Working Class Calendar

Pueblo Revolt (1680)

Sat Aug 10, 1680

Image: Fragment of Un Sueño de Santa Fe, Agosto 1680 by Ramón José López (2013)

On this day in 1680, indigenous Pueblo peoples of present-day New Mexico rose in rebellion against Spanish colonizers in what is now called the "Pueblo Revolt", driving Spanish settlers out of the area for twelve years.

According to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was the only successful Native uprising against a colonizing power in North America.

Spain first claimed the region in the 16th century, subjecting Puebloans to episodes of colonial violence and displacement. The Spanish demanded payment of heavy tribute from indigenous communities and destroyed ceremonial buildings in an attempt to eradicate indigenous beliefs and impose Christianity.

During the 1670s, conflict intensified as famine put the communities there in direct competition for scarce resources. In one incident, 47 Pueblo medicine men were arrested by Spanish forces in 1675 under charges of "sorcery".

By 1680, one of the arrested men, Po’Pay, had met with several Pueblo leaders and formed a military alliance. Although Po’Pay is often cited as the leader of the rebellion, it is likely there were several other instrumental organizers who played an important role in its fruition.

The date of a cross-Pueblo revolt was set for August 11th, with time being kept at each Pueblo by untying a knot from a cord everyday until all the knots had been untied. Spanish forces, however, learned of the revolt on August 9th after capturing two messengers from Tesuque. As a result, Po’Pay ordered military action a day early, on August 10th.

Pueblo rebels quickly succeeding in sealing off roads, destroying colonial settlements, and laying siege to the regional capital of Santa Fe.

In total, Puebloans killed 400 Spaniards and drove the remaining 2,000 settlers out of the area. On August 21st, New Mexico governor Antonio de Otermín fled, leading a southward retreat out of the region.

With the Spanish gone, Po’Pay traveled the region, promoting the revival of indigenous beliefs and destroying churches and other symbols of Catholicism in the region. Pueblos largely returned to communal self-governance after the flight of the Spanish.

Spanish colonizers attempted to retake the Pueblos in 1681, 1688, and 1689, finally succeeding in 1692.

• Date: 1680-08-10
• Learn More: indianpueblo.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.thoughtco.com.
• Tags: #Colonialism, #Indigenous.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Ballymurphy Massacre (1971)

Mon Aug 09, 1971

Image: The image shows a large streetside sign with the text "BALLYMURPHY MASSACRE AUGUST 1971 WE DEMAND THE TRUTH", as well as the faces and names of the eleven people who were killed

On this day in 1971, more than 600 British soldiers entered the Ballymurphy area of Belfast in a military operation meant to "stun the civilian population", killing eleven innocent people in what is now called the Ballymurphy Massacre.

The violence was part of the British Operation Demetrius, which explicitly allowed for internment without trial and targeted Irish Republicans/nationalist factions of the population.

The massacre began when the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment of the British Army entered Ballymurphy the evening of August 9th, 1971. Six civilians were killed that day, including Father Hugh Mullan, who notified the Army that he was entering the area to help a wounded man, and was shot to death while brandishing a white flag.

Another person killed was Joseph Murphy, who was shot as he stood opposite the Army Base. He was taken into custody, where he was beaten and shot again before being released and expiring.

The violence continued for two more days, killing eleven people in total. A 2021 coroner's report found that all those killed had been innocent and that the killings were "without justification".

The same battalion that committed this massacre later shot twenty-six unarmed civilians during a protest march in Derry against the internment without trial policy.

The Ballymurphy Massacre is the subject of the August 2018 documentary "The Ballymurphy Precedent", directed by Callum Macrae and made in association with Channel 4.

• Date: 1971-08-09
• Learn More: www.ballymurphymassacre.com, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Massacre.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Moses Mauane Kotane (1905 - 1978)

Wed Aug 09, 1905

On this day in 1905, communist trade unionist and anti-apartheid activist Moses Mauane Kotane was born, going on to lead the South African Communist Party (SACP) as General Secretary from 1939 until his death in 1978.

Born to a peasant family in Transvaal, Kotane became involved in trade unionism and left-wing activism in his early adolescence. In 1928, he joined the African National Congress (ANC), but soon left, finding it ineffectual.

The following year, he joined the SACP, quickly working his way up the party ladder and becoming a member of its Politburo. In 1939, he was elected General Secretary.

Remaining close to the ANC, he was elected to its National Executive Committee in 1946. Under Kotane's leadership, the SACP, together with the ANC, organized various anti-apartheid demonstrations and labor strikes, and his high profile in both organizations made him a major target of the South African government's political repression.

