Organizing Archives

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.

Sept. 16, 1968: Harrison High School Student Uprising

One third of the students at Harrison Technical High School staged a walkout to protest the lack of African American history classes, overcrowding and poor conditions, and more.

Parade in San Francisco for the first national Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1986.

Jan. 20, 1986: First National Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

The United States celebrated its first national Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, three years after the holiday was signed into law and eighteen years after the fight for a King holiday began.

The Constitution of the Maine Anti-Slavery Society, which was founded in May 1833.

Oct. 15, 1834: First Maine Anti-Slavery Society Convention

The first Maine Anti-Slavery Society Convention was held in Augusta.

Sketch of people debating at the Colored Convention in Washington D.C.

Oct. 6, 1841: Maine’s First Colored Convention

The first Colored Convention in Maine was an opportunity for northern Black abolitionists to organize and strategize for racial justice and the freedom of those still enslaved throughout the South.

July 8, 1871: Mass Protest for Land Conservation in London

Determined to prevent the development of the local forest, Londoners protested to “Save The Forest” in an early instance of mass organizing for land conservation.

July 1964: Founding of the Medical Committee for Human Rights

The Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR) provided support to civil rights workers in Mississippi at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and raised awareness of the health care disparities due to racism in the United States.

Sept. 22, 1954: Hillsboro’s “Marching Mothers” Sue to Desegregate Schools

The “Marching Mothers” of Hillsboro sued the school district and began daily marches to desegregate elementary schools in this town in Ohio.

Nov. 22, 2019: Harlem Park Three Released from Prison

The Harlem Park Three — Alfred Chestnut, Andrew Stewart, and Ransom Watkins — spent decades imprisoned on a wrongful conviction before gaining their freedom in 2019.

On the Freedom Side: How Five Decades of Youth Activists Have Remixed American History

Book — Non-fiction. By Wesley C. Hogan. 2019. 368 pages.
This comprehensive collection documents and assesses young people’s interventions in the fight for democracy in the United States.

June 9, 1964: Bloody Tuesday

Following months of protests to end segregation, Black residents of Tuscaloosa, Alabama were brutally attacked by police and the Klan inside the First African Baptist Church.

Dec. 26, 1956: Fred Shuttlesworth Leads Protest to Desegregate Birmingham Buses

The Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and others were met with coordinated white supremacist violence when attempting to desegregate Birmingham city buses.

Portraits of Peacemakers: Americans Who Tell the Truth

Book — Non-fiction. By Robert Shetterly. 2024. 128 pages.
Loving, colorful portraits and short biographies of 50 peace activists.

Feb. 2, 1959: The Norfolk 17 Attend Formerly All-White Schools

In Norfolk, where schools had been closed for months rather than desegregate, 17 African American students began attending six previously all-white middle and high schools on February 2, 1959.

Aug. 1, 1944: Racist Wildcat Strike Shuts Down Philadelphia

Not wanting Black coworkers to be given the same positions and pay, a contingent of Philadelphia Transit Company (PTC) workers staged a wildcat strike and withheld their labor.

Jan. 15, 1979: Supreme Court Affirms Voting Rights of College Students

In Symm v. United States — the only case that addresses the 26th Amendment — the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to prevent college students from voting where they attended school.

July 11, 1954: First White Citizens’ Council Formed

White residents of Indianola, Mississippi, formed the first White Citizens’ Council to organize and carry out massive resistance to racial integration of public schools.

Nov. 30, 1999: Protesters Shut Down WTO Conference in Seattle

A coalition of environmental activists, anti-capitalists, and union leaders took to the streets of Seattle to bring the World Trade Organization conference to a halt.

Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul

Book — Non-fiction. By Aran Shetterly. 2024. 480 pages.
Drawing from survivor interviews, court documents, and FBI files, this book details the “Greensboro Massacre.”

Revolution by Fire: New York’s Afro-Irish Uprising of 1741, a Graphic Novel

Book — Historical fiction. By Marcus Rediker and David Lester, with Paul Buhle. 2024. 176 pages.
This book imagines outlaw fugitive John Gwin and an eclectic crew of renegades as they attempt to disrupt and overthrow the colonial social order.

March 8, 1741: New York Conspiracy

A purported conspiracy of the enslaved in New York City led to multiple fires and arsons followed by mass jailings, trials, and eventual executions of many involved.

June 8, 1966: Beltway March to Protest Segregated Housing

On June 8, 1966, protesters with the Action Coordinating Committee to End Segregation in the…

Nov. 28, 1973: Auto Workers Strike for Palestine

In solidarity with the Palestinian people, Detroit auto workers led a one-day strike protesting the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) support of Israel.

Black Power and Palestine: Transnational Countries of Color

Book — Non-fiction. By Michael R. Fischbach. 2018. 296 pages.
Explores the connections between organizers of the Black Freedom Struggle and those struggling for Palestinian autonomy.

April 11, 1993: Lucasville Uprising

In one of the longest prison uprisings in U.S. history, incarcerated men at Ohio’s Lucasville prison launched an uprising that last for 11 days.

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