| Dear Readers,
On Feb. 1, 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini arrived in Iran to a welcoming crowd, ending 15 years in exile. He had been forced out of Iran after repeatedly lambasting the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, for his Westernization measures and ties to the United States and Israel. While in exile in France, the Ayatollah fomented opposition against the Shah, calling for general strikes, and turning public opinion in his favor. As a result, the Shah fled Iran on January 16, 1979, amid an increasingly restive Iranian population. He appointed Prime Minister Shahpour Bakhtiar to take control of the provisional government. We previously noted the uncanny parallels between Iran and Cuba and their relations with the U.S. In 1953, the U.S. backed Batista in Cuba and the Shah in Iran against challenges by Castro and Khomeini, each of whom later returned from exile to overthrow the U.S. ally; in each instance, the U.S. suffered a humiliating military debacle shortly thereafter. In June 2009, President Obama, in a speech in Cairo, Egypt, became the first president to publicly acknowledge the United States' role in the 1953 coup in Iran. Student question of the day: to what extent does U.S. history with Iran and Cuba impact its policies towards the current unrest in Egypt? James Price Johnson was born on February 1, 1894, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. During his early years, Johnson studied piano and learned to play classical and ragtime piano music. He became one of the best-known musicians of his time. Sadly, his 1955 obituary said he was "always hoping that the white world would recognize his talents. It never did." As African-American History Month begins, check out our extraordinary collection of resources.
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Keep a civil tongue.