In 1963, he left South Africa to lead the SACP in-exile from Tanzania.

He died in 1978 after suffering a stroke at the age of 72. Moses was survived by his wife Rebecca Kotane, who went on to became the last living elder of the anti-apartheid struggle, as old as the African National Congress (ANC) itself, dying in 2021 at the age of 108.

"My first suggestion is that the party becomes Africanised, that the CPSA must pay special attention to South Africa and study the conditions in this country and concretise the demands of the masses from first-hand information, that we must speak the language of the native masses and must know their demands, that while it must not lose its international allegiance, the Party must be Bolshevised and become South African not only theoretically but in reality."

- Moses Maunane Kotane, 1934

• Date: 1905-08-09
• Learn More: sacp.org.za, www.sahistory.org.za, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Communism, #Labor, #Civil Rights.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Emiliano Zapata (1879 - 1919)

Fri Aug 08, 1879

Emiliano Zapata Salazar, born on this day in 1879, was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, the main leader of the peasant revolution in the state of Morelos, and the inspiration for the name of the modern Zapatista movement.

Zapata was born in the rural village of Anenecuilco in Morelos State, where peasant communities were under increasing pressure from the small landowning class who had monopolized land and water resources for sugar cane production with the support of dictator Porfirio Díaz.

Early on, Zapata participated in political movements against Díaz and the landowning hacendados. When revolution broke out in 1910, he was positioned as a central leader of the peasant revolt in Morelos. Zapata was responsible for defeating and ousting various invading armies from Morelos on multiple occasions.

On April 10th, 1919, Zapata was assassinated, double-crossed by a member of the Mexican Army who had pretended to switch sides. When Zapata attempted to meet with the would-be defector, he was ambushed and shot to death.

"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."

- Emiliano Zapata

• Date: 1879-08-08
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.thoughtco.com, www.leftvoice.org.
• Tags: #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

José Cha Cha Jiménez (1948 - )

Sun Aug 08, 1948

José Cha Cha Jiménez, born on this day in 1948, is the founder of the "Young Lords", a national human rights movement with an emphasis on liberation for Puerto Ricans and other colonized people. The group was founded in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois on September 23rd, 1968, one hundred years after the Grito de Lares uprising. Jiménez was born to jíbaro parents in Caguas, Puerto Rico, but spent his formative years in Chicago.

In the summer of 1968, he was picked up for a possession of heroin charge and given a 60-day sentence at Cook County Jail. While in jail, he read "The Seven Story Mountain" by Thomas Merton, and became politically radicalized, also reading texts from radicals such as MLK Jr. and Malcolm X.

After his release, Jiménez transformed the Young Lords from a street gang into a human rights organization, entering into the "Rainbow Coalition" with Fred Hampton, head of the BPP's Chicago chapter. After Hampton's assassination by the Chicago Police and FBI, and the Coalition's dissolution, Jiménez continued his activism, running for a Chicago Alderman position in 1975, and helping organize a voter registration drive to support Harold Washington's 1982-83 mayoral campaign.

When asked in a 2018 interview what happened to the Young Lords, Jiménez responded:

"The question is what happened to the white left, who decided to abandon the Black Panthers and Young Lords when things got hot, as if these groups who risked everything were just, some kind of a fad or that their movement was just some kind of entertainment...

...We will always be reminded of how COINTELPRO and others have worked to split our movement so that we cannot organize together to free our nation of Puerto Rico. We will always work for unity. 'Unidos venceremos' or 'United will win!' It is not just a saying for us. It is a goal."

"If the People of El Salvador can ask for self-determination, if the People of Nicaragua can ask for self-determination, if the People of Ireland can ask for self-determination, if the People of Poland can ask for self-determination, if Black People in America can stand up and demand self-determination, then Puerto Ricans demand self-determination."

• José Cha Cha Jiménez

• Date: 1948-08-08
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.fightbacknews.org, digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu.
• Tags: #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Jourdon Anderson Letter (1865)

Mon Aug 07, 1865

On this day in 1865, freedman Jourdon Anderson (1825 - 1907) wrote a humorous and pointed response to decline the request of his former master to return to the plantation, which had fallen into disrepair after the Civil War.

The letter's dry wit has been compared to the style of Mark Twain, and it became an immediate sensation, becoming published in the press a few weeks later.

Jourdon had been enslaved since he was a child in Wilson County, Tennessee, working the plantation of the Anderson family. In 1864, Union Army soldiers camped on the Anderson plantation and freed him. Subsequently, he moved to Dayton, Ohio with his family, finding work as a sexton with the Wesleyan Methodist Church.

