Hi, Sen here. Welcome to another episode of Today in History.

You’re going to hear three historical events from this day in the past. And you’ll hear them twice through. On this first listen, just try and get used to the way the English is spoken and how it sounds.

Are you ready? Then let’s begin. Here’s what happened today in history.

On July 6, 1907, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo was born. She began to paint at the age of 18 after being in a serious bus accident. Her work includes many portraits and self-portraits, often about the subjects of identity, the human body, and death.

On the same day, fifty years later, in 1957, tennis player Althea Gibson became the first Black woman to win Wimbledon. She went on to win a total of eleven Grand Slams. Her career opened the door for many future Black athletes.

On July 6th, 2020, The Caribbean Community Reparations Commission, or Caricom CRC, demanded reparations from European colonial countries once again. The organization has 15 member countries including Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. The plan included demands for cancelling debt, repatriation programs, and apologies for genocide and slavery.

How was that? Did you manage to feel the rhythm of what was said? Now for the second listen. See how much of the episode you can understand this time. And don’t worry about any difficult words, I’ll explain some afterwards. You can also find their meanings in the episode notes.

On July 6, 1907, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo was born. She began to paint at the age of 18 after being in a serious bus accident. Her work includes many portraits and self-portraits, often about the subjects of identity, the human body, and death.

On the same day, fifty years later, in 1957, tennis player Althea Gibson became the first Black woman to win Wimbledon. She went on to win a total of eleven Grand Slams. Her career opened the door for many future Black athletes.

On July 6th, 2020, The Caribbean Community Reparations Commission, or Caricom CRC, demanded reparations from European colonial countries once again. The organization has 15 member countries including Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. The plan included demands for cancelling debt, repatriation programs, and apologies for genocide and slavery.

Did anything stand out for you? The word ‘portrait’ is often similar in other languages. It’s simply a painting, drawing or photograph of a person. The Mona Lisa is probably the most famous example of this! The phrase ‘to open the door’ for somebody or something is a way of saying ‘to make things easier’. In this case, Gibson’s career made it easier for Black athletes to do the same as her in the future, such as Arthur Ashe from yesterday’s episode. And finally, ‘reparations’ are money and assistance given to make up for wrongs from the past, such as slavery, genocide, or war crimes.

Remember you can always rewind and listen again, as many times as you want!

For now though, that’s all. Be sure to join me again tomorrow for another episode of Today in History.

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Episode notes:

portrait: a painting, drawing or photograph of just a person’s face, or head and shoulders
to open the door for sb/sth: to make things easier for sb/sth
reparations: money and assistance that are given to make up for a wrong from the past