On May 9, 2025, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for trespassing during a protest at the Delaney Hall immigration detention center. He accompanied Democratic Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver, and Robert Menendez Jr. to inspect the facility amid concerns over its operations.

Prominent professors, including Jason Stanley, have announced their departure from the U.S., citing the current political environment as reminiscent of early 20th-century authoritarian regimes. They've expressed concerns over academic freedom and the direction of U.S. democracy.

On this day in 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court declared John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil an illegal monopoly, ordering its dissolution into 34 independent companies. This landmark decision reshaped American capitalism and set a precedent for antitrust enforcement.

On this day in 1948, the First Arab-Israeli War erupted as neighboring Arab nations invaded the newly declared State of Israel. This conflict led to widespread displacement and set the stage for decades of strife in the region.

On this day in 1986, a safety test gone wrong at Chernobyl Reactor No. 4 caused the worst nuclear disaster in history.

The explosion unleashed massive radiation across Europe—but the Soviet government denied, delayed, and lied.

On this day in 1933, Nazi Germany established the Gestapo, a secret police force built to crush dissent, silence opposition, and enforce loyalty to the regime.

Under the Gestapo, fear replaced law, surveillance replaced rights, and arrest without trial became the norm.

Miami Beach mayor Steven Meiner moves to shut down O Cinema after it screened No Other Land, a documentary on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This isn’t an isolated case—it’s part of a broader authoritarian crackdown on any criticism of Israel’s actions against Palestinians.

“Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power.” – Benito Mussolini

Yet today, corporations wield more power than many governments. History warns us.

#History #Fascism #Corporatism #Politics #Trump #Musk #Tesla

On this day in 1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare independence, defying the USSR. This bold act ignited a wave of independence movements across Eastern Europe, reshaping the continent and accelerating the collapse of the Soviet Union.

#OnThisDay #Lithuania #Independence

On this day in 2011, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit Japan’s northeast coast—but the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that followed? Almost entirely preventable.

Two days ago, the Department of Homeland Security voided the TSA’s union contract—affecting 47,000 workers. The government claims it’s about efficiency, but history tells us otherwise. Attacks on collective bargaining have long been used to weaken labor power and suppress worker rights. (1/5)

Daylight Savings Time begins today. We "spring forward," losing an hour of sleep but gaining evening daylight. Contrary to popular belief, DST has nothing to do with farmers. It was first adopted during WWI to conserve energy—and remains controversial today.

#DaylightSavingTime #DST #MythBusting

International Women’s Day (IWD) began as a labor movement. The Socialist Party of America launched National Women's Day, inspired by garment worker protests in New York City in 1909. In 1910, Clara Zetkin proposed a global version at a socialist women’s congress. (1/4)

In 1933, Nazis restructured Germany's universities by enforcing ideological conformity and suppressing dissent. History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes—attacks on academic freedom are beginning here.

#History #AcademicFreedom #Fascism #Education #Censorship

History isn’t just stories—it’s a warning.

The past holds the blueprint for the present. The rise of authoritarianism, the rewriting of history, and the signs we keep ignoring.

This is Shadows of History—a podcast that connects the past to today.

Coming soon!