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Shirley Chisholm Makes History

Back in the day on November 5th, 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first African-American woman to be elected to the United States Congress. The pioneering lawmaker edged out her political opponents in an upset victory for Brooklyn’s 12th Congressional District Seat. In her autobiography “Unbought and Unbossed,” Chisholm wrote of her history-making election by …

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St. Clair’s Defeat

Back in the day on November 4th, 1791, the armed forces of the United States suffered their worst defeat ever at the hands of native peoples. George Washington, as the first president of the new nation, called upon a trusted Revolutionary War veteran Arthur St. Clair to pacify lands northwest of the Ohio River. The …

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Olympe de Gouges

Back in the day on November 3rd, 1793, French playwright and feminist Olympe de Gouges was sent to the scaffold to meet her death. As women were central to the drama of the French Revolution, Gouges emerged in the years that followed as a voice that articulated the shortcomings of the sweeping changes in society. …

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Norman Morrison’s Self-Immolation

Back in the day on November 2nd, 1965, Norman Morrison, a thirty-one year old Quaker set himself on fire outside the Pentagon in protest of the Vietnam War. Earlier that day, Morrison had been reading an article by a priest about the bombing of a South Vietnamese village. He turned to his wife and asked …

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Mrs. Warren’s Profession

Back in the day on October 30th, 1905, George Bernard Shaw’s play “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” debuted in New York. After having been banned in Britain, the socialist playwright’s production exploring the social underpinnings of prostitution moved to the States. “Mrs. Warren’s Profession,” opened in New Haven, Connecticut at the Hyperion Theater only to be shut …

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The Execution of Leon Czolgosz

Back in the day on October 29th, 1901, Leon Czolgosz was executed by the electric chair for the murder of President William McKinley. The self-proclaimed anarchist assassin had wrapped a .32 caliber revolver in a handkerchief on September 6th, 1901 as he waited for his target. President McKinley was receiving greeters at the …

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The Death of Camilo Cienfuegos

Back in the day on October 28th, 1959, Cuban revolutionary Camilo Cienfuegos mysteriously died. The long bearded swashbuckler boarded an airplane flying from Camaguey to Havana fifty years ago when it disappeared over the ocean at night. The Cuban government immediately organized a massive search lasting days, but could not recover debris from …

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The National Negro Labor Council

Back in the day on October 27th, 1951, the National Negro Labor Council was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio. Delegates from across the country approved a program for the newly formed organization that set out to promote civil rights within the labor movement. Labor leader William Hood delivered a speech at the founding convention …

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The First Woman’s Rights Convention

Back in the day on October 23rd, 1850, the First National Woman’s Rights Convention was held in Worcester, Massachusetts. The two-day gathering attracted more than one-thousand attendants from states across the nation. The pioneering convention central to strengthening the national movement for women’s equality was born earlier that year from the discussions of …

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The Trial of Nelson Mandela

Back in the day on October 22nd, 1962, Nelson Mandela stood trial for inciting workers to strike and for leaving South Africa without a passport. The African National Congress member set out to put the injustices of the government itself on trial as he took up the task of defending himself. Mandela, who …

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