Page 2 – Zinn Education Project

Aug. 31, 1921: Battle of Blair Mountain

The Battle of Blair Mountain was the climax of two mine wars fought in the West Virginia coalfields.

Aug. 28, 1964: Columbia Avenue Uprising in Philadelphia

The Columbia Avenue Riot began in the predominantly African American neighborhoods of North Philadelphia after an altercation with the police and continued for three days.

Jobs and Justice March | Zinn Education Project

Aug. 28, 1963: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Hundreds of thousands of civil rights activists marched on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Aug. 25, 1925: Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was launched in New York.

Aug. 15 and 17, 1973: Two Striking United Farm Workers Killed

Two striking United Farm Workers (UFW) were killed on Aug. 15 and 17, 1973, while picketing.

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.

Newspaper account of African Americans killed and wounded during labor strife in Polk County, from the New York Times; August 10, 1896.

Aug. 5, 1896: Polk County Massacre

White workers murdered Black workers in Arkansas who were coming to work on the railways.

Aug. 3, 1981: Air Traffic Controllers Strike

The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) declared a strike.

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.

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.

July 28, 1932: Bonus Army Attacked

The U.S. government attacked an encampment of Black and white WWI veterans with tanks, bayonets, and tear gas.

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 19, 1881: Atlanta Washerwomen’s Strike

Black women in Atlanta who washed clothes for a living organized an effective Reconstruction era strike — with clear demands, strategic timing, and door-to-door canvassing.

Newsboys Strike | Zinn Education Project

July 18, 1899: Newsboys Strike in New York

The Newsboys Strike of 1899 began in New York City.

July 12, 1917: The Bisbee Deportation

The Bisbee Deportation was the illegal deportation of more than 1,000 striking mine workers (IWW-led strike), their supporters, and citizen bystanders by 2,000 vigilantes.

July 11, 1947: Anguilla Prison Massacre

A camp warden and guards shot dead seven prisoners being held at the Anguilla Prison in Georgia. The Anguilla Prison Massacre Quilt Project tells that story, drawing on records from the NAACP.