In 1865, he received a letter from Colonel P.H. Anderson, his former master, who requested that Jourdon return to the plantation in a last-ditch to save the farm, which had fallen into disrepair after the Civil War.

On August 7th, 1865, Jourdon dictated his response. Here are some excerpts (the letter in full is linked below):

"I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house.

...[My wife and I] have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you...I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars.

Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor's visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to. Please send the money by Adams's Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq., Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future.

...P.S.—Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me."

Jourdon's offer was declined, and he continued to live in Dayton, dying there at the age of 81 in 1907. Colonel Anderson, having failed to attract his former slaves back, sold the land for a pittance to try to get out of debt, dying two years later.

Prior to 2006, historian Raymond Winbush tracked down the living relatives of the Colonel Anderson, reporting that they "are still angry at Jordan for not coming back", knowing that the plantation was in serious disrepair after the war.

• Date: 1865-08-07
• Learn More: www.smithsonianmag.com, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Labor.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890 - 1964)

Thu Aug 07, 1890

Image: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn addressing strikers in Paterson, N.J. (1913) [socialistworker.org]

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, born on this day in 1890, was a communist activst and feminist who played a leading role in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Communist Party USA (CPUSA).

Flynn was a vigorous proponent of women's rights, birth control, and women's suffrage. She joined the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) in 1936 and late in life, in 1961, became its chairwoman.

Flynn was also a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), but was expelled in 1940 during an institution-wide purge of all communists from ACLU leadership. This decision was reversed twelve years after her death, in 1976.

In 1948, Flynn was arrested, along with eleven other prominent members of the Communist Party, for violating the Smith Act. She served two years in prison, and continued her political activism after her release.

Flynn died during a visit to the Soviet Union, where she was accorded a state funeral with processions in the Red Square attended by over 25,000 people.

"I fell in love with my country - its rivers, prairies, forests, mountains, cities and people. No one can take my love of country away from me! I felt then, as I do now, it's a rich, fertile, beautiful land, capable of satisfying all the needs of its people. It could be a paradise on earth if it belonged to the people, not to a small owning class."

- Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

• Date: 1890-08-07
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, socialistworker.org.
• Tags: #Communism, #Labor, #Birthdays, #IWW.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Tompkins Square Riot (1988)

Sat Aug 06, 1988

Image: Protesters confront police, holding a banner which says "GENTRIFICATION IS CLASS WAR FIGHT BACK" [libcom.org]

On this day in 1988, New York City police attacked an anti-curfew and anti-gentrification rally in Tompkins Square, Manhattan, indiscriminately attacking activists, reporters, and bystanders, injuring thirty-eight people.

The violent clash took place in the context of the city attempting to remove homeless people and squatters from the park by enforcing a curfew on what was previously a 24-hour public space. The park had previously been used as a spot for rallies in protest of this policy.

On August 6th, 1988, activists attempted to hold another rally in the park and were met by a strong police presence. Protesters held banners proclaiming "Gentrification is Class War" (shown).

Although police accused protesters of throwing bricks and bottles at police, eyewitnesses agreed that the cops initiated the violence by charging the crowd. Police indiscriminately attacked and harassed all present, including the activists, reporters, and bystanders. One reporter, a black woman, was called a racial slur and attacked, the aftermath of which was caught on film.

In total, 38 were injured, including several police officers, and 9 were arrested. More than 100 formal complaints about police brutality were filed. When questioned about it, Captain McNamara, a commander at the scene, said "Obviously tempers flared. But all these allegations will be investigated." No cops were charged with any crime related to the event.

The Tompkins Square Park Riot figured prominently in the local arts community. Poet Allen Ginsburg was an eyewitness to the police riot, and various artists have alluded to it in their work, including Lou Reed, the industrial anarchist band Missing Foundation, and Jonathan Larson, in his musical "Rent".

On November 7th, 2004, about 1,000 people gathered in Tompkins Square Park to attend a concert held there in a yearly ritual commemorating the 1988 riot. According to the NYPD, when officers attempted an arrest for an open container of alcohol, concertgoers "surrounded and assaulted" the officers. Six arrests were made on charges including assault and inciting to riot.

• Date: 1988-08-06
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, libcom.org.
• Tags: #Riots, #Journalism, #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

James Cone (1938 - 2018)

Fri Aug 05, 1938

Image: **

James Hal Cone, born on this day in 1938, was an American theologian known for his advocacy of black liberation theology, authoring texts such as "The Cross and the Lynching Tree" (2011) and "God of the Oppressed" (1975).

