Jeremy Brecher (1938 - )

Tue Mar 08, 1938

Image: **

Jeremy Brecher, born on this day in 1938, is an American historian, filmmaker, activist, and author of essential books on labor and social movements, including "Strike!" and "Root & Branch: The Rise of the Workers' Movements".

In 1969, Brecher and other collaborators, including Paul Mattick, Jr., Stanley Aronowitz, and Peter Rachleff, began publishing a magazine and pamphlet series called "Root & Branch", drawing on the tradition of workers councils and adapting them to contemporary America. In 1975, they published the collection "Root & Branch: The Rise of the Workers' Movements."

In 1972, Brecher published "Strike!", which chronicles the story of "repeated, massive, and sometimes violent revolts by ordinary working people in America", in the author's own words. The text, which has been updated as recently as 2020, is published in full at libcom.org.

Brecher's career as a historian was described by fellow historian James R. Green as "history from below", pioneering "shared authority" between history professionals and the communities they study and write about, with an emphasis on oral history and the historical interpretations formed by the communities in question.

• Date: 1938-03-08
• Learn More: www.jeremybrecher.org, en.wikipedia.org, libcom.org, www.youtube.com.
• Tags: #Labor, #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Citizens' Commission Exposes COINTELPRO (1971)

Mon Mar 08, 1971

Image: A photograph of the Washington Post news article that broke the story, with the headline "Stolen Documents Describe FBI Surveillance Activities", authored by Betty Medsger and Ken W. Clawson.

On this day in 1971, a group of activists known as the "Citizens' Commission" broke into an FBI field office and stole over 1,000 classified documents, exposing COINTELPRO, a widespread surveillance operation of left-wing activists.

The "Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI" was an activist group that operated in the U.S. during the early 1970s, of which this is their only known action. Members of the raid mailed these documents anonymously to several U.S. newspapers, most of which refused to publish the information. The Washington Post was the first newspaper willing to publish the story.

The documents detailed widespread illegal surveillance on civil rights activists and contained some of the FBI's most self-incriminating documents, including several that detailed the FBI's use of postal workers and switchboard operators to spy on black civil rights activists.

Noam Chomsky stated that analysis of the stolen documents show that 40% of them were devoted to political surveillance, including two cases involving right-wing groups, ten concerning immigrants, and over two hundred on left or liberal groups. Notably, Muhammed Ali, whose 1971 fight with Joe Frazier provided cover for the burglary, was himself a target of this surveillance.

The perpetrators were never caught. Over 40 years after the break-in, some participants decided to go public with their story. In 2014, Betty Medsger's book "The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret F.B.I." was released, which details the burglary and revealed the identities of five of the eight participants. In 2014, filmmaker Johanna Hamilton made a documentary about the event, titled "1971".

• Date: 1971-03-08
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.nytimes.com.
• Tags: #CivilRights.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Puyallup Fish-in (1964)

Mon Mar 02, 1964

Image: Actor Marlon Brando and Puyallup tribal leader Bob Satiacum just before Brando's arrest during a fish-in, March 2nd, 1964 [historylink.org]

On this day in 1964, a group of indigenous rights activists, among them actor Marlon Brando and Puyallup tribal leader Bob Satiacum, illegally fished in the Puyallup River to protest the denial of treaty rights to Native Americans. This form of civil disobedience is known as a "fish-in", and in this specific incident both Brando and an Episcopal clergyman were arrested.

The fish-in was staged by the National Indian Youth Council, a Native American civil rights organization formed in Gallup, New Mexico in 1961. It became part of the so-called "Fish Wars", a set of protests spanning decades in which Native American tribes around the Puget Sound pressured the U.S. government to recognize fishing rights granted by the Point No Point Treaty.

The protests eventually won indigenous people in the area the right to fish without state permits - in the 1974 case "United States v. Washington", U.S. District Court Judge George Hugo Boldt stated that treaty right fishermen must be allowed to take up to 50% of all potential fishing harvests and required that they have an equal voice in the management of the fishery.

The so-called "Boldt Decision" was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in 1979 and has been used as a precedent for handling other, similar treaties.

