Apr
16
2009
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the entire program
“Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Back in the day on April 16th, 1963, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. composed his masterful “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The civil rights leader had been imprisoned following his anti-segregation “Birmingham Campaign,” in Alabam that breached a court injunction disallowing such demonstrations in the city. Because King’s campaign practiced civil disobedience …
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Apr
15
2009
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the entire program
Jackie Robinson’s Debut
Back in the day on April 15th, 1947, Jackie Robinson made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Suiting up in Dodger Blue, “Number 42” took to the field of “America’s Pastime,” years before the nation’s military or schools were desegregated. After scoring the winning run …
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Apr
14
2009
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the entire program
The Limerick General Strike of 1919
Back in the day on April 14th, 1919, the Limerick United Trades and Labor Council declared a general strike in the Irish city. Prior to the action, British military authorities had declared Limerick to be a “special military area” under the “Defense of the Realm Act.” On the first day …
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Apr
13
2009
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the entire program
The Colfax Massacre
Back in the day on April 13th, 1873, the Colfax Massacre occurred in Louisiana. Having taken place during Reconstruction, the White League, a paramilitary organization, assaulted blacks, many of whom were members of the state militia. Anywhere from 62 to 150 blacks were killed as a result of this act of terror that …
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Apr
10
2009
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the entire program
The Assassination of Emiliano Zapata
Back in the day on April 10th, 1919 Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata was assassinated. The plot to kill the influential leader was hatched by then-President Venustiano Carranza of Mexico who had come to see Zapata as a threat to the consolidation of his rule. Upholding the freedom of the peasantry as …
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Apr
09
2009
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the entire program
The Hanging of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Back in the day on April 9th, 1945, Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged with piano wire by the Nazis at the concentration camp in Flössenburg, Germany. Executed at the age of 39 and just one month before the end of World War II, Bonhoeffer had immediately spoken out against the …
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Apr
08
2009
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the entire program
Truman: Man of Steel
Back in the day on April 8th, 1952, President Harry S. Truman ordered his Secretary of Commerce to seize control of all U.S. steel mills. Having taken place during the Korean War, Truman feared an impending nationwide strike by steel mill workers would paralyze an industry important to his war machine. The …
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Apr
07
2009
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the entire program
The Teapot Dome Scandal
Back in the day on April 7th, 1922, Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall, Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby and Harry F. Sinclair of the Mammoth Oil Corporation signed a secret lease. Locked away in Fall’s desk drawer, the agreement between the three completed the transition of control away from the …
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Apr
06
2009
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the entire program
The Murder of Little Bobby Hutton
Back in the day on April 6th 1968, Black Panther Party member Little Bobby Hutton was murdered by the Oakland Police. Coming just two days after civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was slain, Hutton, who was the first person to join the Panthers at the age of 16 …
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Apr
03
2009
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the entire program
“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”
Back in the day on April 3rd, 1968 the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. gave his last speech entitled “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” The emblematic civil rights leader was in Memphis, Tennessee at the time to support striking sanitation workers ahead of the planned Poor People’s March on Washington. As …
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