Zinn Education Project

July 27, 1919: Red Summer in Chicago

Sparked by a white police officer’s refusal to make an arrest in the murder of a Black teenager, violence in Chicago lasted almost a week. At least 38 people were killed and thousands of Black homes were looted and damaged during Red Summer.

Warriors from Bondage. The attack of Negro Fort on the Apalachicola River, 1816.

July 27, 1816: The “Negro Fort” Massacre

The U.S. Army firebombed a fort on the Apalachicola River in Florida.

July 26, 1950: No Gun Ri Massacre

During the No Gun Ri Massacre, the U.S. Army ordered that all Korean civilians traveling and moving around the country must be stopped.

Moore's Ford Bridge | Zinn Education Project

July 25, 1946: Moore’s Ford Bridge Lynching

Two young African American couples — one of the men a WWII veteran — were lynched near the Moore’s Ford Bridge.

July 25, 1898: U.S. Invades Puerto Rico

U.S. troops invaded Puerto Rico at Guánica.

July 24, 1973: Twelve-Year-Old Santos Rodriguez Killed By Police

Twelve-year-old Santos Rodriguez and his 13-year-old brother David were pulled from their home in Dallas, Texas, handcuffed, and put inside a police car. Santos was killed when one of the officers played Russian roulette to try to force the boys to confess to a crime.

F.M.B. "Marsh" Cook | ZInn Education Project

July 23, 1890: F. M. B. “Marsh” Cook Killed

F. M. B. “Marsh” Cook, a white man, was killed for standing up against the white supremacist 1890 Mississippi Constitutional Convention.

July 22, 1966: Lawful Demonstrators Threatened by Klan and Police in Grenada, Mississippi

U.S. District Judge issued an injunction ordering police in Grenada, Mississippi to stop interfering with lawful protest. This ruling followed weeks of arrests and beating of demonstrators who had been attempting to desegregate businesses in the town.

Lucas Square St. Louis Rail Strike | Zinn Education Project

July 22, 1877: St. Louis Rail Strike

Rail workers and residents of St. Louis, Missouri briefly took over the city as part of the wider Great Railroad Strike of 1877.

July 21, 1656: Elizabeth Key Wins Her Freedom

In early Colonial Virginia, Elizabeth Key became the first woman of African descent in the North American colonies to sue for her freedom and win.

July 20, 1967: Newark Black Power Conference Begins

More than 1,000 delegates representing 286 organizations and institutions from 126 cities in 26 states, Bermuda, and Nigeria gathered at the National Conference on Black Power in Newark, New Jersey.

July 19, 1958: Dockum Drug Store Sit-In

Ron Walters, Carol Parks-Haun, and other leaders in the NAACP Youth Council organized a sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina.

soldiers at a YWCA Hostess House | Zinn Education Project

July 19, 1919: White Mobs in Uniform Attack African Americans — Who Fight Back — in Washington, D.C.

White mobs, incited by the media, attacked the African American community in Washington, D.C., and African American soldiers returning from WWI. This was one of the many violent events that summer and it was distinguished by strong and organized Black resistance to the white violence.