July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

NYC draft riots

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

July 13 to July 16, 1863: The New York City draft riots were violent disturbances that arose from the culmination of working-class discontent with new laws passed by Congress that year to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War.

President Abraham Lincoln diverted several regiments of militia and volunteer troops from following up after the Battle of Gettysburg to control the city. The rioters were overwhelmingly working-class men, primarily ethnic Irish, resenting particularly that wealthier men, who could afford to pay a $300 commutation fee to hire a substitute, were spared the draft.

Initially intended to express anger at the draft, the protests turned into an ugly race riot, with the white rioters attacking blacks wherever they could be found. At least 100 black people were estimated to have been killed.  [Black Past article] (next BH, see  April 12, 1864

Leonidas Dyer

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

July 13, 1923: US House representative Leonidas Dyer of St Louis stated that he was not surprised at the acquittal of a George Barkwell at Columbia, Missouri on the charge of murder in connection with the lynching of James Scott, a Black. Dyer referred to statistics which, he said, showed that 3,824 lynchings had been recorded during the last thirty-five years and that in all those cases there had scarcely been a conviction. [H of R bio] (next BH & Lynching,  see Aug 24;  see AL3 for expanded chronology of early 20th century lynching)

North Platte Mob

July 13, 1929: a mob of white residents drove out more than 200 Black residents from North Platte, Nebraska . The mob targeted the entire Black community with violence after a Black man was accused of killing a local white police officer.

The day before, two white police officers responded to a domestic violence call at the North Platte home of a Black man named Louis “Slim” Seeman. When Mr. Seeman allegedly shot and killed one of the officers, a mob of white men and police descended on his home and trapped him inside of a chicken coop on the property. The mob then doused the coop with gasoline and set it ablaze with Mr. Seeman inside; when his body was pulled from the wreckage, it was clear he had died from a gunshot wound—either by his own hand or fired by a member of the mob.

Even after Mr. Seeman had been killed, the large gathering of white men remained enraged at the bold violation of racial hierarchy represented by a Black man taking the life of a white man. Determined to punish the entire Black community, 500 angry white citizens wielding sticks and ropes demanded that all local Black people leave the city. Facing the threat of deadly violence, and terrified after seeing Mr. Seeman’s fate, North Platte’s 200 Black residents departed that night by foot, train, and automobile, leaving behind most of their possessions.

A county sheriff later commented, “It was the understanding when they left that they were to stay away. The idea is to keep them out.” [EJI article]  (next BH, see May 29, 1930)

Henry Dee

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

July 13, 1964: the disarticulated lower torso of Henry Dee was found in the river in the same area as Moore the day before.(next  BH, see July 16;  see Workers for expanded story; see Moore/Dee for expanded story)

Trayvon Martin Shooting

July 13, 2013:  the jury found George Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder. He was also acquitted of manslaughter, a lesser charge. (BH, see July 18; Trayvon, see July 19)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Religion and Public Education

July 13, 1935: in an effort to have the Butler law declared unconstitutional, defense attorney Clarence Darrow delivered a long, fiery speech arguing that the law violates freedom of religion. Darrow argues that “we find today as brazen and as bold an attempt to destroy learning as was ever made in the Middle Ages.” (see Scopes for expanded story)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

John F. Kennedy

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

July 13, 1960: Democrats nominated John F. Kennedy for President at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. [Politico article]

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Feminism

July 13 Peace Love Activism

July 13 – 16, 1964: at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine became the first woman whose to be nominated, but Barry Goldwater was eventual nominee. During his acceptance speech, Goldwater  stated that, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.” [Maine History Online article] (see February 26, 1965)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Road to Bethel and the Woodstock festival

July 13, 1969: Ulster County assemblyman Clark Bell, a Republican from Woodstock, released a statement to the press about a letter he’d just sent to Governor Rockefeller requesting the appointment of a coordinator to oversee the festival. He also recommended that the National Guard be alerted. (see Chronology for expanded story)

see Live Aid for more

July 13, 1985 – Live Aid concerts in Philadelphia and London held for famine relief in Ethiopia. (see May 26, 1986)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

July 13, 1967: at a press conference that included General Westmorland, President Johnson said that “We are generally pleased with the progress we have made militarily. We are very sure that we are on the right track.” Westmorland added, “The statement that we ar ein a stalemate is complee fiction. It is completely unrealistic. During the past year tremendous progress has been made.” [expanded text] (see July 27)

