Zinn Education Project

Jan. 23, 1964: 24th Amendment on Poll Tax Ratified

The 24th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified.

Jan. 23, 1963: Patricia Stephens Due Arrested in Florida

Patricia Stephens Due was arrested in the segregated lobby of the Florida Theater in Tallahassee.

Jan. 23, 1957: Klan Forces Man to Jump from Bridge

Mr. Willie Edwards Jr., a 24-year-old African American man, was murdered by members of the Alabama KKK.

Jan. 23, 1935: Robert Parris Moses Born

Lifelong organizer in SNCC and with the Algebra Project, Robert Parris Moses, was born on January 23, 1935, in Harlem, New York.

Jan. 22, 1964: Freedom Day in Hattiesburg

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) voting rights campaign held a Freedom Day in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Jan. 22, 1932: La Matanza (“The Massacre”) Begins in El Salvador

The government of El Salvador launched a murderous, anti-indigenous and anti-leftist campaign that led to the deaths of 30,000 Salvadorans.

National Memorial for Peace and Justice (photo) | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 22, 1912: Hamilton, Georgia Lynching

Four African Americans (including one minister and three farmers; one of the farmers was a woman) were lynched in Hamilton, Georgia.

The North Star (News Clipping) | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 21, 1848: North Star Publishes Editorial on War with Mexico

The North Star published an editorial against the U.S. war with Mexico. Listen to an excerpt read by Benjamin Bratt.

Hiram Rhodes Revels (photo) | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 20, 1870: Hiram Rhodes Revels Elected to U.S. Senate During Reconstruction

Hiram Rhodes Revels was the first African American to be elected to serve in the U.S. Senate.

Julian Bond 1967 | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 19, 1966: Georgia State House Refused to Seat Julian Bond

The Georgia State House of Representatives refused to seat elected state representative Julian Bond due to his public statements against the Vietnam War.

Eartha Kitt at White House (photo) | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 18, 1968: Eartha Kitt Spoke Truth at the White House

When asked at a White House luncheon about "juvenile delinquency," Eartha Kitt responded by talking about the root causes of rebellion, including the Vietnam War and the draft.

Jan. 18, 1943: Jewish Resistance in Warsaw Ghetto

Jews in the Warsaw ghetto organized armed self-defense units to oppose deportations to forced-labor camps and to the Treblinka extermination camp.

Lumumba at the 1960 Round Table conference | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Jan. 17, 1961: Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was Executed

Prime minister of the Republic of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba, was executed with the assistance of the governments of Belgium and the United States.

Jan. 17, 1893: Queen Lili`uokalani of Hawai`i is Overthrown

Queen Lili`uokalani of the independent kingdom of Hawai`i was overthrown as she was arrested at gunpoint by U.S. Marines.

Special Field Order No. 15 | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 16, 1865: Special Field Order No. 15

Demands by Black ministers after the Ebenezer Creek Massacre led to the short-lived land distribution during Reconstruction known as Special Field Order No. 15.

Jan. 15, 1817: The Vote on Colonization of Free Blacks in West Africa

Nearly 3,000 African American men met at the Bethel A.M.E. Church and denounced the American Colonization Society’s proposal to resettle free African Americans in West Africa.

Radical members, SC Legistlature | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 14, 1868: South Carolina Constitutional Convention

The South Carolina constitutional convention met with a majority of Black delegates, adopting a constitution that provided for all people regardless of race, economic class, or gender.

The NYC Tompkins Square Riot (art) | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 13, 1874: The New York City Tompkins Square Riot

The New York City Tompkins Square Riot occurred during a devastating economic depression.

1777 Petition for Freedom | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 13, 1777: Petition for Freedom in Massachusetts

A group of African Americans presented a petition for freedom to the Massachusetts Council and the House of Representatives.

Jan. 12, 2010: Earthquake in Haiti

Haiti was hit with a devastating earthquake that took the lives of thousands and displaced even more‪.

Jan. 11, 1912: The Bread and Roses Strike Started

The Bread and Roses Strike began in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Jan. 10, 1966: Voting Rights Activist Vernon Dahmer Murdered

Vernon Dahmer was killed when the Ku Klux Klan fired bombed his home. This was one day after Dahmer offered to pay the election poll tax for anyone who could not afford it.

Julian Bond in Mississippi, 1963 | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Jan. 9, 1967: Julian Bond Sworn in Georgia House of Representatives

Julian Bond was finally sworn in as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives.

Jan. 9, 1866: Fisk University is Established

On January 9, 1866, the Fisk Free Colored School is established in Nashville and immediately enrolls hundreds of formerly enslaved people of all ages. Known today as Fisk University, the school was founded by the American Missionary Association (AMA), a Black- and white-led abolitionist organization founded in 1846.

Jan. 9, 1864: Sgt. William Walker Found Guilty of Mutiny

Sgt. Walker was convicted of mutiny and killed, one of nineteen Union soldiers executed by the Union army for mutiny during the Civil War, fourteen of whom were Black.