May
03
2010
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the entire program
Bull Connor’s Repression
Back in the day on May 3rd, 1963, a civil rights demonstration during the Birmingham Campaign was violently repressed in Alabama. The activist effort of the Southern Christian Leadership sought to expose and challenge the segregationist system of the southern city. The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and fellow organizers launched “Project C” for ‘confrontation,’ …
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Apr
30
2010
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the entire program
Coxey’s Army Marches on Washington
Back in the day on April 30th, 1894, Ohio populist Jacob Coxey arrived to Washington D.C. with five hundred unemployed workers. The assembled ‘industrial army’ planned to march on the nation’s capital in response to the economic difficulties brought on by the Great Panic of 1893. As the nation was facing its worst …
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Apr
28
2010
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the entire program
Muhammad Ali’s Political Stance
Back in the day on April 28th 1967, heavyweight-boxing champion Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the United States Army. With the Vietnam War raging on, the legendary pugilist famously said to surrounding reporters, “Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.” The bold stance taken by Ali resulted in immediate repercussions …
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Apr
27
2010
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the entire program
Robert Owen’s New Harmony
Back in the day on April 27th, 1825, Robert Owen delivered his initial address to the settlers of his communalist experiment in New Harmony, Indiana. The socialist pioneer had started his adult life as a successful entrepreneur in Manchester, England’s textile industry. After purchasing a cotton mill in Scotland, Owen attempted to humanize working …
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Apr
26
2010
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the entire program
The Terror Bombing of Guernica
Back in the day on April 26th, 1937, the civilians of Guernica were terror bombed from above during the Spanish Civil War. German and Italian bomber planes, at the behest of Fascist General Francisco Franco, attacked the cultural capital of the Basque people for more than three hours. The onslaught wrought much death …
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Apr
23
2010
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the entire program
Operation Dewey Canyon III
Back in the day on April 23rd, 1971, the peaceful week of anti-war protests dubbed as “Operation Dewey Canyon III,” came to a close. Organized by Vietnam Veterans Against the War, the actions in Washington D.C. played of the code name of two U.S. invasions into Laos. Calling itself a ‘limited incursion into the …
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Apr
22
2010
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the entire program
The First Earth Day
Back in the day on April 22nd, 1970, the United States celebrated Earth Day for the very first time. The brainchild of Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, the observation held forty years ago was conceived as a ‘teach-in’ meant to inspire awareness and action on issues critical to the health of the environment. The response …
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Apr
21
2010
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the entire program
The Tolpuddle Martyrs Demonstration
Back in the day on April 21st, 1834, a massive demonstration by thirty-five unions in Britain marched in defense of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. One month prior to the major protest six impoverished farm workers had been convicted in a blatantly unfair trial. Their supposed crime had been the trumped up charge of swearing an …
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Apr
20
2010
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the entire program
Billie Holiday Records “Strange Fruit”
Back in the day on April 20th, 1939, legendary jazz vocalist Billie Holiday recorded the song “Strange Fruit.” Originally a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish schoolteacher and member of the Communist Party, the lyrics poetically captured the terrorizing brutality of lynching in the United States. The opening lines of the song …
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Apr
19
2010
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the entire program
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Back in the day on April 19th, 1943, the Jewish people of the Warsaw Ghetto rose up against their Nazi oppressors. Having taken place during World War II, many of those living within the bleak confines of the densely packed area in occupied Poland staged a desperate last stand against the impossibility of their …
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