Irish Troubles

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

July 13, 1981:  Martin Hurson (29) died after 46 days on hunger strike. (see Troubles for expanded story)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

AIDS

July 13, 1984: the CDC stated that avoiding injection drug use and reducing needle-sharing “should also be effective in preventing transmission of the virus.” [CDC article] (see Dec 17)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Cold war

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

July 13, 1997, the remains of Che Guevara were returned to Cuba for burial, alongside some of his comrades. [AP archive article on Che] (see Oct 17)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Sexual Abuse of Children

Dallas diocese

July 13, 1998: Dallas diocese forced to pay more than $31m to victims of Rudolph Kos.

John Geoghan

In 1999,  former Massachusetts priest John Geoghan was indicted on child rape charges and Bishop J. Keith Symons of Palm Beach, Fla., became the first U.S. bishop to resign after admitting molestation. That scandal was greatly compounded in 2002 when Bishop Anthony O’Connell, the successor Rome appointed to clean house, resigned for the identical reason. (see January 8, 2002)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

CLINTON IMPEACHMENT

July 13, 2000: Charles Bakaly, the former spokesman for then Independent Counsel Ken Starr, went to trial on charges that he misled a judge about news leaks during the Monica Lewinsky investigation. (see Clinton for expanded story)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Hurricane Katrina

July 13, 2010: Katrina shootings and cover-up:: a federal grand jury indicted Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Robert Faulcon, and Anthony Villavaso in connection with the shooting and subsequent cover-up. Additionally, Arthur “Archie” Kaufman (lead investigator on the case) and Gerard Dugue (another investigator) were charged with falsifying reports and false prosecution in the conspiracy to cover-up the shooting. (see August 5, 2011)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Occupy Wall Street

July 13, 2011: Adbusters, a pro-consumer magazine, proposed a peaceful demonstration on Wall Street. (see Aug 23)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

Fair Housing

July 13, 2015: the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued new guidance on rules to ensure that gay people were protected from discrimination in federally subsidized housing, particularly in programs designed for older Americans.

HUD’s announcement is a strong step toward ending discrimination against LGBTQ people in federally supported senior housing,” Michael Adams, executive director of Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders (SAGE), said in a written statement. “With a recent report showing that housing discrimination against LGBTQ elders is rampant, this is just the kind of leadership we need from the federal government. Now we need to make sure that these anti discrimination protections are effectively implemented.”  [PDF of announcement] (FH, see Aug 19)

Kentucky

July 13, 2015: U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning heard arguments about Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who refused to issue marriage licenses after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

Davis was one of a handful of local officials across the country who had refused to comply with the court’s order. Davis and others said it violated their religious beliefs.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued Davis on behalf of two gay couples and two straight couples who were denied licenses. Davis told the Louisville Courier-Journal said that her “deep religious convictions” prevent her from complying with the Supreme Court’s decision, and so she has decided to issue no more marriage licenses to any couple — gay or straight. [CBS News article] (see July 16)

Philadelphia

July 13, 2018: US District Judge Petrese B. Tucker ruled against Catholic Social Services (CSS), which had sued the city of Philadelphia over its purported right to refuse service to same-sex couples. The judge found that the agency had no inherent right to a government contract, particularly given it was operating in violation of the contract it had. The suit arose after Philadelphia had announced in May that it was suspending foster care placements at both CSS and another agency, Bethany Christian Services, after the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that both agencies refused to place children with same-sex couples in violation of the city’s Fair Practices Ordinance. Bethany ultimately agreed to comply with the nondiscrimination law, but CSS sued, arguing that it should be allowed to continue providing services while discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation in accordance with its religious beliefs.

Episcopal General Convention

July 13, 2018: a resolution passed during the Episcopal General Convention making it possible for same-sex couples to marry in their desired place of worship. Support for the change in the church was overwhelming. Before its passage, local authority had jurisdiction over whether or not to perform a same-sex marriage. With the resolution, if a bishop objects to performing the marriage ceremony, they can tap another person to take over. (see Aug 27)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Immigration History

July 13, 2018: U.S. District Court Judge Victor A. Bolden ruled that the Trump administration’s forced separation of two immigrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border was unconstitutional.