• Date: 1964-03-02
• Learn More: www.historylink.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Indigenous, #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Reichstag Fire (1933)

Mon Feb 27, 1933

Image: The Reichstag burning in February 1933. From the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration [Wikipedia]

On this day in 1933, the Reichstag was burned. Nazis blamed the arson on communists and arrested them en masse. Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe was executed for the act, but some historians believe the burning may have been a false flag by the Nazis in order to consolidate their power.

The first report of the fire came shortly after 9:00 pm on February 27th, 1933. The police conducted a thorough search inside the building and found Van der Lubbe, who was arrested.

On February 28th, President Paul von Hindenburg issued the "Reichstag Fire Decree", suspending civil liberties and beginning a widespread crackdown on communists. The Nazi-controlled police arrested leftists en masse, including all of the communist Reichstag delegates, severely crippling their participation in the elections the following week.

Van Der Lubbe, and four communist leaders were tried in the Leipzig Trial in September 1933. All except Van der Lubbe were acquitted, and the Dutch council communist was executed at the age of 24.

At the same time Nazis were using the fire as a pretext to suppress their political opponents, communists internationally were accusing Nazis of organizing the fire as a false flag operation. Historians remain divided on the issue, with some concluding that van der Lubbe acting alone and others believing that Nazis were responsible for the arson.

In July 2019, more than 80 years after the fire, an affidavit from Hans-Martin Lennings, a former member of a Nazi paramilitary, was discovered. The document stated that, the night of the fire, his unit had driven Van der Lubbe from an infirmary to the Reichstag and that the fire was ongoing when they arrived, indicating Van der Lubbe's innocence and possible Nazi complicity.

In any case, the Reichstag Fire proved a pivotal event in the establishment of Nazi Germany, with Nazis winning the subsequent March elections after imprisoning and terrorizing their left opposition. The Reichstag Fire Decree paved the way for Nazi dictatorship, according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

• Date: 1933-02-27
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, spartacus-educational.com, encyclopedia.ushmm.org.
• Tags: #Communism, #Fascism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Augusto Sandino (1895 - 1934)

Wed Feb 21, 1934

Augusto C. Sandino, assassinated on this day in 1934, was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and leader of a rebellion between 1927 and 1933 against the U.S. military occupation of Nicaragua.

Although derisively called a "bandit" by the U.S. government, Sandino's guerilla style warfare against U.S. forces made him a hero throughout much of Latin America, where he became a symbol of resistance to U.S. imperialism.

On this day in 1934, Sandino attended a round of talks with Sacasa, the Nicaraguan President. On leaving Sacasa's Presidential Palace, Sandino and five others were stopped in their car at the main gate by local National Guardsmen and were ordered to leave their car.

On orders from National Guard leader Anastasio Somoza García, these men took Sandino, his brother Socrates, and his two generals to a crossroads section in Larreynaga and summarily executed them.

Sandino has been cited as an influence by many Latin American revolutionaries and organizations, including Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, the Nicaraguan Sandinista National Liberation Front, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) in El Salvador.

"Come, morphine addicts, come and kill us in our own land. I await you before my patriotic soldiers, feet firmly set, not worried about how many of you there may be. But keep in mind that when this happens the Capitol Building in Washington will shake with the destruction of your greatness, and our blood will redden the white doom of your famous White House, the cavern where you concoct your crimes."

- August Sandino

• Date: 1934-02-21
• Learn More: jacobin.com, en.wikipedia.org, s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com.
• Tags: #Assassinations.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Mildred Fish-Harnack Executed (1943)

Tue Feb 16, 1943

Mildred Fish-Harnack was an American historian and anti-fascist executed by the Nazi government on this day in 1943.

Together with her husband, Fish-Harnack brought together a discussion circle which debated political perspectives on the time after the National Socialists' expected downfall. From these meetings arose what the Gestapo called the "Red Orchestra" resistance group. Beginning in 1940, the group was in contact with Soviet agents, trying to thwart the forthcoming German attack upon the Soviet Union. Fish-Harnack even sent the Soviets information about the forthcoming Operation Barbarossa.