His 1969 work "Black Theology and Black Power" provided a new way to comprehensively define the distinctiveness of theology in the black church.

On the text, Cone stated "This book was my initial attempt to identify liberation as the heart of the Christian gospel and blackness as the primary mode of God’s presence. I wanted to speak on behalf of the voiceless black masses in the name of Jesus whose gospel I believed had been greatly distorted by the preaching and the theology of white churches."

After receiving his doctorate, Cone taught theology and religion at Philander Smith College and Adrian College. He later taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, which had not accepted a black student into its doctoral program since its founding in 1836. Cone supervised over 40 black doctoral students while teaching there.

"Until we can see the cross and the lynching tree together, until we can identify Christ with a 'recrucified' black body hanging from a lynching tree, there can be no genuine understanding of Christian identity in America, and no deliverance from the brutal legacy of slavery and white supremacy."

- James Cone

• Date: 1938-08-05
• Learn More: www.blackpast.org, archive.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Maleconazo Uprising (1994)

Fri Aug 05, 1994

Image: Protesters in the streets during the Maleconazo [Wikipedia]

On this day in 1994, an uprising known as the "Maleconazo" took place during Cuba's "special period", an economic crisis following the collapse of the Soviet Union, leading to a mass exodus of tens of thousands from the island. The protest was the first major uprising in Cuba following the Cuban Revolution of 1959, which had brought Fidel Castro and the communist movement into power.

The uprising took place in a time of extended economic crisis known as the "special period", characterized by shortages of petroleum derived prices, rations on food, decreased use of automobiles, and, by necessity, organic innovations to agricultural practice.

On August 5th, 1994, riots broke out on the Malecón, an 8km roadway and seawall that runs along the coast in Havana. Rioters looted stores, chanted political slogans, and damaged hotels. One group unsuccessfully attempted to hijack a boat.

In the middle of the afternoon, Fidel Castro arrived at the scene, by which time 370 arrests had taken place and around 30 people were injured, 11 of them policemen.

A week later, on August 11th, Castro gave the order for border guards to not suppress illegal exits of the country; an estimated 33,000 people fled, leading to the 1994 Cuban Rafter Crisis.

Many of these exiles successfully sought refuge in the United States, with then President Bill Clinton adopting the "Wet feet, dry feet policy", effectively allowing any Cuban who made it to U.S. land to stay, while Cubans intercepted in U.S. waters would be either returned to Cuba or deported elsewhere.

• Date: 1994-08-05
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, elcomercio.pe.
• Tags: #Riots, #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Calixto García (1836 - 1898)

Thu Aug 04, 1836

Calixto García Íñiguez, born on this day in 1836, was a general in three separate Cuban uprisings for independence - the Ten Years' War, the Little War, and the War of 1895, which bled into the Spanish-American War.

García joined the Ten Years' War at the age of 18. Five years later, when surrounded by Spanish troops, he shot himself under the chin with a .45 caliber pistol to not give them the satisfaction of capturing him. Although the bullet went out of his forehead and knocked him unconscious, he survived. The wound left a great scar and gave him headaches for the rest of his life.

García played a key role in the ultimately successful War of 1895 and protested the subsequent lack of Cuban autonomy in the conclusion of the war (no Cuban was allowed to sign the terms of surrender and the Spanish leaders in Cuba were allowed to keep their posts in Santiago).

After American military commander William Shafter excluded Cubans from negotiations for the surrender of Santiago, declined to invite García to the surrender ceremonies, and let Spanish authorities remain in control of Santiago until the U.S. could establish a military government, García resigned from the rebel army in protest on July 17th, 1898.

García died of pneumonia on December 11th, 1898 while on a diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C. Today, his portrait is on the 50 Cuban peso banknote.

• Date: 1836-08-04
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.encyclopedia.com.
• Tags: #Birthdays, #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

UPS Strike (1997)

Mon Aug 04, 1997

Image: A still from video footage of a 1997 UPS strike rally. Many signs read "UPS UNFAIR TO TEAMSTERS" [rankandfile.ca]

On this day in 1997, United Parcel Service (UPS) workers, organized with the Teamsters, went on a massive strike that lasted 16 days and cost UPS ~$600 million, winning more full-time positions and significantly higher wages.

The UPS strike, led by International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) President Ron Carey, involved over 185,000 teamsters and effectively shut down UPS operations for 16 days. UPS stated their losses during the strike were approximately $600 million, and the Teamsters took out a loan to pay $10 million to strikers manning picket lines.