Bolden ordered the federal government to produce the parents in court in Connecticut next week. The children, who were the focus of a federal lawsuit filed on their behalf that led to the ruling, were staying in a group home in the Noank section of Groton.

“The court agrees that the government violated [the children’s] constitutional rights by forcibly removing them from their parents without due process of law,’’ Bolden wrote. “The government failed to provide the children with notice or a hearing, instead taking their parents, while distracting the children.” (see July 16)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Native Americans

July 13, 2020: less than two weeks after one of his most prominent corporate sponsors urged him to change the name of his football team, Washington owner Daniel Snyder announced pland to retire the “Redskins” nickname and reveal a new team name.

The new name remained unknown, but Warriors, Red Wolves and Redtails have ranked among the post popular choices among fans on social media.

Snyder has long ignored requests of Native American tribes and other organizations to change the name because some deem the term offensive, citing the fact that the dictionary classifies it as a racial slur. [ESPN story] (next NA, see Aug 20)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Healthcare

July 13, 2020: the NY Times reported that the coronavirus pandemic had stripped an estimated 5.4 million American workers of their health insurance between February and May, a stretch in which more adults became uninsured because of job losses than have ever lost coverage in a single year, according to a new analysis.

The study by the nonpartisan consumer advocacy group Families USA, found that the estimated increase in uninsured workers from February to May was nearly 40 percent higher than the highest previous increase, which occurred during the recession of 2008 and 2009, when 3.9 million adults lost insurance.

“We knew these numbers would be big,” said Stan Dorn, who directs the group’s National Center for Coverage Innovation and wrote the study. “This is the worst economic downturn since World War II. It dwarfs the Great Recession. So it’s not surprising that we would also see the worst increase in the uninsured.” (next Healthcare, see January 28, 2021)

July 13 Peace Love Art Activism

Women’s Health

July 13, 2023: the Food and Drug Administration approved a birth control pill to be sold without a prescription for the first time in the United States, a milestone that could significantly expand access to contraception. [NYT article] (next WH, see Aug 4)

US Labor History

July 13, 2023: joining the ongoing strike by the writers guild (see May 2), SAG-AFTRA, the union representing Hollywood actors and performers, voted to go on strike against major studios. Union president Fran Drescher said in a press conference that it was time for studio executives to “wake up and smell the coffee.”

The union’s national board made the decision after negotiations broke down with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. After a last ditch effort, monitored by a federal mediator, the two sides failed to come to an agreement. [NPR article] (next LH, see Sept 15; SAG, see Nov 9)

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

Cincinnati Riot
James Bierney

On July 5, a race riot had began in Cincinnati when African Americans observed an Independence Day celebration. Although this had long been the custom of the blacks, some whites considered it as a demonstration that the blacks wanted full integration. Noted abolitionist James Birney attended the event, which helped stir up passions.

On 12 July 1836, about forty men broke into the building housing Birney’s press, and destroyed it. The men were described as “respectable and wealthy gentlemen”. They shredded newspapers, broke the press in pieces, and dragged the damaged parts through the streets. Birney lost an estimated $1,500 in damage. He agreed to continue producing the paper only when his property was guaranteed to the value of $2,000 by the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society

Following the press smashing, placards appeared saying “The Citizens of Cincinnati … satisfied that the business of the place is receiving a vital stab from the wicked and misguided operations of the abolitionists, are resolved to arrest their course. The destruction of their Press on the night of the 12th instant, may be taken as a warning”. (next BH, see In October) 

John Henry James lynched

July 12, 1898: a Black man named John Henry James was lynched near Charlottesville, Virginia after being falsely accused of assaulting a white woman. Although at least 150 unmasked white men were involved in the lynching – and the police chief and county sheriff were present when Mr. James was lynched – no one was ever held accountable for his killing. Mr. James’s lynching was later celebrated by several hundred more white people who gathered to see his body as it was left hanging for hours. (nex BH, see “In September” ; next Lynching, see Aug 10 or see Lynching for expanded chronology)

Marcus Garvey

July 12, 1919: the Bureau of Investigation (the predecessor to the FBI) requested that its New York office forward all information on Garvey to headquarters in Washington, and instructed its Chicago division to monitor Garvey and other black radicals. (BH, see July 19; MG, see Garvey for expanded story)

