1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,840 Speaker 1: Hello everyone, it's Eves checking in here to let you 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 1: know that you're going to be hearing two different events 3 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: in history in this episode. They're both good, if I 4 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: do say so myself. On with the show. Hi there, 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to this Day in History class, where we sift 6 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:26,639 Speaker 1: through the artifacts of history seven days a week. The 7 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: day was made twenty five, nineteen sixty three, The Organization 8 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: of African Unity or oh a U was established in 9 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was formed by thirty two countries 10 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: with the goal of promoting solidarity between African nations and 11 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: ridding the continent of colonialism. The o a U has 12 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 1: its roots in pan Africanism. Pan Africanism is a movement 13 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: that grew to prominence in the mid to late nineteenth 14 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: century that emphasized African unity and collaboration among people of 15 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: African descent. African leaders like Ghana's Quame and Cruma, Kenya's 16 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: Julius Norere, guineas Seco Torre, and Zambia's Kenneth Colunda promoted 17 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:17,559 Speaker 1: Pan Africanism. The o a U was established to deal 18 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: with continental issues in post colonial Africa. There were three 19 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: ideological blocks that emerged on the continent in nineteen sixty 20 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: and nineteen sixty one the Casablanca Group, the Brazzaville Group, 21 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: and the Monrovia Group. The Casa Blanca Group supported full 22 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: continental integration and it included Ghana, Molly, Guinea, Libya, Egypt, 23 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: Morocco and Algeria. The Brassiville Group advocated for a gradual 24 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: approach to unification but remained tied to French interests. Its 25 00:01:53,920 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 1: members were mainly former French colonies, including Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Senegal, 26 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: Madagascar and other countries. The Monrovia Group favored a gradual 27 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: approach to unification and a loose association of sovereign states. 28 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:17,839 Speaker 1: It included Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Togo, Ethiopia, Liberia, and Somalia, 29 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 1: among other nations. The idea of a continental organization was 30 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: based on the desire for a Federation of African States 31 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: or a United States of Africa. Pan African Congresses were 32 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: convened and at the fifth Pan African Congress in Manchester, England, 33 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty five, there were calls for an inter 34 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: colonial rule in racial discrimination, for independence of the African continent, 35 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: and for economic advancement In nineteen fifty eight, the first 36 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:54,519 Speaker 1: Congress of Independent African States was convened in Acra, Ghana. 37 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 1: It brought together leaders of nationalist movements who advocated for 38 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: African solidarity. Five years later, in what has been called 39 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: Africa's Unity Year, representatives of thirty two African governments gathered 40 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 1: in Addis Ababa to sign a charter for the o 41 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: a U. The o AU became operational on September thirteenth, 42 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three, when its charter went into effect. The 43 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: charter said in part that the heads of African States 44 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: and governments were quote inspired by a common determination to 45 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: promote understanding among our people's and cooperation among our states 46 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: in response to the aspirations of our people's for brotherhood 47 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: and solidarity and a larger unity transcending ethnic and national differences. 48 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: The charter also said they were quote determined to safeguard 49 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: and consolidate the hard one independence, as well as the 50 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: sovereignty and territorial integrity of our states, and to fight 51 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: against neo colonialism in all its forms. Member states were 52 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: made to coordinate their policies in politics, diplomacy, economics, and 53 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: other areas. The charter also provided for the sovereign equality 54 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:12,560 Speaker 1: of all member states, non interference in the internal affairs 55 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 1: of states, respect for their sovereignty and territorial integrity, the 56 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: peaceful settlement of disputes, and the emancipation of dependent African territories. 57 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: After de colonization, the Cold War, and the end of 58 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: apartheid in South Africa, it became clear that the o 59 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: AU was not entirely effective in its mission to create 60 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: a prosperous and united Africa. Practically, a united Africa is 61 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: hard to implement, and the o AU had both failures 62 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: and successes. It made progress in de colonization and development 63 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: of international law, while it did not do so well 64 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 1: at bringing peace and stability to the continent or meeting 65 00:04:56,120 --> 00:05:01,599 Speaker 1: the demands of globalization. In nine, heads of State and 66 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: government of the o a U issued the Search Declaration 67 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 1: to call for an African Union that better addressed the social, 68 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: economic and political challenges that Africa faced. The o a 69 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: U was dissolved in two thousand and two. The African Union, 70 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: which focuses on Africa's development and socio economic integration, replaced it. 71 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: Some of the aims of the African Union are to 72 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:30,479 Speaker 1: promote and protect human rights, to promote peace, security and 73 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:35,159 Speaker 1: stability on the African continent, to promote sustainable development, and 74 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: to encourage the participation of the African diaspora in African affairs. 