and whose companionship I might find cheer, 24 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: nor caravan whose part I might join, but swayed by 25 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: an overmastering impulse within me and a desire long cherished 26 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: in my bosom to visit these illustrious sanctuaries. So I 27 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: braced my resolution to quit my dear ones, female and male, 28 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: and forsook my home as birds forsake their nests. My 29 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: parents being yet in the bonds of life, it weighed 30 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: sorely upon me to part from them, and both they 31 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: and I were afflicted with sorrow at this separation. I 32 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: was then only twenty even. Buttuta traveled east from the 33 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: Maghreb along the southern Mediterranean coast through Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, 34 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: and Alexandria. Sometimes he joined caravans for safety numbers. Sometimes 35 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: he met people along the way. He married a woman 36 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: in spacks, for instance, in what is now Tunisia. He 37 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: spent Ramadan in Damascus, then went on to Medina and 38 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: finally completed his Hajj in Mecca. But after performing his pilgrimage, 39 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:18,239 Speaker 1: he just decided to keep traveling. He could have returned home, 40 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: but instead headed to what's now Iraq, Iran, Somalia, the 41 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: eastern coast of Africa, Anatolia, Crimea, India, Pakistan, Indonesia. He did, 42 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: over his lifetime return to Mecca for several Hajj pilgrimages, 43 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: but on his travels he met with many rulers, emperors, 44 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 1: sheikhs and viziers. He served for a while as a 45 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: local judge in the islands known as the Maldives, which 46 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 1: had then recently converted to Islam. While there he married 47 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: into the royal family. In fact, even Batuta had a 48 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: number of marriages over the years and in multiple countries. 49 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: He made his way to China under Mongol rule. While 50 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: there he saw paper money and was very, very impressed. 51 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: Now by the time Batuta wrapped up his life of level, 52 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: he'd have visited forty four different countries if you're judging 53 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: by today's boundaries. He hit up Central Asia, and South Asia, China, 54 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: and parts of southern Africa and eastern Europe. He covered 55 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: the majority of the Islamic world, also known as Dara Islam. 56 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: Ibn Batuta traveled seventy five thousand miles or a hundred 57 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:23,399 Speaker 1: and twenty one thousand kilometers. He spent twenty nine years traveling. 58 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: He was a geographer, a botanist, a legal scholar, a 59 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: kadi or judge, and he finally did make his way 60 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 1: back to Tangier in thirteen forty nine. Both of his 61 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: parents had passed away by then, and upon learning that news, 62 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: Batuta set out to explore the Sahara. He went to 63 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: Ulata and Timbuctoo in the Mali Empire, and finally returned 64 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: to Morocco in thirteen fifty four. Now, throughout his travels 65 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: he didn't keep a diary, he didn't keep a journal, 66 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: and it was only in thirteen fifty four that he 67 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: dictated his travels to a man named Ibn Jus. There 68 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: were no sources that iben Jus sited, and some passages 69 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: that he wrote were the aim as other sources. There 70 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: were some conflicting information, and again all of this travel 71 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: was remembered by Ibn Batuta, but it was eventually published 72 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: as Tufat Alan Zar figarab Alam Sara jaib alas Far 73 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: or a Gift to those who contemplate the wonders of 74 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: cities and the marvels of traveling. Now that title can 75 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: be a bit much, but but to this travelog is 76 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: generally just referred to as the rich La or the Journey, 77 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: and it was published in thirteen fifty five. After that 78 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: the details of Batuta's life become a little less certain. 79 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: He was appointed a judge in Morocco and eventually died 80 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,280 Speaker 1: in either thirteen sixty eight or thirteen sixty nine. Now, 81 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: Batuta was little known outside the Islamic world until the 82 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: eighteenth century, when his works began to be translated. He's 83 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: often been compared to other world travelers, like Marco Polo, 84 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:51,040 Speaker 1: for instance. For more about Ibn Batuta, give a listen 85 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: to the August second, two thousand seventeen episode of Stuff 86 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: He Missed in History Class. It's called Ibn Batuta, The 87 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: Traveler of Islam. Thanks to Casey Pegram and chan Lermis 88 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: for their audio work on this show, you can subscribe 89 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: to This Day in History Class on Apple Podcasts. The 90 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: I Heart radio app or wherever else you like to 91 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: find your podcasts. Please tune in tomorrow for the anniversary 92 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: of an ambitious expedition finally reaching its goal. Hello. Hello again, 93 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: I'm Eves and you're listening to this day in history class, 94 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:39,280 Speaker 1: where we examine the past from the present. The day 95 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: was December nineteen o three. Ella Josephine Baker was born 96 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,480 Speaker 1: in Norfolk, Virginia. Baker is known for her organizing work 97 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: in the fight for black civil rights and human rights. 98 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:54,919 Speaker 1: Baker grew up in Littleton, a small rural town in 99 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: North Carolina. She was the second of three children born 100 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,480 Speaker 1: to Blake Baker, a fairy waiter, and Georgiana Baker, a teacher. 