Albany Movement

July 12, 1962: Martin Luther King, Jr’s and Ralph Abernathy’s fines were anonymously paid and the two men were reluctantly freed. Years later it was revealed that the fines were paid by Albany Mayor Asa Kelley as a ploy to divide the movement and diffuse media attention on King’s imprisonment. (see Albany for expanded story)

Dee/Moore Murders

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

July 12, 1964: while looking for the bodies of  the three missing civil rights workers [Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney] searchers discover the disarticulated lower torso of Charles Moore in the river south of Tallulah, Louisiana. Moore’s body was identified by the draft card he had in his possession at the time of his death.  (see Dee/Moore for expanded story; see Murders for expanded story)

George Whitmore, Jr

July 12, 1966: Justice Hyman Barshay set bail at $5,000 for George Whitmore, Jr. pending appeal of his conviction in the Elba Borrero case. (see Whitmore for expanded story)

Newark, NJ

July 12 > 18, 1967: Newark, NJ race riot. The six days of rioting, looting, and destruction left 26 dead and hundreds injured. (see July 14)

Barbara Jordan

July 12, 1976: at the Democratic National Convention, Barbara Jordan, the first woman elected to congress from the deep south, became the first woman and first African American to deliver the keynote address, making her “Who Then Will Speak for the Common Good?” speech in New York, New York.

“Now I began this speech by commenting to you on the uniqueness of a Barbara Jordan making a keynote address. Well I am going to close my speech by quoting a Republican President and I ask you that as you listen to these words of Abraham Lincoln, relate them to the concept of a national community in which every last one of us participates:  “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master.” This — This — “This expresses my idea of Democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no Democracy.” (text of entire speech(BH, see Sept 7; Feminism, see Oct 15)

Trayvon Martin Shooting

July 12, 2013:  the trial closed and went to the jury. (see July 13)

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

Native Americans

Stand Watie

July 12, 1861: Albert Pike, the Confederacy’s special commissioner, completed treaties with the members of the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes, giving the new Confederate States of America several allies in Indian Territory. By signing these treaties, the tribes severed their relationships with the federal government, much in the way the southern states did by seceding from the Union. They were accepted into the Confederates States of America, and they sent representatives to the Confederate Congress. The Confederate government promised to protect the Native American’s land holdings and to fulfill the obligations such as annuity payments made by the federal government.

One Cherokee, Stand Watie, rose to the rank of brigadier general.  [American Battlefield site article] (Waite, see, June 23, 1865; NA, see August 4, 1862)

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

Cultural Milestone

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

July 12, 1960: the Etch A Sketch toy went on sale, using electrostatic charge and aluminum powder. [toy’s site] (see April 19, 1961)

 July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

July 12 Music et al

Jimmie Nicol

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

July 12, 1964: The Beatles landed in Adelaide, Australia, minus Ringo. Ringo had been in the hospital and a friend of theirs, Jimmie Nicol took his place playing drums.

Over 250,000 people were on the road the band took from the airport to their hotel. It was a 10 mile trip and it was the biggest “welcome” the Beatles ever received.

For Jimmie Nicol, it had to be the trip of a lifetime. But it didn’t last. When Ringo returned, The Beatles threw a party that lasted till 4 am. Jimmie was not invited. In the morning, Brian Epstein drove him to the airport and gave the drummer 500 pounds and a gold watch. He didn’t say goodbye to The Beatles as they were all sleeping when he left. (see July 20)

see 1969 Forest Hills Music Festival for more

Beginning on July 12 and running on Saturdays during July and August, the 1969 Forest Hills Music Festival (Queens, NYC) featured a variety of performers including Janis Joplin, Richie Havens, Blood, Sweat and Tears,  and Johnny Winter.

Zager and Evans

July 12 – August 22, 1969: “In the Year 2525” by Zager and Evans #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

Cold War

July 12, 1974: the National Research Act, signed into law on this day, created the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Revelations about the abuse of human research subjects, including the notorious Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment (exposed by The New York Times on July 26, 1972), led to a movement to provide formal procedures to ensure that people were not subject to research that might endanger them in some way without their informed consent. The Commission led to the Belmont Report (see September 30, 1978) which recommended steps necessary to ensure informed consent. These efforts led to the creation of Institutional Review Board (IRB) at universities and other research institutions to ensure the protection of human subjects. [Centers for Disease Control article] (see February 20, 1976)

