Democracy & Citizenship Archives

Wong Kim Ark | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

March 28, 1898: Wong Kim Ark Wins Citizenship Case

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark.

March 14, 1968: King Speaks About the “Other America” in the North

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the speech titled “The Other America” focusing on economic inequalities and white complicity in the North.

Feb. 7, 1926: Carter G. Woodson Launched Negro History Week

Carter G. Woodson initiated the first celebration of Negro History Week which led to Black History Month.

Feb. 6, 1961: “Jail, No Bail” in Rock Hill, South Carolina Sit-Ins

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) sent four volunteers to Rock Hill, South Carolina to sit-in.

Jan. 31, 1964: WWII Veteran Louis Allen Murdered

Louis Allen, a WWII veteran who witnessed and was willing to testify about the murder of a voting rights worker in Mississippi, was murdered.

Nov. 15, 1917: Suffragists Beaten and Tortured in the “Night of Terror”

Twenty women were subjected to beatings and torture at Occoquan Workhouse, a prison in Virginia, in what became known as the “Night of Terror.”

Nov. 2, 1920: Imprisoned Eugene V. Debs Received One Million Votes for U.S. President

Eugene V. Debs received one million votes in the U.S. presidential election while in prison on the Socialist Party ticket.

Oct. 6, 1917: Fannie Lou Hamer Born

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

Detail of the cover of one of the many pamphlets produced by the National Joint Action Committee in support of Congressman Ernest Lundeen’s social insurance bill. "What Every Working Woman Wants" was printed by Workers’ Library Publishers, NYC, 1935.

Aug. 14, 1935: The Social Security Act Passed

Due to the results of the strength of organized labor and other mass movements of the 1930s, the Social Security Act was passed.

Detail of portrait of Frank Little by Nicole Schulman.

Aug. 1, 1917: Labor Organizer Frank Little Lynched

IWW labor organizer Frank Little was lynched from a railroad trestle.

Jackie Robinson | Zinn Education Project

July 6, 1944: Lt. Jackie Robinson Refuses to Give Up Seat on Bus

While stationed at Camp Hood in Texas, Lieutenant Jackie Robinson refused to give up his seat on the bus and was court-martialed.

March 9, 1865: The Lowry Band Help Guide General Sherman on His March to End the Civil War

The Lowry Band helped guide General Sherman on his march to end the Civil War.

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.

Aug. 13, 1910: Ministers Appeal to President Taft After Slocum Massacre

A group of more than 150 ministers from Washington, D.C. wrote to President William Taft about the Slocum Massacre.

July 11, 1964: Lemuel Penn Killed

Athens-area Ku Klux Klan members shot and killed WWII veteran and DCPS assistant superintendent Lemuel Penn.

July 4, 1917: Hubert Harrison Urges Armed Self-Defense at Harlem Rally

Hubert Harrison urges armed self-defense at Harlem protest rally in the wake of two white supremacist pogroms against African Americans in East St. Louis.

June 27, 1954: Elected Guatemalan Leader Overthrown in CIA-Backed Coup

Democratically elected Guatemalan president Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán was deposed in a CIA-sponsored coup.

May 18, 1896: Plessy v. Ferguson Ruling

Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities.

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.

Feb. 24, 1969: Tinker v. Des Moines Case Wins Free Speech Rights for Students

The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Tinker v. Des Moines that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

Huey Newton surrounded by youth of East Oakland community, August 1970.

Feb. 17, 1942: Huey P. Newton Born

Huey P. Newton was co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.

Jan. 26, 1944: Angela Davis Born

Born on this day, Angela Davis is a civil rights activist, writer, professor, and a founding member Critical Resistance, a national organization dedicated to the dismantling of the prison industrial complex.

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.

Dec. 30, 1971: Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo Jr. Indicted for Releasing the Pentagon Papers

Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony J. “Tony” Russo Jr. were indicted for releasing the Pentagon Papers, detailing the secret history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

May 14, 1960: Firehoses Confront Free Speech in S.F. City Hall

Peaceful protesters formed a picket line at the House on Un-American Activities Committee hearings.

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