Zinn Education Project

Brown University students on strike in 1970, holding signs, protesting in a large crown on campus.

May 5, 1970: Brown University Student Strike

Students at Brown University went on strike to demand that the university take a stand against the escalation of the Vietnam War into neighboring Cambodia.

May 5, 1905: Chicago Defender Founded

Robert Sengstacke Abbott founded the highly influential newspaper, the Chicago Defender, with the tagline “American Race Prejudice Must Be Destroyed.”

May 5: Rethinking Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is actually the Battle of Puebla Day, commemorating the defeat of Napoleon III in 1862.

Indigenous delegate David Close meets with Pope Francis during the Long March to Rome and Delegation Lead to the Mission in Rome.

May 4, 2016: Indigenous People March to Demand Revocation of the Doctrine of Discovery

A delegation representing Native nations marched upon the Vatican and were successful in convincing the Vatican to revoke the Doctrine of Discovery.

May 4, 1970: Kent State Massacre

During an anti-war protest at Kent State University, the Ohio National Guard shot unarmed college students, killing four. Students were also killed at Jackson State (May 15, 1970), and Orangeburg (February 8, 1968).

Portrait of 7 of the 8 Haymarket Martyrs.

May 4, 1886: Haymarket Tragedy

A peaceful demonstration in Chicago for the eight-hour day ended in tragedy when the police barged in and a bomb exploded.

May 4, 1884: Ida B. Wells Protests Segregated Seating on Train

Ida B. Wells stood up to injustice by refusing to change seats on a segregated Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern Railroad train, leading to a legal battle over racially discriminatory laws.

May 3, 1919: Pete Seeger Born

Activist folksinger Pete Seeger was born in New York.

May 3, 1898: Septima Clark Born

Educator and civil rights organizer Septima Clark was born in South Carolina.

May 2, 1963: Children of Birmingham Fill the Jails

In disciplined groups and singing freedom songs, students “ditch” class to march for justice and fill the jails.

May 1, 1970: D.C. Sanitation Worker Strike Begins

Amidst a looming “garbage crisis” in Washington, D.C., on May 1, 1970, 1,700 sanitation workers went on strike to demand an end to racial discrimination, unsafe working conditions, low pay, and unequal pick-up routes.

May 1: International Workers Day

International Workers’ Day began as a commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket massacre in Chicago.

Scene from the Memphis, Tenn., massacre | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

May 1 – 3, 1866: Memphis Massacre

White civilians and police killed 46 African Americans and injured many more while burning houses, schools, and churches in Memphis, Tennessee.

April 30, 1967: “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam” Speech

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made a speech criticizing the Vietnam War and praising Muhammad Ali.

Bristol Bus Boycott | Zinn Education Project

April 30, 1963: Bristol Bus Boycott

The Bristol Bus Boycott began in England, inspired by the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

April 29, 1962: Paulings Protest Nuclear Testing

Nobel Prize-winner Linus Pauling and Ava Helen Pauling joined a march in front of the White House to protest the resumption of U.S. atmospheric nuclear testing.

April 28, 1987: Benjamin Linder Murdered in Nicaragua

Ben Linder, a volunteer U.S. engineer in Nicaragua, was killed by the U.S.-funded Contras.

April 28, 1977: Disability Rights Sit-Ins Force Enactment of Section 504

Between April 5 and April 28, 1977, hundreds of disabled and handicapped activists organized, protested, and occupied government buildings around the country to pressure the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Joseph Califano, to enact Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and publish regulations to guide its enforcement.