Massachusetts
Massachusetts unveils bust of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass
BOSTON (AP) — A bust of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass was unveiled in the Massachusetts Senate Chamber on Wednesday, the first bust of an African American to be permanently added to the Massachusetts Statehouse.
It’s also the first bust to be added to the Senate Chamber in more than 125 years.
Senate President Karen Spilka emphasized the ties that Douglass — who lived for a time in the state and delivered speeches in the Senate chamber and at Boston’s Faneuil Hall — had to Massachusetts.
“Though he was not born here, in Massachusetts we like to call Frederick Douglass one of our own,” she said. “He came to our state after escaping enslavement. This is where he wanted to come.”
Douglass also first heard news of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation while in Boston, she said.
With the bust, Douglass takes his place as a founding father in the chamber and offers some balance in a Statehouse which honors people who are predominantly white, leaving out the stories of countless people of color, Spilka said.
Noelle Trent, president of the Museum of African American History in Boston, also emphasized the connections Douglass had to the state.
“It is here where he would write his groundbreaking book the ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave,’” she said. “It is here where he would begin his career as one of the most renowned orators of the 19th century.”
Senate leaders chose February 14 to unveil the bust. With the true date of his birth unknown, Douglass opted to celebrate February 14 as his birthday. A quote by Douglass – “Truth, justice, liberty, and humanity will ultimately prevail” – adorns one wall of the chamber.
Other states have recognized Douglass.
In 2020, Chicago renamed a sprawling park on the city’s West Side after Douglass and his wife, Anna Murray-Douglass. Earlier that year, county lawmakers voted to rename the airport in Rochester, New York, after Douglass. Also in 2020, Maryland unveiled bronze statues of Douglass and Harriet Tubman in the Maryland State House.
Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland in February 1818. His mother died when he was young and he never knew his father. Barred from attending school, Douglass taught himself to read and, in 1838, dressed as a sailor and with the help of a freed Black woman, boarded a train and fled north to New York City.
Fearing human traffickers, Douglass, now married to Anna Murray, fled again to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he gained a reputation as an orator speaking out against slavery with the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Abolitionists ultimately purchased his freedom, and the family settled in Rochester, New York.
In 1845 in Boston, Douglass published his experiences as an enslaved person in his first autobiography, which became a bestseller.
He also embraced the women’s rights movement, helped formerly enslaved people fleeing to freedom with the Underground Railroad, and bought a printing press so he could run his own newspaper, The North Star.
In 1855, he published his second autobiography, “My Bondage and My Freedom.”
During the Civil War, Douglass recruited Black men to fight for the Union, including two of his sons who served in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. A memorial to the famed Civil War unit made up of Black soldiers is located directly across the street from the Massachusetts Statehouse.
He met with Lincoln to press for equal pay and treatment for Black troops and pushed to ensure that formerly enslaved people were guaranteed the rights of American citizens during Reconstruction.
He also served in high-ranking federal appointments, including consul general to Haiti from 1889-1891.
Douglass died from a heart attack on Feb. 20, 1895, at age 77.
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Massachusetts
Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
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Massachusetts
How will the Iran war impact gas prices in Massachusetts?
With a widening conflict in the Middle East after the American and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday, global markets are bracing for a shakeup in the energy supply chain.
So, here at home, what can consumers expect at the gas pump?
An increase in oil prices is almost always followed by an increase in gas prices. And the oil market has already reacted to the war. NBC News reported on Sunday that U.S. crude oil initially spiked more than 10%, while Brent, the international oil benchmark, rose as much as 13%.
Early Monday morning, reports were coming in of black smoke rising from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City.
While Iran’s oil reserves supply less than an estimated 5% of global production, the main concern is the Strait of Hormuz. This maritime passageway borders Iran at the bottleneck of the Persian Gulf, and more than 20% of the world’s oil passes through. If Iran closes or restricts Hormuz, the oil market could face severe disruptions.
Gas prices rise about 2.5 cents for every dollar increase in crude oil prices. As of Sunday, U.S. crude oil prices had already increased by nearly $5 a barrel.
“I fully expect that by Monday night, you could credibly say that gas prices are being impacted by oil prices having gone up,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan told NBC News.
GasBuddy characterizes their expectations for price increases as “incremental” rather than “explosive”. The group said to anticipate a potential 10-15 cent increase over the next couple of weeks.
Massachusetts
Body camera video shows Massachusetts police officer save 78-year-old man from burning truck – East Idaho News
EASTON, Mass. (WBZ) — Police body camera video shows an Easton, Massachusetts, officer rescuing a 78-year-old Raynham man from a burning car on Friday morning.
A Mack dump truck was experiencing problems on the side of Turnpike Street just after 2 a.m. when a Ford pickup truck struck the back of it, according to police.
The pickup truck then became stuck under the dump truck, trapping the driver, Francis Leverone, inside. A Toyota Camry then hit the back of the pickup truck and caught fire, police said.
Easton police officer Dean Soucie arrived at the crash and saw that the two vehicles were on fire. Video shows Soucie rushing over before breaking the driver’s side window and then, with the help of the two witnesses, freeing Leverone from the pickup truck. Soucie said he was confused but conscious.
“As I reached inside the vehicle, one of the passersby — he actually jumped into the cab of the truck, and he helped me free the individual,” Soucie said.
They then carried the driver to safety.
Leverone was taken to a nearby hospital before being transferred to a Boston hospital. He received serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
No one else was injured in the crash.
Dee Leverone told WBZ her husband is doing OK. “I’m just thankful for the people that got him out,” she said. “Very thankful.”
After watching the police body-cam video on the news she said, “I was shocked, I was like ‘Oh my God!’ I just couldn’t believe it. His truck is like melted.”
She says she realized that something was wrong last night when her husband never made it home from work.
“I kept trying to call him and call him, and I finally got a hold of him at like 4:30 a.m., and he was at (Good Samaritan Hospital) and he told me he’s gotten in an accident,” Dee said.
She says he’s recovering at the Boston Medical Center and being treated for a dislocated hip.
“He’s a trooper,” Dee said. “He’s a strong man — and you know he’s 78, but you know he’s a toughie. He definitely is a toughie.”
Soucie commended the help of the two witnesses and said that before he arrived at the crash, they had attempted to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher and removed a gasoline tank from the pickup truck before it could ignite.
“They jumped into action like it was nothing,” Soucie said. “Those two individuals were absolutely awesome.”
Easton Police Chief Keith Boone said that he is “extremely proud” of Soucie and the witnesses.
“He saved a life last night,” Chief Boone said. “He is an exemplary police officer and this is just one example. I think he’s a hero.”
Turnpike Street was closed for several hours following the crash. Easton Police are investigating.
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