Jul
27
2009
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the entire program
Albert “Ginger” Goodwin
Back in the day on July 27th, 1918, labor leader Albert “Ginger” Goodwin was shot to death in Canada. Originally from Yorkshire, Goodwin immigrated to Canada and worked as a coal miner. When his travels took him to Cumberland on Vancouver Island, the future martyr cut his teeth as an organizer and effective orator against …
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Jul
23
2009
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the entire program
Thoreau’s Night in Jail
Back in the day on June 23th, 1846, philosopher poet Henry David Thoreau spent the night in jail for refusing to pay his poll taxes. The acclaimed author of “Walden” did so in protest of the U.S. – Mexican War which had started months earlier. As an opponent of slavery, which many abolitionists saw …
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Jul
22
2009
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the entire program
The Preparedness Day Bombing
Back in the day on July 22nd, 1916, a suitcase bomb exploded during the Preparedness Day Parade in San Francisco killing ten and wounding forty more. With World War I raging in Europe, the city’s Chamber of Commerce organized the event in support of the United States entering the conflict militarily. With sizable …
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Jul
21
2009
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the entire program
The Carlin Seven
Back in the day on July 21st, 1972, comedian George Carlin was arrested during a performance in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for allegedly violating obscenity laws. Launching into his notorious routine, Carlin uttered the “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,” during the city’s outdoor “Summerfest.” Apparently those seven words, which Carlin said were so heavy …
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Jul
20
2009
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the entire program
The 20th Anniversary of Aung San Suu Kyi’s House Arrest
Back in the day on July 20th, 1989, Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest in Rangoon by the military regime in Burma. The daughter of an assassinated independence hero, Suu Kyi joined forces with the National League for Democracy as uprisings in the country that …
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Jul
17
2009
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the entire program
The Spanish Civil War
Back in the day on July 17th, 1936, a conspiratorial plan by members of the Spanish military to seize power from the democratically elected and leftist Popular Front government was discovered. The revelation forced the hand of the right-wing Nationalists as they rose up and took key cities in the Spanish colonized territory of …
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Jul
10
2009
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the entire program
The Chicago Freedom Movement
Back in the day on July 10th, 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke on behalf of the Chicago Freedom Movement. An estimated 60,000 people gathered at the big rally in Solider Park to hear the Civil Rights leader speak alongside musicians such as Mahalia Jackson and Stevie Wonder who were also present. As the …
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Jul
09
2009
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the entire program
Oliver Law and the Lincoln Brigade
Back in the day on July 9th, 1937, Oliver Law, Commander of the Lincoln Brigade, died leading his troops during a campaign of the Spanish Civil War. Noted by history as the first African-American to command an integrated military force of U.S. citizens, Law suffered a fatal wound in the attack on …
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Jul
08
2009
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the entire program
The Hamburg Massacre
Back in the day on July 8th, 1876 an incident occurred in South Carolina that would be known to history as the ‘Hamburg Massacre.’ Days before, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of “Independence Day,” an African-American company of the state’s militia had been marching on a public street when two whites approached in …
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Jul
07
2009
The Newlands Resolution
Back in the day on July 7th, 1898, President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution. With a swift stroke of a pen, the Hawaii islands were annexed to the United States. Named after Congressman Frances Newlands, the first sentence of the resolution claimed that the Government of the Republic of Hawaii ceded all rights of sovereignty …
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