Grievances centered around UPS's use of part-time workers, which were paid less than full-time workers and constituted over 2/3rds of the workforce. Slogans of the campaign included "Half a Job is Not Enough" and "Part-time American Won't Work!".

The strike ended in victory for the union, resulting in a new contract that increased their wages, secured their existing benefits, and gave increased job security.

• Date: 1997-08-04
• Learn More: www.labornotes.org, www.rankandfile.ca.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Roger Casement Executed (1916)

Thu Aug 03, 1916

Roger Casement was a human rights journalist and Irish revolutionary who was executed on this day in 1916 by the British state for treason after trying to acquire military aid for Irish Republicans before the Easter Rising. Casement's work in the first decade of the 20th century exposed imperialist atrocities in the Congo and Peru.

Casement began his career working for Henry Morton Stanley and the African International Association, a front for King Leopold II of Belgium in his efforts to colonize the Congo.

In 1890, Casement met author Joseph Conrad, who had come to the Congo to pilot a merchant ship. According to author Liesl Schillinger, both were inspired by the idea that "European colonisation would bring moral and social progress to the continent and free its inhabitants 'from slavery, paganism and other barbarities.' Each would soon learn the gravity of his error."

In 1904, Casement published the "Casement Report", which, via interviews with workers, overseers, and mercenaries, exposed the enslavement, mutilation, and torture of natives on the rubber plantations. The report caused an international scandal and led to the creation of various reform organizations in the West.

A few years later, Casement traveled to the Putumayo District in South America, where rubber was being harvested in the Amazon Basin, and exposed the treatment of indigenous people in Peru. Finding conditions just as inhumane as what he witnessed in the Congo, Casement interviewed both the Putumayo and men who had abused them, publishing his findings in a first-person narrative that again caused an international scandal.

In November, 1914 Casement helped form the Irish Volunteers. He traveled to both the United States and Germany to both promote the Irish nationalist cause and acquire aid for it.

In 1916, Casement was captured by the British government and charged with high treason after he attempted to acquire military aid from Germany to aid the Irish nationalist cause. During trial proceedings, the government secretly circulated alleged excerpts from Casement's journals, the "Black Diaries", which detailed sexual acts with other men. The authenticity of these documents is still debated today.

Casement was hanged at Pentonville Prison on August 3rd, 1916 at 51 years old.

"Self government is our right, a thing born to us at birth a thing no more to be doled out to us by another people then the right to life itself then the right to feel the sun or smell the flowers or to love our kind."

- Roger Casement

• Date: 1916-08-03
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.rte.ie.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Pidjiguiti Massacre (1959)

Mon Aug 03, 1959

Image: The "Hand of Timba", erected to commemorate those killed during the Pidjiguiti Massacre [atlasobscura.com]

On this day in 1959, the Pidjiguiti Massacre occurred when Portuguese police (PIDE) fired on striking dock workers in Bissau, Portuguese Guinea, killing 50 people. The incident led anti-colonial activists (PAIGC) to abandon non-violence.

When dock workers went on strike to seek higher pay, their manager called the Portuguese state police (PIDE) to the scene, who fired into the crowd, killing at least 50 people.

The government blamed the anti-colonial group "Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde" (PAIGC) for the labor unrest, arresting several of its members. The incident caused PAIGC to abandon their campaign of non-violent resistance, leading to the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence in 1963, which culminated in independence for Cape Verde and all of Portuguese Africa.

Today, near the Pidjiguiti docks, there is a large black fist known as the "Hand of Timba", which commemorates those killed that day.

• Date: 1959-08-03
• Learn More: www.dw.com, www.marxists.org.
• Tags: #Labor, #Colonialism, #Massacre, #Independence.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Gulf of Tonkin Incident (1964)

Sun Aug 02, 1964

Image: Official U.S. Navy photo taken from USS Maddox (DD-731) during her engagement with three North Vietnamese motor torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin, August 2nd, 1964. The view shows all three of the boats speeding towards the Maddox [Wikipedia]

On this day in 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident occurred when the American destroyer Maddox was damaged in North Vietnamese waters, an event the U.S. government lied about in order to justify military action against Vietnam.

The incident began when three North Vietnamese torpedo boats were surveilling the American destroyer USS Maddox as it performed intelligence operations in North Vietnamese waters. The Maddox initiated the incident by opening fire, shooting off three "warning" shots; the North Vietnamese boats replied with torpedoes and machine gun fire.

The exchange caused ten North Vietnamese casualties and damaged one U.S. helicopter; there were no American casualties.