On September 7th, Arvid Harnack and Mildred Fish-Harnack were arrested while on a weekend outing. She was executed on this day in 1943 by beheading. Her last words were purported to have been: "Ich habe Deutschland auch so geliebt" ("I loved Germany so much as well").

Fish-Harnack is the only member of the Red Orchestra whose burial site is known, as well as the only American woman executed on the orders of Adolf Hitler.

• Date: 1943-02-16
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, news.wisc.edu.
• Tags: #Fascism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Susan Brownmiller (1935 - )

Fri Feb 15, 1935

Susan Brownmiller, born on this day in 1935, is an American feminist author, journalist, and civil rights activist best known for her 1975 book "Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape."

In the book, Brownmiller argues that rape had been previously defined by men rather than women, and that men use it as a means of perpetuating male dominance by keeping all women in a state of fear. The New York Public Library selected "Against Our Will" as one of 100 most important books of the 20th century.

Brownmiller was also a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s, and volunteered for Freedom Summer in 1964, wherein she worked on voter registration in Meridian, Mississippi.

• Date: 1935-02-15
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, time.com.
• Tags: #CivilRights, #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Akron Rubber Strike (1936)

Fri Feb 14, 1936

On this day in 1936, the Akron Rubber Strike began after Goodyear laid off 700 people, leading to 10,000 picketing around the factory. Goodyear funded a right-wing militia to attack strikers, but workers won after a month of protest.

During the strike, police were unable to enforce an injunction against mass picketing because of the size of the crowd. A private force of about 5,200, known as the "Law and Order League" and funded by Goodyear, was prepared to attack workers during the strike.

The Summit County Central Labor Council was able to convince the Law and Order League against initiating violence, threatening a general strike if there were attacks on picketing workers. After a month of picketing, the workers won their terms.

The event took place during a period of intense labor organization among auto factory workers in Akron, Ohio from 1933 - 1936. This group of workers were among the earliest in U.S. history to implement the "sit-down" strike, occupying their workplace as a bargaining measure.

• Date: 1936-02-14
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, libcom.org.
• Tags: #Labor.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

T-Bone Slim (1880)

Sat Feb 14, 1880

Image: Photograph of T-Bone Slim, rediscovered in 2019 [Working Class History, via Newberry Library]

T-Bone Slim, born on this day in 1880, was an IWW member, working class songwriter, and author. Due to his popular, labor themed tunes, Slim was dubbed the "laureate of the logging camps".

Born Matti Valentin Huhta to Finnish immigrant parents in Ashtabula, Ohio, Slim became an itinerant worker after leaving his wife and family in 1912. It isn't known when Slim became a Wobbly, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), but he first appeared in the IWW's press in the 1920 edition of the IWW Songbook.

Slim became one of the IWW's most famous writers during the 1920s and 30s, and many people would buy the "Industrial Worker" just to read his articles - one ad from the paper read "there's a lot more in Industrial Solidarity and Industrial Worker than T-Bone Slim's columns".

Slim did not presume his working-class readership to be unintelligent people, making use of complex wordplay and experimental writing techniques, playing with ambiguity, satire and surrealism.

Slim was also well-known for his songs, such as the "Lumberjack's Prayer", a parody of the Lord's Prayer about the poor quality of food available for the working class, and "The Popular Wobbly", which experienced a revival among civil rights activists during the 1960s.

In spite of his renown in radical circles during his lifetime, many details of Slim's life remain unclear. During the mid-1930s, he settled in New York City, where he worked as a barge captain on the docks.

In May 1942, Slim's body was found in the East River. His cause of death remains unknown and has been subject to speculation. Following his death, Slim largely faded into obscurity, especially compared to more famous IWW-associated writers such as Joe Hill.

Slim's songs have been preserved, however, re-published in editions of the Little Red Songbook and covered by musicians such as Pete Seeger, Utah Phillips, and his own great-grandnephew, John Westmoreland.

Until recently, there was thought to be no surviving photographs of Slim, however, in 2019 two photos were discovered and published by Working Class History in a Newberry Library collection.

