February 21 belongs to Sandra Mendoza

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X, leader of the African American movement, was shot dead at the Audubon Ballroom in New York while delivering a speech. He was 39. A key figure in the civil rights struggle, Malcolm X had evolved from separatism towards a more universalist vision. His autobiography, written with Alex Haley, is one of the most influential books of the twentieth century.

On February 21, 1952, the event that inspired International Mother Language Day occurred: students were killed in Dhaka in what became known as the Bangladesh Language Movement, demanding recognition of Bengali as an official language of Pakistan. The movement was the seed of Bengali nationalism that culminated in the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.

On February 21, 1916, the Battle of Verdun began — the longest and bloodiest battle of World War I — with a German bombardment of 1,200 cannons on the French lines. The battle lasted 302 days and caused around 700,000 casualties, dead and wounded, on both sides. Verdun became a symbol of the absurdity and inhumanity of modern trench warfare.