In response, the U.S. Congress passed a "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution", which granted U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson the authority to assist any Southeast Asian country whose government was considered to be jeopardized by "communist aggression". The resolution served as Johnson's legal justification for deploying U.S. conventional forces and the commencement of open warfare against North Vietnam.

On television, President Johnson made misleading statements about the incident and portrayed U.S. military escalation as an act of defense. Since then, the Pentagon Papers, the memoirs of Robert McNamara, and NSA publications from 2005 have proven that the U.S. government lied about the nature of the incident to justify a war against Vietnam.

• Date: 1964-08-02
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.wsws.org.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

James Baldwin (1924 - 1987)

Sat Aug 02, 1924

Image: **

James Baldwin, born on this day in 1924, was an American novelist, essayist, poet, and civil rights activist. "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

Baldwin is known for, among many other works, his first novel "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (1953), the non-fiction text "The Fire Next Time" (1963), and the unfinished manuscript "Remember This House", later adapted into the film "I Am Not Your Negro" by Raoul Peck.

In 1963, Baldwin conducted a lecture tour of the South for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), traveling to places like Durham and Greensboro in North Carolina, and New Orleans, Louisiana.

During the tour, Baldwin lectured to students, white liberals, and others about his thinking on matters of race, an ideological position between the "muscular approach" of Malcolm X and the non-violent program of Martin Luther King, Jr according to Baldwin biographer David Leeming.

In 1965, Baldwin debated and defeated conservative William F. Buckley at Cambridge University on the motion of "Has the American Dream been achieved at the expense of the American Negro?", stating "I am stating this very seriously, and this is not an overstatement - I picked the cotton, and I carried it to market, and I built the railroads, under someone else's whip, for nothing. For nothing."

Baldwin was also an anti-capitalist who expressed hope that socialism would take root in the United States. In 1972, when asked "Do you think socialism will ever come to the U.S.A.?", Baldwin replied:

"I would think so. I don't see any other way for it to go. But then you have to be very careful what you mean by socialism. When I use the word I'm not thinking about Lenin for example...Bobby Seale talks about a Yankee Doodle-type socialism...So that a socialism achieved in America, if and when we do...will be a socialism very unlike the Chinese socialism or the Cuban socialism...

...the price of any real socialism here is the eradication of what we call the race problem...Racism is crucial to the system to keep blacks and whites at a division so both were and are a source of cheap labor."

After the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Baldwin moved to Europe permanently, passing away in France on December 1st, 1987.

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

- James Baldwin

• Date: 1924-08-02
• Learn More: www.blackpast.org, www.theparisreview.org, www.gutenberg.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Birthdays, #Civil Rights.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Mother Jones (1837 - 1930)

Tue Aug 01, 1837

Mary "Mother" Jones, baptized on this day in 1837, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent and militant union organizer in American labor movement. "I'm not a humanitarian, I'm a hell-raiser." Jones helped coordinate major strikes and co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

Fighting to abolish child labor was one of Jones' flagship issues. In 1903, Jones organized children who were working in mills and mines to participate in a "Children's Crusade", a march from Kensington, Philadelphia to Oyster Bay, New York, the hometown of President Theodore Roosevelt with banners demanding "We want to go to school and not the mines!"

Mother Jones was present during the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912 in West Virginia, speaking and organizing there despite a shooting war between United Mine Workers members and the private army of the mine owners.

Jones was arrested on February 13th, 1913, brought before a military court, and accused of conspiring to commit murder among other charges. She was sentenced to twenty years in the state penitentiary, but released after eighty-five days.

"I'm not a humanitarian, I'm a hell-raiser."

- Mother Jones

• Date: 1837-08-01
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.womenshistory.org.
• Tags: #Labor, #IWW.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Sid Hatfield Assassinated (1921)

Mon Aug 01, 1921

William "Sid" Hatfield was a police chief of Matewan, West Virginia who was supportive of coal miners' attempts to unionize, for which he was assassinated on this day in 1921 by anti-labor Baldwin-Felts agents.

As a police officer in Matewan, he had helped coal miners and their families resist the Baldwin-Felts agency, which was an anti-union force who evicted working families from their homes and harassed strikers.

He is most known for his role in "The Battle of Matewan", a shootout between Hatfield, armed miners, and Baldwin-Felts agents that killed ten people. The shootout occurred when Hatfield and Albert Felts tried to arrest each other, which culminated in Hatfield killing Felts.

Hatfield was later assassinated by Baldwin-Felts agents while standing trial for murder, which increased the tensions between coal miners and company owners. Although Hatfield was unarmed when he was gunned down by the agents, his assassins successfully avoided any conviction for their crime on the basis of self-defense.