• Date: 1880-02-14
• Learn More: archive.iww.org, workingclasshistory.com.
• Tags: #Birthdays, #IWW.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

David Graeber (1961 - 2020)

Sun Feb 12, 1961

David Graeber, born on this day in this 1961, was an American anthropologist, anarchist activist and author known for his books "Debt: The First 5000 Years", "The Utopia of Rules", and "Bullshit Jobs: A Theory". He was a professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics.

Graeber's parents were self-taught working-class intellectuals in New York. His father was a member of the Youth Communist League, and fought in the Spanish Civil War. Graeber stated that he had been an anarchist since at least the age of 16.

Aside from his scholarship, Graeber was active in the Global Justice movement, also playing an early and influential role in the Occupy Wall Street protests. Graeber is sometimes attributed to coining the phrase "We are the 99%", however he credited the slogan to on-scene collaboration.

"Most of all, anarchism is just a matter of having the courage to take the simple principles of common decency that we all live by, and to follow them through to their logical conclusions."

- David Graeber

• Date: 1961-02-12
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.theguardian.com.
• Tags: #Birthdays, #Anarchism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Virgilia D'Andrea (1888 - 1933)

Sat Feb 11, 1888

Virgilia D'Andrea, born on this day in 1888, was an anarchist activist and poet whose writings were suppressed by the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.

D'Andrea was politicized by the bloodshed of World War I and left teaching to join the movement against Italian participation in the war. By 1917, the state had deemed her an effective and dangerous radical anti-war agitator. Following Italy's entry into the war, both D'Andrea and her partner Armando Borghi were subjected to house arrest and legally confined for the duration of the war.

In 1922, she published her first book of poetry, "Tormento", which included a forward by Italian anarchist Errico Malatesta. A prominent free love advocate and noted anti-fascist, she fled Italy with the rise of fascism and emigrated to the United States.

In 1929, a second edition of "Tormento" was published, however the prints were immediately seized by the Italian government. Citing her outspoken advocacy of free love, Italian authorities charged D'Andrea with "reprehensible moral behavior" and asserted that she was committed to violence, with her verses "carefully composed to instigate lawbreaking, to incite class hatred, and to vilify the army."

D'Andrea died of breast cancer in New York City on May 12th, 1933, aged 45. A collection of writings "Torce nella Notte" (English: "Torches in the Night") was published in New York shortly after D'Andrea's death.

• Date: 1888-02-11
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, libcom.org.
• Tags: #Birthdays, #Anarchism, #Fascism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Slovak Unemployment Riots Begin (2004)

Wed Feb 11, 2004

On this day in 2004, the first store was looted in a series of riots and protests by unemployed people in Slovakia. Although the protests were brutally suppressed by police, the government subsequently increased activation benefits by 50%.

The protests were in response to welfare cuts by the Slovakian government. Many Roma people participated in the protests. At the time, 51% of Roma women and 72% of Roma men were unemployed, a trend which can be traced back to liberalization policies after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In February 2004, unemployed workers all over Slovakia received official notices from the government informing them of steep cuts to welfare benefits, and demonstrations broke out in the eastern parts of the country.

The reaction was a mix of peaceful demonstrations and outright rioting. Signs from protests read "We want work, not food stamps" and "We've had enough of capitalism", and were attended by some of the white ethnic majority.

In the largest police and military operation since 1989, over 2,000 troops were mobilized and sent to the affected regions. On February 23rd, in Trebišov (southeastern Slovakia), police attacked a Roma demonstration with teargas and, in the freezing February cold, water cannons.

Early the next morning, around 240 policemen attacked a settlement the protesters were suspected to live in by about 80 people in the historical town of Levoča.

Although the protests failed to develop into a more substantive political movement, they had a lasting impact. Soon afterward, the government made important concessions, increasing activation benefits by 50%, introducing scholarships and various subsidies for pupils and students from poor families, and increasing funding for placement opportunities for the unemployed.

