Zinn Education Project

Oct. 11, 1972: D.C. Jail Uprising

An uprising took place at a Washington, D.C. jail to protest conditions.

Oct. 10, 1942: Petition from Aleut Women

Aleut women from the Pribilof Islands Program wrote a petition about the dangerous internment camp conditions during World War II.

Statue of Octavius Catto with people gathered around it

Oct. 10, 1871: Octavius Catto Killed on Election Day in Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Black educator, baseball player, and civil rights activist Octavius V. Catto was murdered by a white supremacist on election day.

Che Guevara. Art by Ricardo Levins Morales.

Oct. 9, 1967: Che Guevara Executed

Che Guevara was killed by U.S. military backed-Bolivian forces, working with the CIA.

Wangari Maathai - Cancel the Debt Protest | Zinn Education Project

Oct. 8, 2004: Wangari Maathai Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on the environment and founded the Greenbelt Movement.

Image from an American Friends Service Committee traveling art exhibit called Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan.

Oct. 7, 2001: United States and U.K. Began War in Afghanistan

The United States and United Kingdom began the war in Afghanistan.

Oct. 7, 1998: Matthew Shepard Beaten and Left to Die

Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was beaten, robbed, and left to die.

Oct. 7, 1873: Henry E. Hayne Accepted at USC Medical School

Henry E. Hayne was the first Black student to be accepted to the University of South Carolina’s medical school, a bold act which encouraged other Black students to apply. By 1875, Black men comprised the majority of the student body.

Oct. 6, 1917: Fannie Lou Hamer Born

Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activist, was born in Montgomery County, Mississippi.

Sketch of people debating at the Colored Convention in Washington D.C.

Oct. 6, 1841: Maine’s First Colored Convention

The first Colored Convention in Maine was an opportunity for northern Black abolitionists to organize and strategize for racial justice and the freedom of those still enslaved throughout the South.

Oct. 5, 1986: Eugene Hasenfus Captured During Iran-Contra Scandal

The cover-up of the Iran-Contra scandal began to unravel when Eugene Hasenfus was captured by Nicaraguan troops.

Berglund Walkout McComb MS | Zinn Education Project

Oct. 4, 1961: Burglund High School Walkout

Burglund students walked out in response to the expulsions of their classmates and the murder of Herbert Lee.

Dr. Louis Charles Roudanez, publisher of the New Orleans Tribune.

Oct. 4, 1864: New Orleans Tribune Launched

The New Orleans Tribune was launched and published daily in French and English by Louis Charles Roudanez.

March in support of Ethiopia | Zinn Education Project

Oct. 3, 1935: Ethiopia Invaded by Italy

Ethiopia was invaded by Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini.

Oct. 2, 1968: Tlatelolco Massacre

Student demonstrators and other civilians were killed by the military and police in Mexico in advance of the 1968 Olympic Games.

Oct. 2, 1937: Parsley Massacre

Under the orders of U.S.-backed Dominican dictator President Rafael Trujillo, the execution of more than 20,000 Haitians began in what is now known as the Parsley Massacre at Massacre River.

Oct. 1, 1964: Free Speech Movement

The Free Speech Movement was launched at UC–Berkeley.

Jerry Rescue Monument in Syracuse, New York.

Oct. 1, 1851: The Jerry Rescue

Abolitionists freed a man captured under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 in Syracuse, New York.

Elaine Massacre Defendants | Zinn Education Project

Sept. 30, 1919: Elaine Massacre

Black farmers were massacred in Elaine, Arkansas for their efforts to fight for better pay and higher cotton prices. A white mob shot at them, and the farmers returned fire in self-defense. Estimates range from 100-800 killed, and 67 survivors were indicted for inciting violence.

Sept. 29, 1951: “A Call to Negro Women” Sojourners for Truth and Justice

A decade before the March on Washington, a group of Black women known as the Sojourners for Truth and Justice gathered in Washington D.C. to advocate for their rights.

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