May 15, 2005: Howard Zinn Gave Commencement Address at Spelman
Howard Zinn gave the commencement address at Spelman University, at the invitation of President Beverly Daniel Tatum.
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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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May 15, 1970: Jackson State Killings
College student Phillip Lafayette Gibbs (21) and high school student James Earl Green (17) were killed by the police during an anti-war protest at Jackson State College.
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May 15, 1956: Elloree 21 Refuse to Sign Anti-NAACP Teacher Oath
Twenty-one teachers at the Elloree Training School were fired when they refused to sign an oath denying membership in the NAACP.
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May 14, 2022: Buffalo Massacre
After posting a racist manifesto online before targeting a majority-Black neighborhood, a white supremacist killed ten people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
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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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May 14, 1913: Longshore Strike in Philadelphia
More than four thousand Philadelphia longshoremen, organized by African American IWW leader Ben Fletcher, went on strike and shut down one of the busiest ports in the United States.
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May 13, 2011: Scholastic Inc. Withdraws Coal Pamphlet
Amid overwhelming criticism that Scholastic Inc. was lying to students about the benefits of coal use, the education publisher cut ties with the coal industry.
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May 13, 1985: Philadelphia Police Bomb MOVE
The Philadelphia Police Department dropped a C-4 bomb on the home of the MOVE organization, killing eleven people (including five children) and wiping out half a city block.
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May 13, 1846: U.S. Congress Approves Declaration of War Against Mexico
The U.S. Congress overwhelmingly voted in favor of President James K. Polk’s request to declare war on Mexico.
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Mother’s Day: A Campaign for Peace with Justice
Mother’s Day began as a call to action for healthcare and against war. Activism continues today with #FreeBlackMamas and more.
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May 12, 1968: The Poor People’s Campaign Began
The Poor People’s Campaign was a multiracial effort to gain economic justice for poor people.
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May 12, 1869: Detroit Educator Fannie Richards Helps to Desegregate Michigan Schools
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of school desegregation in the case of Joseph Workman v. the Detroit Board of Education, almost 90 years before the United States’ landmark Brown v. Board of Education.
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May 11, 1973: Pentagon Papers Charges Dismissed
Judge Byrne dismissed all charges against Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo in the Pentagon Papers trial.
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May 10, 1967: Army Captain Howard Levy Refuses to Train Green Berets During Vietnam War
Army Captain Howard Levy was imprisoned for three years for refusing to train U.S. Special Forces soldiers during the Vietnam War.
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May 10, 1919: Charleston White Mob Riot
White sailors ignited violent rioting in Charleston, South Carolina during the Red Summer of 1919. African Americans fought back, in self-defense.
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May 10, 1886: Lee Yick Wins Equal Protection Under the Law Case
Lee Yick won a Supreme Court case that said that all people — citizens and non-citizens alike — had equal protection under the law.
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May 10, 1740: The South Carolina Negro Act is Passed
Passed in response to the Stono Rebellion, this law made it illegal to teach enslaved people to read or write, aiming to prevent further insurrections.
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May 9, 1968: Ocean Hill-Brownsville Teachers’ Strike of 1968
Teachers went on strike for seven months, against community control, after Black and Puerto Rican parents organized for better schools for their children in New York City.
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May 9, 1933: Helen Keller Writes to German Students
Helen Keller wrote a letter to the students who planned on burning all books deemed “un-German.”
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