75 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: Every year, on May, Africans and people in the African 76 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,800 Speaker 1: diaspora celebrate Africa Day, a holiday that commemorates the founding 77 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: of the O A U and African Unity. I'm Eve 78 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 1: Defco and hopefully you know a little more about history 79 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. You can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, 80 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: and Facebook at t D I h C podcast Tune 81 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: in tomorrow for another day in History. Hey y'all, I'm 82 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 1: Eves and welcome to This Day and History Class, a 83 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 1: podcast that proves you can never know enough about history. 84 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: The day was made. Mexican writer Rosario Castellanos was born 85 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: in Mexico City. Castianos's work touched on issues of culture 86 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: and gender in Mexico, and she is considered one of 87 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: the most influential Mexican writers of the twentieth century. Rosario 88 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 1: spent most of her childhood in Comitan, in southern Mexico. 89 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:56,080 Speaker 1: She was a solitary and observant child, and at a 90 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,160 Speaker 1: young age she began to recognize the poverty in which 91 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,679 Speaker 1: the Mayans who were her family's land lived. She also 92 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:05,359 Speaker 1: realized that she was treated differently than her younger brother. 93 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 1: These experiences and perspectives later influenced her writing. But Rosario's 94 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: brother died young of appendicitis, and the family lost their 95 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: land when Mexican President Lozado Cardenas instituted a reform program 96 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: that ex appropriated and redistributed land. She later referred to 97 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: this event as a benefit to her life, since it 98 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: freed her from the restricted life she might have had 99 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: if they had kept the land. When she was a teenager, 100 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: the family moved to Mexico City. She later wrote that 101 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: the switch from a rural, aristocratic lifestyle to a middle 102 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: class when in the city quote destroyed the certainty of 103 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: my racial, social, and economic superiority. She published her first 104 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 1: poems when she was still a teen, but in ninety 105 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: her parents died suddenly. Though she faced loneliness and the 106 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: guilt of being a survivor, Castellanos found inspiration to seriously 107 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: pursue a career in literature, and she published two books 108 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: of poetry that year. Both of them revolved around themes 109 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 1: of a loneness and mortality Gascianos found her stride as 110 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: a student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She 111 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: became part of a group of writers who would meet 112 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: and discuss each other's work. Her thesis, sober Femina or 113 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 1: on Feminine Culture, is considered by some critics to be 114 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,679 Speaker 1: a key work of feminist thought. She got her master's 115 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: degree in philosophy from the university in nineteen fifty. When 116 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: she graduated, she and her friend, writer Dolores Castro, traveled 117 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: around Europe together. Having gained a new perspective on what 118 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 1: it meant to be Mexican and to be a foreigner, 119 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: she returned to her home state of Chiapas and began 120 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: working for the National Indigenous Institute, which provided aid to 121 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:53,320 Speaker 1: Native Americans in Mexico. She also gave her inherited land 122 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 1: to the laborers who worked it, and in she published 123 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:02,080 Speaker 1: Balloon Kanan, a novel that earned her critical acclaim. It 124 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: portrayed Native American characters as complex and round, rather than 125 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 1: one dimensional in flat as other works often depicted them. 126 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 1: Castellano admired French philosopher Simonvey's work, and this was evident 127 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 1: in Castellano's themes of oppression and submission as they related 128 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: to gender and culture. Throughout the nineteen sixties, she taught 129 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and universities in 130 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: the United States. Castaiano's work was inspired by writers like 131 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: Saint Teresa of Avila, Sartuana Inez de la Cruz, Gabriela Mistral, 132 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: Simone de Beauvois, and Virginia Wolf. In her writing, Castelliano 133 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: often explored the reality of being a woman and being Mexican. 134 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 1: One of Casteano's best remembered works, the novel The Book 135 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 1: of Lamentations, was published in nineteen sixty two. It tells 136 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:56,839 Speaker 1: the story of a fictionalized Mayan uprising that takes place 137 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:01,680 Speaker 1: in the nineteen thirties. In nineteent one, Castiana was appointed 138 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 1: as the Mexican Ambassador to Israel. In Israel, she learned 139 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: to speak Hebrew and continued publishing poetry and journalism. The 140 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:12,080 Speaker 1: next year, she published her collected poetry in a work 141 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:17,920 Speaker 1: called Poetry Is Not You. Tragically, Castaiano died by electrocution 142 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: in ninetevent four, when she was just forty nine years old. 143 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: She's buried in the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons in Mexico City. 144 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:30,160 Speaker 1: I'm Eve Jeff Coote and hopefully you know a little 145 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. And if 146 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 1: you have any comments or suggestions, you can send them 147 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,960 Speaker 1: to us at this day at iHeart media dot com. 148 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: If you like to email us, you can also hit 149 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 1: us up on social media where at T D I 150 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 1: HC podcast. Thanks so much for listening to the show 151 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: and we'll see you tomorrow. For more podcasts from my 152 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 153 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.