11 th August

1900 The S-O-S distress signal was first used by an American ship—the Arapahoe—off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. (See November 22nd entry.)

1921 Alex Haley was born.

193^ The first federal prisoners arrived at Alcatraz Island. (See October 12th entry.)

1954 Vietnam was partitioned.

1965 Riots broke out in the Watts district of Los Angeles, California.

King Solomon was asked to judge between two women each claiming to be the mother of a certain baby. Solomon suggested that the solution was to cut the baby in half and divide the remains between the two parties. One woman said, “No, let her have the child.” Solomon knew that she was the real mother. She cared enough to give of herself to save her child. Partitions of wealth or of land can be like this tale of King Solomon. Those who agree to divide may not do so to be reasonable. On this day, in 1954, the French withdrew from what was French Indochina. Under the terms of a Geneva agreement, the territory was divided into two separate nations. The people of the two Vietnams voiced their opinions soon after. Many of them left Communist North Vietnam to take refuge in South Vietnam. All too soon, there was war. And when it ended the North ruled all of Vietnam.

On this day in 1965, six days of rioting began in the Watts district of Los Angeles, California. It came as a surprise to most of the country that the idyllic dream factory— the land of the lotus eaters—had the same social problems as less-glamorous cities. It also shocked residents of the city itself.

After we learn about the birds and the bees the question: “Where did I come from?” takes on a new meaning. One man’s search for answers to this question inspired the rest of the nation to do the same. Alex Haley, who was born on this day in 1921, penned his journey through the successive generations back to his roots in a tribe in Africa. When he published his discoveries as a novel, Roots not only became an instant bestseller, it became the first made-for-television miniseries.