Zinn Education Project

Dec. 1961: Christmas Shopping Boycott

Aaron Henry (Mississippi state NAACP president, pharmacist, drugstore owner) and the Coahoma County NAACP organized an effective Christmas shopping boycott in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Dec. 24, 1913: Calumet Italian Hall Disaster

The Italian Hall disaster killed 73 people, 59 of them children, from families of striking copper miners.

Line drawing of Ku Klux Klan members who were captured with their disguises and hoods. January 6, 1872.

Dec. 24, 1865: Ku Klux Klan Founded

The Ku Klux Klan was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee.

Dec. 24, 1829: Georgia Bans Insurrectionary Literature

Enacted in response to David Walker’s Appeal, this law criminalized the distribution of materials that could incite rebellion to slavery, reflecting fears of literacy empowering resistance.

Dec. 23, 1944: The Case of Eddie Slovik

General Dwight Eisenhower endorsed the finding of a court-martial in the case of Eddie Slovik, who deserted from the U.S. Army during World War II.

Dec. 23, 1815: Henry Highland Garnet Born

Henry Highland Garnet, abolitionist and minister, called for a militant slave revolt.

Dec. 22, 1997: Acteal Massacre

Adults and children, members of the organization Las Abejas (The Bees), were massacred while praying in a church in Chiapas, Mexico.

Dec. 22, 1969: Radio Free Alcatraz

Radio Free Alcatraz broadcasts for the first time.

Dec. 1850: Harriet Tubman Engineered First Rescue Mission

Abolitionist and suffragist Harriet Tubman, perhaps the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, engineered her first rescue mission in December 1850.

Dec. 20, 1990: Dr. Yolanda Huet-Vaughn Refused Service in First Gulf War

Kansas reservist Dr. Yolanda Huet-Vaughn refused orders to serve in the first Gulf War (Desert Storm).

Operation Just Cause | Zinn Education Project

Dec. 20, 1989: Invasion of Panama

The United States invaded Panama in “Operation Just Cause.”

Montgomery Boycott Ends | Zinn Education Project

Dec. 20, 1956: Montgomery Bus Boycott Prevails

After a 381-day boycott, a federal ruling declared the Alabama laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional.

Dec. 19, 2008: Tim DeChristopher Protests Bureau of Land Management

Tim DeChristopher of Peaceful Uprising protested a Bureau of Land Management auction of public land in Utah’s redrock country.

Hanoi's Hospital | Zinn Education Project

Dec. 18, 1972: Christmas Bombing of Vietnam

Richard Nixon initiated a massive “carpet bombing” campaign in Northern Vietnam, mainly targeting Hanoi.

Dec. 18, 1944: U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Fred Korematsu; Declares Denial of Civil Liberties Legal

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Korematsu v. United States that the denial of civil liberties based on race and national origin was legal.

Thirteenth Amendment | Zinn Education Project

Dec. 18, 1865: Ratification of 13th Amendment

Secretary of State William H. Seward declared the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution to have been adopted.

Dec. 17, 1951: “We Charge Genocide” Petition Submitted to United Nations

Paul Robeson and William Patterson submitted a petition from the Civil Rights Congress (CRC) to the United Nations, signed by almost 100 U.S. intellectuals and activists.

Dec. 16, 1965: Students Suspended for Anti-War Armbands

A group of students wore black armbands to school to protest the war in Vietnam. The school board got wind of the protest and passed a preemptive ban.