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

INDEPENDENCE DAY

July 12, 1975: São Tomé and Principe independent of Portugal. (see Sept 16)

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

July 12, 1979:  Disco Demolition Night took place at Comiskey Park in Chicago. A crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field. During the climax of the event, rowdy fans surged onto the field, and a near riot ensued. The event has been characterized as “a mass exercise in racism and homophobia, reminiscent of Nazi book-burnings.” [NPR article] (see October 14, 1979)

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

UK riots

July 12, 1981: the “Bradford 12” — a group of Asian youths, members of the “United Black Youth League” —  arrested for manufacturing petrol bombs, allegedly to protect their community from a threatened attack. At the subsequent trial, they were acquitted by a jury, on the grounds of self defense. [Bradford 12 site article] (see July 29)

Feminism

July 12, 2005: Roderick Jackson, a high school basketball coach, claimed he was fired for complaining that the girls’ basketball team he coached was denied equal treatment by the school. Jackson sued the Birmingham Board of Education in federal court, claiming his firing violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. In Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruleD that Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, also inherently prohibits disciplining someone for complaining about sex-based discrimination. It further held that this is the case even when the person complaining is not among those being discriminated against. [Oyez article] (see June 18, 2005)

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

Immigration History

Luis Ramirez

July 12, 2008: a group of high school football players beat Luis Ramirez in Shenandoah, Pa. He died shortly after from head injuries. (see Ramirez for expanded story)

Trump’s Wall

July 12, 2017: Trump added a new component to the wall: it had to be see-through. And, for the first time, he proposed a “steel wall with openings.”

“One of the things with the wall is you need transparency. You have to be able to see through it,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “So it could be a steel wall with openings, but you have to have openings because you have to see what’s on the other side of the wall.

“When they throw the large sacks of drugs over, and if you have people on the other side of the wall, you don’t see them – they hit you on the head with 60 pounds of stuff? It’s over.”  (IH, see July 14; TW, see January 11, 2018)

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

Terry Jones

July 12, 2010: Florida pastor Terry Jones tweeted: “9/11/2010 Int Burn a Koran Day.” He then started an associated “International Burn a Koran Day” Facebook group. (see July 14)

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

Voting Rights

Felon disenfranchisement laws prohibit otherwise eligible citizens from voting because they have been convicted of a felony. Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia disenfranchise people while they are in prison, on probation, or on parole, and eleven states continue to disenfranchise people even after they have completed their sentences.

On July 12, 2012, The Sentencing Project reported that felon disenfranchisement laws significantly restrict participation in the democratic process and, exacerbated by racial disparities in the criminal justice system, significantly reduce the voting power of communities of color. As of December 31, 2010, an estimated 5.85 million Americans were ineligible to vote because of state laws disenfranchising felons. Only about 25 percent of that population was incarcerated in jail or prison; the remaining 75 percent had returned home having successfully completed their sentences or were supervised in their communities by probation or parole. As a result of felon disenfranchisement laws, more than four million Americans live, work, and pay taxes while unable to vote.

Disenfranchisement laws disproportionately restrict communities of color from participating in the political process. One out of every thirteen African Americans of voting age is disenfranchised – more than four times the rate for non-African Americans. In Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia, more than 20 percent of the voting-age African American population is barred from voting. Nationwide, nearly one million African Americans remain disenfranchised despite having served their sentences and returned to their communities.

Despite these staggering numbers, felon disenfranchisement has remained almost immune to judicial challenge because courts have ruled that section two of the Fourteenth Amendment, which permits abridging the right to vote “for participation in rebellion or other crime,” explicitly authorizes barring people with felony convictions from voting. (see June 17, 2013)

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

Cold War/Cuba

July 12, 2021 as the largest protest movement in decades swept Cuba, President Biden  called on the Cuban government to heed the demands of thousands of citizens who took to the streets on Sunday 11 July to protest power outages, food shortages and a worrying lack of medicine.

“We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. “The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves.”

His comments followed a day of astonishing demonstrations in Cuba. In a country known for quashing dissent, remarkable scenes emerged around the nation on Sunday, with thousands of Cubans taking to the streets in a surge of protests not seen in nearly 30 years.

