Aug. 9, 2014: Michael Brown Killed by Police
Michael Brown was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
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This Day in People's History
Welcome to the This Day in People's History (#tdih) series. Search people’s history events by date, theme, state, or keyword.
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Aug. 9, 1970: The Mangrove Nine Arrested in London
Nine Black activists were arrested in London, England and charged with inciting a riot when they led over 150 protestors in a march against police harassment.
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Aug. 8, 1964: Freedom Schools Convention
The Freedom Schools Convention was held in Meridian, Mississippi
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Aug. 7, 1964: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed without a single dissent in the House of Representatives, and only two no votes in the Senate, leading to increased U.S. aggression in Vietnam.
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Aug. 7, 1906: Barbara Pope Refuses to Change Seats on Train
High school teacher, fiction author, and civil rights activist Barbara Pope refused to sit in the ‘colored’ compartment of a train heading from Washington, D.C. to Virginia.
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Aug. 6, 1964: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Convention
The MFDP held a State Convention with 2,500 people in Jackson, Mississippi.
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Aug. 6, 1945: The U.S. Dropped an Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
The United States dropped an atomic bomb for the first time in war over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
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Aug. 6, 1855: Bloody Monday
On election day, in Louisville, Kentucky, Protestant mobs attacked German and Irish Catholic neighborhoods.
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Aug. 5, 2012: The Sikh Temple of Wisconsin Massacre
A white supremacist shot and killed six members of the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
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Aug. 5, 1896: Polk County Massacre
White workers murdered Black workers in Arkansas who were coming to work on the railways.
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Aug. 4, 1964: Civil Rights Workers Bodies Found
The bodies of three lynched civil rights workers (James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman) were found in Neshoba County, Mississippi.
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Aug. 3, 1981: Air Traffic Controllers Strike
The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) declared a strike.
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Aug. 3, 1980: Reagan Gives “State’s Rights” Speech at Neshoba County Fair
Reagan appealed to the “George Wallace-inclined voters” and to white supremacy in his stump speech at the Neshoba County Fair, mere miles away from where three civil rights workers were murdered by the Klan in 1964.
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Aug. 3, 1946: J. C. Farmer Killed
J. C. Farmer, a 19-year-old African American WWII veteran, was killed by a mob of 20 white men.
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Aug. 3, 1885: Florida Constitution Adopted
The Florida Constitution of 1885 mandated separate and unequal educational systems for Black and white students, reinforcing racial segregation.
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Aug. 2, 1869: First “Redeemer” Government Established in Tennessee
The first “Redeemer” government is established in Tennessee after conservatives gain control of the state’s General Assembly, ushering in an era of Jim Crow segregation laws.
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Aug. 1, 1952: Sarah Keys Refuses to Give Up Her Seat on a Bus
Sarah Keys refused to give up her seat on a state-to-state charter bus, prompting the landmark court case, Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company.
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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.
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