1. In 1973, American poet Langston Hughes was posthumously honored with a commemorative postage stamp by the United States Postal Service. Hughes was a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance and produced works that explored the experiences of Black Americans, including his famous poem "I, Too, Sing America".

2. On October 10, 2002, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund announced the completion of the Three Servicemen Statue, a bronze sculpture that stands near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall. The statue depicts three soldiers, one White, one Black, and one Hispanic, and is meant to represent the diversity of those who served in the Vietnam War.

3. In 1968, civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael was arrested in Washington, D.C. for his involvement in a protest against the Vietnam War. Carmichael was a leader in the Black Power movement and played a prominent role in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

4. October 10 is also recognized as Columbus Day in the United States, a federal holiday that celebrates the arrival of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. However, the holiday has become controversial in recent years due to the negative impact that Columbus' arrival had on Indigenous peoples, and some cities and states have begun to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day instead.

5. In 2015, the District of Columbia Council passed the Death with Dignity Act, which allows terminally ill patients to request medication to end their lives with dignity. The law went into effect in 2017 and made D.C. the seventh jurisdiction in the United States to legalize assisted suicide.