• Date: 2004-02-11
• Learn More: libcom.org, www.errc.org.
• Tags: #Riots, #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Hiratsuka Raichō (1886 - 1971)

Wed Feb 10, 1886

Hiratsuka Raichō, born on this day in 1886, was an anarchist writer, journalist, political activist, and pioneering Japanese feminist. Her efforts helped legalize Japanese women joining political organizations in 1922.

Upon graduating from university, Hiratsuka founded Japan's first all-women literary magazine, Seitō (青鞜, literally "Bluestocking"), in 1911.

Hiratsuka began the first issue with the words, "In the beginning, woman was the sun", a reference to the Shinto goddess Amaterasu, and to the spiritual independence which women had lost. Adopting the pen name "Raichō" ("Thunderbird"), she began to call for a women's spiritual revolution.

Hiratsuka also founded the New Women's Association with fellow women's rights activist Ichikawa Fusae. It was largely through this group's efforts that the Article 5 of the Police Security Regulations, which barred women from joining political organizations and holding or attending political meetings, was overturned in 1922.

• Date: 1886-02-10
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, unseenjapan.com.
• Tags: #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Boeing Employees Strike (2000)

Wed Feb 09, 2000

On this day in 2000, 19,000 of Boeing Company engineering and technical employees walked off the job in what historian Howard Zinn called "the biggest white-collar strike in the [U.S.] history".

The strike was the result of a breakdown in negotiations between Boeing and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEAA). Striking workers said the protest wasn't just about asking for more money, it was also to "improve the culture of the company and chart a new course for organized labor".

When asked if he thought the strike had a lasting impact on the legacy of labor unions, Charlie Bofferding, Executive Director of SPEAA, stated "I'd have to say certainly less than we would have liked...At that time, what SPEEA was going for was an attempt to rebrand the labor movement from the people who beat up bad management to the people who made working in America better for everyone. I don't know that that message stuck."

• Date: 2000-02-09
• Learn More: www.knkx.org, money.cnn.com.
• Tags: #Labor.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

San Diego Free Speech Fight (1912)

Thu Feb 08, 1912

On this day in 1912, the city of San Diego banned giving speeches on the street in an attempt to suppress labor organizing efforts by the IWW, leading to a "Free Speech Fight" involving more than 5,000 IWW members.

Free Speech Fights were struggles over free speech involving the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in the early 20th century, usually involving civil disobedience and direct action. The IWW members, along with other radical labor groups, were often met with suppression (sometimes violent) from local governments and business leaders when trying to give speeches.

The San Diego ordinance directly targeted IWW members, whose street "preaching" was explicitly made illegal. The law was met with immediate civil disobedience by labor activists, and several were immediately arrested. Over five thousand IWW members came to San Diego to protest the free speech limitation, and the city's jail capacity was strained.

Vigilantes began transporting arrested IWW members to the county border and beating them. One city official who opposed the ordinance was threatened with lynching.

Police indiscriminately used fire hoses on crowds of protesters, including women and children. By the fall of 1912, the protest movement petered out and the Free Speech Fight in San Diego was lost.

• Date: 1912-02-08
• Learn More: libcom.org, archive.iww.org.
• Tags: #Labor, #IWW, #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Camilo Cienfuegos (1932 - 1959)

Sat Feb 06, 1932

Image: Camilo Cienfuegos, in Cuba in the 1950s [Wikipedia]

Camilo Cienfuegos, born on this day in 1932, was a Cuban revolutionary who served as one of Fidel Castro's top guerilla commanders, known as the "Hero of Yaguajay" after winning a key battle of the Cuban Revolution.

In 1954, Cienfuegos became an active member of the underground student movement against U.S.-aligned dictator Fulgencio Batista. On December 5th, 1955, the eve of the anniversary of the death of 19th-century Cuban independence figure Antonio Maceo, soldiers opened fire on Cienfuegos and other students who were returning to Havana university after placing a wreath on Maceo's monument.

Cienfuegos credited this incident with his political awakening and decision to dedicate his life to freeing Cuba from Batista's government. Along with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Juan Almeida Bosque, and Raúl Castro, he was a member of the 1956 Granma expedition, which launched Fidel Castro's armed insurgency to establish Cuban independence.

