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Homestead Strikers Vs. Pinkertons

Back in the day on July 6th, 1892, steelworkers on strike from Andrew Carnegie’s Homestead Mill in Pennsylvania battled the infamous Pinkertons. Henry Clay Frick, who managed the plant, hired the private mercenaries to protect strike breakers he planned to employ. About three-hundred armed Pinkerton agents boarded barges to sail to the plant down …

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The East St. Louis Riots

Back in the day on July 2nd, 1917 racist violence against African-Americans erupted in East St. Louis. Tensions had been growing in the months leading up to the one of the bloodiest race riots in U.S. history.On July 2nd, racist violence reached its cruelest crescendo as wanton rioting broke out after two white …

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Kwame Nkrumah Becomes 1st President of Ghana

Back in the day on July 1st, 1960, Kwame Nkrumah became the first president of the republic of Ghana. Setting the stage years earlier, Ghana became the first black African country to obtain independence from colonial rule on March 6th, 1957. As one of the main motivating forces behind the liberation …

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Haile Selassie’s Plea

Back in the day on June 30th, 1936 Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia, gave an impassioned address to the League of Nations deploring the invasion of his country by Italy. The international organization had earlier condemned the Mussolini government as an aggressor for its attack on the African nation on October 3rd, 1935. By the …

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Death Penalty Ruled Cruel and Unusual

Back in the day on June 29th, 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional. By a narrow 5-4 vote, Justices reviewing the case of Furman v. Georgia decided that state and federal executions were “cruel and unusual” forms of punishment in violation of the eighth amendment. The …

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The Incident at Oglala

Back in the day on June 26th, 1975, FBI agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams followed a red pick-up truck onto the Jumping Bull Ranch on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The FBI would later claim that the two were in pursuit of a Native American named Jimmy Eagle purportedly accused of stealing cowboy boots. …

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The Battle of the Little Bighorn

Back in the day on June 25th, 1876 Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led his 7th cavalry troops in an attack on Sioux and Cheyenne natives. Custer’s “Last Stand,” in what is known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn, of course, ended in defeat for his troops at the hands of …

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Bernice Gera’s Fight

Back in the day on June 24th, 1972, Bernice Gera became the first woman to umpire a professional baseball game in the United States. Taking the field of a Class A minor league game pitting the Geneva Rangers against the Auburn Phillies, she broke the gender barrier in the profession, but not without a …

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Taft-Hartley Act

Back in the day on June 23rd, 1947, the U.S. Congress overrode the veto of President Harry Truman and passed the notorious Taft-Hartley Act. With the “Class of 1946” Republicans in control of Congress, the anti-labor legislation passed with a significant number of Democratic lawmakers in support of the override. Many of the provisions of …

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Joe Louis Defeats Max Schmeling

Back in the day on June 22nd, 1938, African-American boxer Joe Louis defeated the German pugilist Max Schmeling in a highly touted rematch. Unlike any other fight before it, the contest was imbued with racial and ideological undertones. Louis, the pride of African-Americans living in oppressive conditions in the U.S., was previously …

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