Zinn Education Project

March 9, 1892: The People’s Grocery Lynchings

A white mob seized three African American business men in Memphis, Tennessee and lynched them without trial.

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.

March 8, 1975: International Women’s Day

In 1975, the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8.

March 8, 1971: FBI’s COINTELPRO Exposed

A cab driver, a day care provider, and two professors broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, and stole more than 1,000 classified documents.

March 8, 1971: Griggs v. Duke Power Co. Court Ruling

In 1966, 14 Black employees filed a complaint with the EEOC claiming that they were discriminated against in hiring and promotion at a power plant in North Carolina. Five years later, the Supreme Court delivered its landmark unanimous ruling prohibiting discriminatory practices by employers.

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.

March 7, 1965: Bloody Sunday

To protest the police murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson and for voting rights, more than 600 people began a peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery.

A sign for the Audubon Library Summer Reading Program at the library's St. Helena Parish branch beckons residents in Greensburg.

March 7, 1964: St. Helena Four Stage Sit-In at Louisiana Library

Four Black teenagers tried to enter the whites-only St. Helena branch of the Audubon Regional Library in Greensburg, Louisiana. Instead, the library closed. Undeterred, the St. Helena Four continued to try to desegregate the local library and other segregated facilities.

workers protesting against Ford Motor Co.

March 7, 1932: Hunger March Against Ford Motors

A hunger march by unemployed workers against Ford Motors.

March 6, 2023: Tampa 5 Arrested During DeSantis Protest

Four students and a staffer at the University of South Florida faced felony charges following a rally protesting Florida governor DeSantis’ continued restrictions on and defunding of education in the state.

March 6, 1857: Dred (and Harriet) Scott Decision

The Supreme Court declared in horrific Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling that “Any person descended from Africans, whether slave or free, is not a citizen of U.S.”

March 5, 1868: Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson Begins

The impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson began in the Senate.

March 5, 1770: Crispus Attucks Killed

Crispus Attucks was the first person shot to death by the British during the Boston Massacre.

Frannces Perkins | Zinn Education Project

March 4, 1933: Frances Perkins First Woman to Serve in U.S. Cabinet

Frances Perkins became Secretary of Labor, and the first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet.

Hayes Takes Office in 1877 | Zinn Education Project

March 4, 1877: Hayes Takes Office in 1877 Compromise

Rutherford Hayes became the 19th President of the United States with a devastating impact on Reconstruction.

March 3, 1873: Comstock Act Enacted

This Reconstructon era anti-obscenity law made it a federal crime to disseminate birth control across state lines or through the mail.

Freedmen's Bureau | Zinn Education Project

March 3, 1865: Freedmen’s Bureau Established

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was established within the War Department to undertake the relief effort and social reconstruction after the Civil War.

March 3, 1807: Thomas Jefferson Signs Insurrection Act Into Law

President Thomas Jefferson put his signature on the law known as the Insurrection Act.

Claudette Colvin (photo) | Zinn Education Project

March 2, 1955: Claudette Colvin Refuses to Give Up Her Bus Seat

At age 15, Claudette Colvin refused to give up her bus seat to a white woman in Montgomery, Alabama.

Campaign poster for Victor Berger (1860-1929), U.S. Senatorial campaign.

March 2, 1912: HR 409 Hearings on Lawrence Strike

Milwaukee representative Victor Berger introduced House Resolution 409 to conduct hearings into the Lawrence strike and the workings of the American Woolen Company.

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