On the evening of October 28th, 1959, Cienfuegos' Cessna 310 ('FAR-53') disappeared over the Straits of Florida during a night flight, returning from Camagüey to Havana. Despite several days of searching, his plane was not found. By mid-November, Cienfuegos was presumed lost at sea. In 1979, the Cuban government established the "Order of Cienfuegos" in his honor.

In October 1958, when a Cuban Masonic organization expressed concern that someone captured by the rebels might be tortured and killed, Cienfuegos replied:

"Your petition is unnecessary, because under no condition would we put ourselves at the same moral level as those we are fighting...We cannot torture and assassinate prisoners in the manner of our opponents; we cannot as men of honor and as dignified Cubans use the low and undignified procedures that our opponents use against us."

• Date: 1932-02-06
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.cndh.org.mx.
• Tags: #Birthdays, #Independence.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Rosa Parks (1913 - 2005)

Tue Feb 04, 1913

Rosa Parks, born on this day in 1913, was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. U.S. Congress has called her "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement".

Parks was not the first person to resist bus segregation in Montgomery, but the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) believed that she was the best candidate for seeing through a court challenge after her 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat for a white person.

According to historian Dr. Casey Nichols, following this arrest, Parks immediately contacted local NAACP president E.D. Nixon and informed him of her arrest. Within hours, the Women’s Political Council (WPC), formed in 1946 to address the grievances of black bus patrons in Montgomery, sprang into action, printing flyers, phoning potential supporters, and organizing carpools.

The boycott succeeded in 1957 after the Supreme Court declared bus segregation unconstitutional. Parks' act of defiance and the Montgomery bus boycott became important symbols of the movement, and she became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation.

After the boycott's conclusion, Parks moved to Detroit, Michigan and began working as an assistant to Detroit Congressman John Conyers. She has received numerous honors, including over 40 honorary degrees, the Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, and two NAACP image awards. In 2002, Parks produced a biographical film titled “The Rosa Parks Story.”

"The only tired I was was tired of giving in."

• Rosa Parks

• Date: 1913-02-04
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, teacher.scholastic.com, repository.wustl.edu.
• Tags: #CivilRights, #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

NYC School Boycott (1964)

Mon Feb 03, 1964

Image: A propaganda poster showing a black child looking through a broken window, urging the viewer to participate in the boycott. From the Queens College Civil Rights Archives [zinnedproject.org]

On this day in 1964, 464,000 New York City school children, about half of the city's student body, boycotted the segregated school system, one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in U.S. history.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, a newspaper at the time, "Though segregation in New York was not codified like the Jim Crow laws in the South, a de facto segregation was evident in the city's school system." The NY Times reported that more than a third of the schools were picketed by parents, students, teachers, and activists.

Bayard Rustin, a chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and the Freedom Rides, directed the boycott. A flier explaining the reason for the boycott stated the following:

"We have found that one of the quickest ways to destroy inequality and segregation is to hit it in the pocketbook. Financial aid to the school system is based upon pupil attendance. No pupils — no money. It's as simple as that."

• Date: 1964-02-03
• Learn More: www.zinnedproject.org, en.wikipedia.org, crdl.usg.edu.
• Tags: #CivilRights.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Battle of Cinderloo (1821)

Fri Feb 02, 1821

Image: An unknown artist's impression of the uprising [shropshirestar.com]

On this day in 1821, 3,000 striking workers in present-day Telford, England clashed with Yeomanry, who fired into the crowd after workers refused an order to disperse. Two workers were killed, two were sentenced to death, and nine were arrested.

Colliers across the Coalbrookdale Coalfields had gone on strike the previous day in response to the lowering of their wages, and production across the area came to a halt. A large body of men marched to ironworks at Madeley Wood and Dawley, blowing out all the furnaces, damaging machinery, and inciting non-striking workers to join in.