• Date: 1921-08-01
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.wvencyclopedia.org.
• Tags: #Labor, #Assassinations.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Jean Jaurès Assassinated (1914)

Fri Jul 31, 1914

On this day in 1914, prominent French socialist Jean Jaurès was assassinated by a nationalist at the outbreak of World War I after returning from a diplomatic meeting in Brussels where he had advocated against the coming war.

Initially a moderate republican, Jaurès was later one of the first social democrats, eventually becoming the leader of the French Socialist Party, which opposed Jules Guesde's revolutionary Socialist Party of France. The two parties merged in 1905 in the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO).

Today, a key aspect of his legacy is his anti-militarism. Jaurès was an early opponent of the draft and desperately tried to prevent war between France and Germany before World War I, going so far as to try and organize a general strike in both countries to force their leaders to negotiate diplomatically.

In 1914, Jaurès returned to Paris from a diplomatic meeting in Brussels to advocate against the coming war. He was assassinated by a French nationalist at the outbreak of World War I, and remains a key figure in the history of the French Left.

"Tradition does not mean to look after the ash, but to keep the flame alive."

- Jean Jaurès

• Date: 1914-07-31
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, spartacus-educational.com.
• Tags: #Socialism, #Assassinations.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Washington Navy Yard Strike (1835)

Fri Jul 31, 1835

Image: Colored lithograph published by E. Sachse & Company, Baltimore, Maryland, c. 1862. It depicts the Navy Yard as seen from above the Anacostia River, looking north, with Building # 1 and the trophy gun park in the center. [Wikipedia]

On this day in 1835, the first strike of federal civilian employees in the U.S. began when workers at the Washington Navy Yard went on strike for a ten-hour day; the strike devolved into a race riot and failed to achieve its demands.

The strike, known as the Washington Navy Yard Strike, lasted just over two weeks and was part of the ten-hour day movement. Workers also demanded a redress of grievances such as newly imposed lunch hour regulations.

The striking workforce was all-white and took out its frustrations on nearby black communities. On August 12th, workers formed a lynch mob and rioted in the nation's capital, terrorizing the free black community there for days, until President Andrew Jackson ended the race riot by force.

In what is now known as the "Snow Riot", white workers attacked establishments run by free black people, such as schools, churches, and businesses. The riot caused public support for the strike to wane, and the black community received no compensation and little public sympathy for the violence they suffered.

Five years later, in 1840, all public workers finally received a ten hour day by order of President Martin Van Buren.

• Date: 1835-07-31
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.riotacts.org, blackandeducation.org.
• Tags: #Labor, #Riots.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Jacob Joseph Funeral Riot (1902)

Wed Jul 30, 1902

Image: A photograph from 1902, depicting the massive crowd at Joseph's funeral [Wikipedia]

On this day in 1902, a massive funeral procession for Rabbi Jacob Joseph in New York City, attended by more than 50,000 Jews, was attacked by a group of factory workers and police.

The procession descended into chaos as funeral-goers passed by a factory, whose workers began to chuck debris at the procession from above. Jews threw the missiles back and, when some entered the factory to try and get the abuse to stop, the police were called and they were hosed down in an attempt to get them to leave.

As the melee escalated into a full-scale riot, hundreds of New York City policemen arrived and proceeded to pummel and arrest the mourners rather than the instigators. Factory workers poured out into the streets and joined the police in beating Jewish mourners.

Although historians have cited this anti-Semitic riot as a vivid example of Catholic Irish anti-Semitism, noting that both the workers and policemen were "predominantly Irish", recent historical research shows that the factory workers were mostly German, not Irish.

• Date: 1902-07-30
• Learn More: www.jstor.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Riots.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

New Orleans Massacre (1866)

Mon Jul 30, 1866

Image: A sketch of the New Orleans Massacre by Theodore R. Davis, Courtesy NY Public Library [blackpast.org]

On this day in 1866, the New Orleans Massacre took place when a delegation of 130 black city residents marching with the U.S. flag were attacked by a white lynch mob, including police, led by ex-Confederate Mayor John T. Monroe.

While the violence was typical of numerous racial conflicts during Southern Reconstruction, this incident took on special significance, galvanizing national opposition to the moderate Reconstruction policies of President Andrew Johnson and ushering in the much more sweeping Congressional Reconstruction in 1867.

