Zinn Education Project

May 28, 1963: Woolworth Sit-in in Jackson, Mississippi

Students and faculty from Tougaloo College held a sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Jackson, Mississippi.

May 27, 1972: First African Liberation Day Demonstration on the National Mall

The first African Liberation Day drew some 60,000 demonstrators in cities across the United States and Canada, including one on the National Mall in Washington D. C.

May 27, 1958: Ernest Green Graduates from Little Rock

Ernest Green became the first African-American to graduate from Little Rock Central High School in 1958.

May 27, 1954: “Black Monday” Speech Incites White Supremacy

Future Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Tom P. Brady delivered a racist speech called “Black Monday” in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, inspiring many white leaders to join the White Citizens’ Council.

May 27, 1887: Massacre at Hells Canyon

In eastern Oregon, in an area now known as Chinese Massacre Cove, a group of white men murdered 34 Chinese laborers in a brutal act of white supremacist violence in the Hells Canyon Massacre.

May 26, 1956: Tallahassee Bus Boycott Sparked by Students’ Protest

Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson sparked a city-wide boycott in Tallahassee, Florida when they were arrested for refusing to move from the whites-only seats of a segregated bus.

May 26, 1937: Battle of the Overpass

Union members were beaten by Ford Motor Co. reps for distributing leaflets in the Battle of the Overpass.

Pequot Massacre | Zinn Education Project

May 26, 1637: Pequot Massacre

Hundreds of Pequot villagers were massacred by the Puritans in Mystic, Connecticut.

May 25, 1966: Teenager Lynched in Chicago

Seventeen year old Black teenager Jerome Huey was brutally murdered by four white teenagers in Cicero, Illinois, sparking public protests and demands for justice.

May 25, 1934: Minneapolis Teamsters Strike

The Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934 was settled with union recognition and reinstatement for all fired workers.

May 25: Memorial Day

Learn about the people’s history of Decoration Day (Memorial Day) and the Memorial Day Massacre.

May 25, 1865: Black Virginians Cast Freedom Ballots

African Americans tested their right to vote and when denied, cast their own “freedom ballots,” on election day in Norfolk, Virginia.

Flowers, toys, and other objects are seen at a memorial for the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in nearly a decade resulting in the death of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, May 29, 2022.

May 24, 2022: Uvalde School Shooting

Nineteen children and two teachers were shot dead at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

May 24, 1990: Judi Bari’s Car Bombed

Earth First! activist Judi Bari’s car was blown up by a bomb in Oakland, California.

May 24, 1833: The Connecticut “Black Law” Enacted

One of many anti-literacy laws at the time, this law prohibited the establishment of schools for Black students who were not residents of Connecticut.

Henry Dumas, just days before his death, by Clem Fiori.

May 23, 1968: Acclaimed Writer Henry Dumas Fatally Shot by Police

Henry Dumas, a critically acclaimed author, was fatally shot by the New York Transit police.

May 23, 1914: Indian Migrants on the Komagata Maru Denied Entry Into Canada

Nearly 400 South Asian immigrants — many of whom were Sikh — steamed into Vancouver’s harbor on the Japanese ship Komagata Maru in search of a new home, but were blocked from docking and disembarking due to racist immigration policies.

Elizabeth "Betsy" Brown Stephens, a Cherokee woman who walked the Trail of Tears.

May 23, 1838: The Trail of Tears Began

The forcible removal of Native American tribes, known as the Trail of Tears, began.

May 23, 1779: Poor Philadelphians Rally Against Rich Merchants

Following British occupation of the city, Revolutionary militia members in Philadelphia denounced and attacked wealthy merchants who benefited from wartime shortages.

May 22: International Day for Biological Diversity

The United Nations proclaimed May 22 the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.

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