Shouting phrases like “freedom” and “the people are dying of hunger,” protesters overturned a police car in Cardenas, 90 miles east of Havana. Another video showed people looting from a government-run store — acts of open defiance in a nation with a long and effective history of repressive crackdowns on expressions of opposition. [NYT article] (next CW, see )

July 12 Peace Love Art Activism

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

White Citizens Council

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

July 11, 1954: the White Citizens Council, an American white supremacist organization formed. The group was well known for its opposition to racial integration during the 1950s and 1960s, when it retaliated with economic boycotts and other strong intimidation against black activists, including depriving them of jobs. Unlike the Ku Klux Klan, the WCC met openly and was seen as “pursuing the agenda of the Klan with the demeanor of the Rotary Club.” [PBS article](Aug 23)

Mildred and Richard Loving

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

July 11, 1958: early in the morning, while they were still in bed, the county sheriff and two deputies in the small town of Central Point, Virginia awoke Mildred and Richard Loving. The officers demandedof Richard, “Who is this woman you’re sleeping with?” Mildred answered, “I’m his wife.” Their wedding certificate hung on the wall. Mildred was African-American and Richard was white, and they were arrested and convicted of violating the Virginia miscegenation law, barring interracial marriage. They had married in Washington, DC, where interracial marriage was legal, and then moved back to Virginia. [WGBH article] (BH, see July 19; Loving, see January 6, 1959)

To Kill a Mockingbird

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

July 11, 1960: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee published. Though the story takes place during the American Great Depression, it’s theme of racial injustice reflected the times it was published. The book is often listed as one of the greatest novels of all time. [NYT obiturary] (BH, see July 31; Harper Lee, see May 1, 1961)

African National Congress

July 11, 1963: police raided a farm in Rivonia, outside Johannesburg, where the African National Congress had set up its headquarters. They find documents outlining the group’s plan for guerrilla warfare. Using the evidence found on the farm, the government charges Mandela and eight co-defendants with sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government. The ensuing trial, which became known as the Rivonia trial, established Mandela’s central role in the struggle against apartheid. [ANC site] (see April 20, 1964)

137 SHOTS

July 11, 2014: Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John O’Donnell refused to place a gag order on Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty in the case of an indicted Cleveland police officer Patrolman Michael Brelo who is accused of shooting unarmed suspects Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams.

O’Donnell said that Brelo’s attempt at the gag order “falls short of demonstrating a substantial probability that his right to a fair trial will be prejudiced by McGinty’s public statements.” Brelo was accused of two counts of voluntary manslaughter and has pled not guilty to the charges. [Cleveland dot com article]  (see July 14)

Emmett Till

July 11, 2018: AP announced that the U.S. Department of Justice reopened its investigation into the 1955 death of Emmett Till. A report, sent to Congress in March, said it was reopening the probe after receiving “new information” on the slaying. The case had been closed in 2007.  (see Till for his expanded story)

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

July 11 Music et al

Alley Oop

July 11 – 17, 1960: “Alley Oop” by The Hollywood Argyles #1 Billboard Hot 100.

The [bumpy] Road to Bethel

July 11, 1969:  Acting State Supreme Court Justice Edwin M O’Gorman, after hearing remarks from both sides of the dispute, reserved his decision for an injunction against Woodstock Ventures since no festival application had been applied for (based on the new ordinance of July 2) and therefore no permit given. (see Chronology for expanded story)

see Laurel Pop Festival for more

July 11 – 12, 1969: Laurel Pop Festival (Laurel Race Course, Laurel, MD) From the Baltimore Sun: Lost in the smoky haze of 1960s history is The Laurel Pop Festival held in July 1969, which was attended by 15,000 fans and offered an incredible lineup of some of the biggest pop performers of the year. Held just one month before Woodstock, The Laurel Pop Festival ended in controversy as rain-soaked fans built bonfires with wooden folding chairs and refused to leave as the concert dragged on into the early morning.