By mid-afternoon the next day, a crowd of 3,000 had gathered at Old Park, near two industrial spoil heaps known as the 'Cinders Hills'. Yeomanry were sent out to disperse the crowd, and they were read the Riot Act and ordered go home. When Yeomanry moved forward to arrest the ringleaders of the strike, they were assaulted by the crowd. After further attempts to control the protesters were frustrated, the Yeomanry fired onto the crowd, killing two.

Nine strikers were arrested - two were sentenced to death and the other seven served nine months of hard labor. The initial dispute which had caused the riot was resolved soon after, with some ironmasters agreeing to reduce the daily pay of the workers by 4d instead of 6d.

• Date: 1821-02-02
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.dawleyheritage.co.uk.
• Tags: #Labor, #Riots.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Farabundo Martí Executed (1932)

Mon Feb 01, 1932

Farabundo Martí was a Salvadoran labor organizer and Marxist-Leninist revolutionary executed by the state on this day in 1932 after he helped lead a peasant uprising against President Maximiliano Hernandez Martínez.

Martí was born in Teotepeque, El Salvador on May 5th, 1893. He abandoned studying in university in favor of more directly participating in revolutionary working class organizing. He was a member of a number anti-capitalist organizations throughout the region, and became a founder of the Central American Communist Party in 1925.

In 1928, Martí fought alongside Augusto Sandino in Nicaragua in opposition to the country's occupation by the U.S. military. In 1931, Martí returned to El Salvador to help initiate a guerrilla revolt of indigenous farmers.

The uprising against dictator Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, fomented by collapsing coffee prices, enjoyed some initial success, but was soon drowned in a bloodbath, crushed by the Salvadoran military just ten days after it had begun. Over 30,000 indigenous people were killed at what was to be a "peaceful meeting" in 1932; this became known as "La Matanza" ("The Slaughter").

For his role in the uprising, Martí was executed on orders from Salvadoran President Martínez on February 1st, 1932.

• Date: 1932-02-01
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.zinnedproject.org, www.telesurenglish.net.
• Tags: #Marxism, #Indigenous.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Greensboro Sit-ins Begin (1960)

Mon Feb 01, 1960

Image: Sitting from left: Joseph McNeil, Billy Smith and Clarence Henderson on second day of sit-ins, Woolworth, Greensboro, February 2nd, 1960 [blackpast.org]

On this day in 1960, the "Greensboro Four" sat down at F. W. Woolworth Company Store's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina to protest segregation.

The four men had purchased toothpaste and other products from a desegregated counter at the store with no problems, but were then refused service at the store's lunch counter when they each asked for a cup of coffee.

The four students returned the next day, and within a few days the protest included hundreds of students. The Greensboro Sit-in sparked a movement of sit-in protests against segregation across the country, continuing into the summer and expanding to other places of discrimination, such as swimming pools, parks, and art galleries.

On July 25th, after months of harassment, including a bomb threat, and nearly $200,000 in losses ($1.7 million in 2020 dollars) the Greensboro Woolworth's finally ended its discriminatory policies. Four years later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandated desegregation in public accommodations.

• Date: 1960-02-01
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.blackpast.org.
• Tags: #CivilRights, #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Louis Allen Murdered (1964)

Fri Jan 31, 1964

Louis Allen was a civil rights activist in Liberty, Mississippi who was assassinated by white supremacists on this day in 1964. When Allen told the U.S. government that he feared for his life, the Justice Department refused to protect him.

Allen had previously tried to register to vote and had allegedly talked to federal officials after witnessing the 1961 murder of Herbert Lee, an NAACP member and volunteer with the SNCC, by E. H. Hurst (1908 - 1990), a white Mississippi state legislator.

Allen watched as Hurst assassinated Lee with a single gunshot to the head and was forced by local police to testify in court that Hurst acted in self-defense (Hurst falsely claimed Lee attacked him a tire iron).

After giving this coerced testimony, Allen talked to the FBI and the United States Commission on Civil Rights in Jackson, asking for protection if he testified about how his testimony was made under duress. The Justice Department said they could not offer him protection, and so Allen declined to speak out.