101 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,279 Speaker 1: Her family and upbringing instilled in her a sense of 102 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: communal responsibility, historical awareness, pride, and rebellion. There were no 103 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:16,039 Speaker 1: secondary schools in Littleton, so her parents sent her to 104 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:20,279 Speaker 1: Raleigh to attend Shaw Boarding School. After high school, she 105 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: enrolled at Shaw University in Raleigh, where she majored in sociology. 106 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 1: During her time at Shaw, she already had social justice inclinations, 107 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:34,719 Speaker 1: speaking up against restrictive school rules. She graduated from Shaw 108 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: University as Valedictorian of her class and moved to New 109 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,039 Speaker 1: York City. There she got jobs as a server and 110 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:46,160 Speaker 1: factory worker, and her social and political consciousness grew as 111 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: she witnessed poverty and suffering in Harlem and the effects 112 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: of the Great Depression descended on the city. She worked 113 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,239 Speaker 1: as a correspondent for black newspapers, and she helped found 114 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: the Young Negroes Cooperative League, which helped people gain economic 115 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 1: power by buying collectively. She became the organization's first national 116 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:08,719 Speaker 1: director in ninety one. Throughout the nineteen thirties, she was 117 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: involved with many of their organizations, like the Workers Education Project, 118 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: part of the Works Progress Administration, which hired her to 119 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: teach consumer and labor education. She was also involved with 120 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: the Women's Day Workers in Industrial League, the Harlem Housewives Cooperative, 121 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: and the Harlem Young Women's Christian Association, and she wrote 122 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: about economic oppression. In five she and Marville Cook co 123 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: authored and expose on the exploitation of Black domestic workers. 124 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 1: By the early nineteen forties, Baker had become an assistant 125 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: Field secretary and later national Field Secretary for the National 126 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: Association for the Advancement of Colored People or in double 127 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 1: a CP. She traveled around the South US, organizing in 128 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: Double A CP branches and starting membership drives. Though she 129 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:01,160 Speaker 1: worked with the in L A CP for a while, 130 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,040 Speaker 1: she resigned from her post as director of Branches in 131 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 1: nineteen six. She was disillusioned with the organization because it 132 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: was so bureaucratic and because it relied so heavily on 133 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:17,120 Speaker 1: legal approaches to fight discrimination. Baker supported more control from 134 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: the branches rather than the existing top down approach. Around 135 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: this time, she married Thomas Roberts and took on the 136 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: responsibility of raising her niece, Jacqueline, but she's still associated 137 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: with the Double A CP as president of the New 138 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 1: York branch and was an advisor to the organization's youth council. 139 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,679 Speaker 1: When activists in the South were preparing for the Montgomery 140 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: bus boycott, Baker, along with a. Philip Brandolph Bayard Rustin, 141 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:47,840 Speaker 1: and Stanley Levison, founded a group called in Friendship. In 142 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:52,439 Speaker 1: Friendships supported desegregation in the South and provided financial assistance 143 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:56,199 Speaker 1: to the boycotts. In the wake of the successful boycott's 144 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:00,200 Speaker 1: civil rights leaders formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference or 145 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,679 Speaker 1: s c l C. Baker emerged as a leader who's 146 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: organizing was integral to its projects, and she became a 147 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: director in the s c l C. Though she coordinated 148 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 1: the organization's voter rights campaign and ran the office, she 149 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:18,600 Speaker 1: rejected its hierarchical, charismatic leadership centered around Dr. Martin Luther 150 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:23,559 Speaker 1: King Jr. In favor of group centered leadership. Also, women 151 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:28,320 Speaker 1: in the organization were often relegated to administrative roles. Baker 152 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 1: resigned from the s c l C in nineteen sixty. 153 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,520 Speaker 1: She turned her attention to the sit ins students were 154 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 1: initiating in the South, and she helped organize the Student 155 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: Non Violent Coordinating Committee, or SNAKE, which led more sit ins, 156 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 1: voter registration drives, and other civil rights initiatives. Baker helped 157 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a grassroots political organization 158 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: that challenged the all white Mississippi Democratic Party, and she 159 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:01,960 Speaker 1: joined the Southern Conference Educational Fund, an interracial organization that 160 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: advocated for white support of racial justice. Throughout the rest 161 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,280 Speaker 1: of her life, she remained committed to championing civil and 162 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 1: human rights, working with groups like the Puerto Rican Solidarity 163 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: Committee and the African National Congress. Baker died in New 164 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 1: York on her eighty third birthday. I'm each Jeff code 165 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 166 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you're hungry for more history, 167 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 1: you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 168 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: t d I h C Podcast, and you can email 169 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:41,560 Speaker 1: us at this Day at I heart media dot com. 170 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: Thanks for going on this trip through history with us. 171 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: We'll see you again tomorrow with another episode. For more 172 00:10:57,360 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 173 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.