If
you have a brother or sister, then you ARE a brother or sister, and
this day is for you!
Yes,
half-brothers and sisters, step-brothers and sisters, and adopted
brothers and sisters count. Twins are of course amazingly close
siblings, and some cousins seem almost to be sibs as well.
Today
is the day to thank your siblings for the good things they do for you
and with you. Hopefully they will end up thanking you back! Perform a
good deed for your brother, make a card for your sister, surprise
your sister by doing one of her chores, or make brownies for all of
your siblings to share.
Famous
Siblings
Venus
and Serena Williams are sisters who helped push each other to
higher and higher levels of playing tennis. They have each been #1 in
the world—and sometimes they have to play hard, competitive matches
against each other. Sometimes they play doubles—hooray! then they
get to play on the same side, and win together! Venus Williams was
the first African American woman to be ranked #1 in the Open Era, but
Serena has had even more success. Recently she became the oldest
world #1 player in WTA history, when she regained the top spot, and
she is the only female player to have won more than $40 million in
prize money! The two sisters have each won more Olympic gold medals
than any other female tennis player.
Sarah
and Angelina Grimke were sisters who helped make a big difference
in the United States. They were raised on a plantation in the South
in the early 1800s, and their father—who was an important man, a
judge of the Supreme Court of South Carolina—believed that slavery
was a good thing and also that women must be subordinate to men. He
wouldn't allow his daughters to get higher education, for example.
Somehow,
the girls realized that many things that their parents taught them
were wrong—that their whole lifestyle, on the plantation and with
the slaves, was wrong. As a child, Sarah taught her personal slave to
read, although that was against the law. She even tried to run away
to a place without slavery! Can you imagine?
The
Grimke sisters worked to abolish slavery. They also spoke and wrote
about racial acceptance. At the time, most white people who hated
slavery didn't want to accept black people as equals, or amongst
their own society. The Grimke sisters met with enormous amounts of
criticism every time they gave a speech or wrote an article—but
they also started accumulating followers who agreed with their
stance.
I'm
happy to report that the Grimke sisters lived to see the slaves freed
and the 15th Amendment pass—and they were almost 80
years old, but they also lived long enough to vote in an election!
Wilbur
and Orville Wright were brothers who taught themselves about
machinery and engineering and invented the world's first successful
heavier-than-air powered-controlled airplane. After this success,
they gave up their joint bicycle business to focus on building flying
machines!
Also
on this date:
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