The riot took place outside the Mechanics Institute in New Orleans as black and white delegates attended the Louisiana Constitutional Convention. As a delegation of 130 black New Orleans residents marched behind the U.S. flag toward the Mechanics Institute, Mayor John T. Monroe (who had supported the Confederacy) organized and led a mob of ex-Confederates and members of the New Orleans Police force to the Institute to block their way.

Once the marchers reached the Institute, the police and white mob members attacked them, beating some of the marchers while others rushed inside the building for safety. As the firing continued, some delegates attempted to flee or surrender.

Some of those who surrendered, mostly black people, were killed on the spot. Those who ran were chased, and the killing spread over several blocks around the Institute. Altogether, 238 people were killed and 46 were wounded, including 200 black Union veterans.

• Date: 1866-07-30
• Learn More: www.blackpast.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Massacre.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Dr. John Britton Murdered (1994)

Fri Jul 29, 1994

Image: Dr. John Britton with the .357 Magnum he carried for protection when visiting the Pensacola Ladies' Centre to perform abortions, 1993 [rarehistoricalphotos.com]

On this day in 1994, Dr. John Britton was murdered by a far-right anti-abortionist in Pensacola, Florida. Britton, who had replaced Dr. David Gunn after he was murdered the previous year, had armed himself after receiving death threats.

After Gunn's assassination by an anti-abortionist, Dr. Britton began flying across the state of Florida to Pensacola weekly in order to perform abortions at the Pensacola Ladies' Center. He continued to provide abortions even after receiving harassment and death threats, and began wearing a homemade bulletproof vest, carrying a .357 Magnum, and enlisted volunteer bodyguards to protect himself.

As Britton arrived at the clinic on July 29th, 1994, an anti-abortionist shot him dead with a twelve-gauge shotgun. The assassin also killed Britton's bodyguard, retired Air Force lieutenant colonel James Barrett (aged 74), and wounded Barrett's wife, June, a retired nurse.

Britton's killer became the first American executed for assassinating a doctor who was providing abortion services.

• Date: 1994-07-29
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, rarehistoricalphotos.com.
• Tags: #Assassinations, #Civil Rights, #Feminism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Tavio Amorin Assassinated (1992)

Wed Jul 29, 1992

Image: **

Tavio Amorin was a Togolese socialist politician, Pan-Africanist, and human rights activist who was likely assassinated by Togolese state police on this day in 1992. Amorin organized with the Togolese Pan-African Socialist Party, a movement associated with figures like Kwame Ture, Julius Nyerere, and Marcus Garvey.

In the 1980s, Amorin studied engineering in France. In 1991, after increasingly strong pressure from the Togolese public, President Eyadéma decided to legalize political parties.

Shortly afterward, the "Haut Conseil de la République" (English: High Council of the Republic, HCR) was formed, which Tavio participated in after his return to Togo. There, he became an outspoken critic of the government. In his role as the Chair of Political Affairs, Human Rights, and Liberties Commission, he worked to expose the human rights abuses committed by the Togolese state, and sought systemic reforms.

On July 29th, 1992, Amorin died of gunshot wounds sustained on the 23rd, when he was visiting a relative. He died at the age of 34, leaving behind a wife and a one year old child.

"I am fighting against all forms of tribalism and make no distinction between the north and south of Togo."

- Tavio Amorin

• Date: 1992-07-29
• Learn More: www.amnesty.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Socialism, #Pan-Africanism, #Assassinations.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Mulford Act (1967)

Fri Jul 28, 1967

Image: A Black Panther Party member holds a rifle outside the California State Capitol on May 2nd, 1967, during a protest against a bill that banned carrying loaded guns in public. From the Bettman Archive [buzzfeed.org]

On this day in 1967, the Mulford Act became law in California with bipartisan support, banning the public carrying of firearms after the Black Panthers began conducting armed patrols of Oakland communities to defend them from police.

Prior to this law, it was legal in the state of California to bear arms in public. The Panthers used this to their advantage when "copwatching" in their communities - armed Panthers would patrol the neighborhood and swarm on scene to arrests shortly after they began, informing the arrestee of their constitutional rights.

The Mulford Act, dubbed the "Panther Bill" by the media, enjoyed bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats. Before the law was passed, armed Panthers occupied the California capitol building to protest it on May 2nd (shown). The group was arrested on felony charges of conspiracy to disrupt a legislative session, but were able to plea down to various misdemeanors.

The Act was signed into law by then governor Ronald Reagan, and is still in effect today as California penal code 25850.

"The Mulford Act [will] work no hardship on the honest citizen."

- Ronald Reagan

• Date: 1967-07-28
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.pbs.org.
• Tags: #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org