When Allen reported receiving death threats, the FBI referred the matter to the office of Amite County Sheriff Daniel Jones. The FBI did so despite an agent acknowledging in a 1961 memo that "the local sheriff was involved in the plot to kill him". FBI documentation also noted that Jones was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Following the murder of Herbert Lee, Sheriff Jones began a campaign of harassment against Allen, arresting him on false charges multiple times and breaking his jaw with a flashlight. When Allen filed formal complaints about Jones' behavior, they were ignored.

On January 31st, 1964, the day before Allen had planned to move out of the state entirely, he was assassinated on his own property. In 2011, the CBS program "60 Minutes" conducted a special on his assassination which suggested that Allen was killed by Sheriff Jones. No one has been arrested or prosecuted for his murder.

• Date: 1964-01-31
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, snccdigital.org, www.blackpast.org.
• Tags: #CivilRights, #Assassinations.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Battle of George Square (1919)

Fri Jan 31, 1919

Image: David Kirkwood being detained by police during 1919 Battle of George Square on January 31st 1919 [Wikipedia]

On this day in 1919, the Battle of George Square took place in Glasgow, Scotland, a conflict between Glasgow police and the British Army against 25,000 striking Glasgow workers who were demanding a 40-hour work week.

The strike began a few days earlier, on January 27th, after a meeting of around 3,000 workers gathered in St. Andrew's Halls. The movement for the 40 hour week grew quickly; by the 30th, more than 40,000 workers from local engineering and shipping industries had joined in, and sympathy strikes broke out among power station workers and local miners.

On January 31st, approximately 20,000-25,000 workers gathered in George Square. Fighting broke out between city police and workers, and labor leaders David Kirkwood and William Gallacher were beaten and taken into custody. During the riot, the sheriff of Lanarkshire called for military aid, and British troops, supported by six tanks, were moved to key points in Glasgow.

Kirkwood was found innocent after a photo surfaced of him being struck with a baton from behind by a policeman, however Gallacher served five months in prison. The strike ended on February 12th in defeat for the workers, who did not win a 40-hour work week.

• Date: 1919-01-31
• Learn More: libcom.org, www.glasgowlive.co.uk, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Labor.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Ecuador Fuel Strike (1994)

Sun Jan 30, 1994

Image: Protesters in Quito, taking to the streets in 2019 after the government ended fuel subsidies, causing price increases

On this day in 1994, approximately half a million workers staged a 24-hour strike in Ecuador to protest a government increase in fuel prices, blocking roads and burning tires.

Fuel prices would again cause widespread strikes and civil unrest in 2019, when President Lenín Moreno issued a decree on October 1st, ending subsidies for diesel and extra gasoline with ethanol to comply with International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan conditions.

Leaders of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and the United Workers Front (FUT) announced a national strike to protest the resultant fuel increases on October 9th, 2019.

• Date: 1994-01-30
• Learn More: www.latimes.com, www.workers.org, www.dw.com.
• Tags: #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Samuel Gompers (1850 - 1924)

Sun Jan 27, 1850

Samuel Gompers, born on this day in 1850, was a founder of the American Federation of Labor, serving as its president for 38 years. Gompers expelled radicals from the AFL, promoted trade unionism, and advocated for racist immigration policies.

Although Gompers began his career sympathetic to socialist and Georgist thought, he became increasingly conservative throughout his career, making "peace" with capitalist labor relations rather than seeking to abolish them. This led to a split in the labor movement, with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) representing the more radical advocacy of labor interests via industrial unionism.

As AFL President, Gompers promoted collaboration among the different craft unions that comprised the AFL and supported collective bargaining to secure shorter hours and higher wages for laborers.

Gompers also successfully promoted anti-immigrant and anti-socialist politics using the influence of the AFL, endorsing the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and supporting the U.S. government and its entry into World War I as the state arrested anti-war union leaders.

Gompers was particularly critical of the IWW, stating "the IWWs...are exactly what the Bolsheviki are in Russia, and we have seen what the IWW Bolsheviki in Russia have done for the working people."

• Date: 1850-01-27
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, aflcio.org, gompers.umd.edu, depts.washington.edu.
• Tags: #Socialism, #Labor, #Birthdays, #IWW.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org