July 12

  • Jeff Beck
  • Ten Years After
  • Sly and the Family Stone
  • Mothers of Invention
  • Savoy Brown
  • Guess Who

July 11

  • Al Kooper
  • Jethro Tull
  • Johnny Winter
  • Edwin Hawkins Singers
  • Led Zeppelin
  • Buddy Guy

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

Operation Popeye

July 11, 1967: the Operation’s operational area was increased northward to around the area of the 20th parallel and included portions of far western North Vietnam. (V, see July 13; see Popeye for expanded story)

Dr. Benjamin Spock et al

July 11, 1969: the First Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the convictions of Dr. Benjamin Spock, Rev. William Sloan Coffin, Michael Ferber and Mitch Goodman for conspiracy to aid and abet resistance to the draft during the Vietnam War  on legal technicalities by . The decision did not address First Amendment issues, and at the trial the defendants had been unable to raise the issue of war crimes by the U.S. in the Vietnam War. [NYT article] (see July 15)

Diplomatic relations

July 11, 1995: two decades after the fall of Saigon, President Bill Clinton established full diplomatic relations with Vietnam, citing Vietnamese cooperation in accounting for the 2,238 Americans still listed as missing in the Vietnam War. (NYT article) (see November 16, 2000)

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

Native Americans

American Indian Movement

July 11, 1968: Dennis Banks founded the  American Indian Movement (AIM) in Minneapolis to protect the city’s Native community from police abuse and to create job training and housing and education programs. [2017 NYT obit]  (see Dec 18)

Longest Walkers

July 11, 2008: the Longest Walkers (2) arrived in Washington, D.C. and walk down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the Capitol. [NLM article] (see November  15, 2008)

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

Crime and Punishment

July 11, 1985: Dethorne Graham brought a civil action in district court against the City of Charlotte and the five individual police officers present on November 12, 1984. In addition to alleging the infliction of constitutionally excessive force by the officers, Graham charged that the city had failed to train its police officers to respond appropriately to a medical emergency. He also alleged the officers’ conduct amounted to discrimination on the basis of handicap in violation of Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 704. Finally, Graham asserted pendent state claims of assault, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress under North Carolina common law. (C & P and Graham, see September 16 – 17, 1986)

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

Environmental Issues

July 11, 1992: an Alaska appeals court threw out the misdemeanor conviction of Joseph J. Hazelwood of the Exxon Valdez, saying that a Federal statute gave him immunity from prosecution for the worst oil spill in the nation’s history.

The statute, part of the Clean Water Act of 1972, grants immunity to those who report oil spills to the authorities. In the past, it had generally been applied to operators of small vessels that spill oil out at sea that might not be discovered if they did not report it.

But on a 3-to-0 vote, the Alaska Court of Appeals ruled that the provision also applied to the Exxon Valdez skipper, Joseph J. Hazelwood, because he reported his tanker aground 20 minutes after it had hit a reef in Prince William Sound in March 1989. The accident spilled nearly 11 million gallons of oil, causing untold damage to one of the world’s richest marine environments. [NYT article] (see June 13, 1994)

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

Dissolution of Yugoslavia

July 11 – 22, 1995: Bosnian Serbs marched into Srebrenica while UN Dutch peacekeepers leave. More than 8,300 Bosniak men and boys are killed in the Srebrenica massacre. [BBC article] (see Nov 21)

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

Feminism & Malala Yousafzai

July 11, 2013: in a speech at the United Nations on her 16th birthday, Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting education for girls in Pakistan, called on world leaders to provide “free, compulsory education” for every child. “Let us pick up our books and our pens,” Ms. Yousafzai told young leaders from 100 countries at the United Nations Youth Assembly in New York. “They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution.” (see Sept 16)

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

Immigration History & Census

July 11, 2019:  President Trump abandoned his attempt to place a question about citizenship on the 2020 census, and instructed the government to compile citizenship data instead from existing federal records.

Trump announced in the Rose Garden that he was giving up on modifying the census two weeks after the Supreme Court rebuked the Trump administration over its effort to do so. Just last week, Mr. Trump had insisted that his administration “must” pursue that goal.

“We are not backing down on our effort to determine the citizenship status of the United States population,” Mr. Trump said. But rather than carry on the fight over the census, he said he was issuing an executive order instructing federal departments and agencies to provide the Census Bureau with citizenship data from their “vast” databases immediately.

Even that order appears merely to accelerate plans the Census Bureau had announced last year, making it less a new policy than a means of covering Mr. Trump’s retreat from the composition of the 2020 census form. [NYT article] (next IH, see July 15; next Census, see September 5, 2020)

July 11 Peace Love Art Activism

Charles Manson

July 11, 2023: Leslie Van Houten, the former Charles Manson follower who played a role in the gruesome double murder of a Los Angeles couple in the summer of 1969, was released on parole on Tuesday after serving more than half a century in prison, according to her lawyer.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed her release. According to Mary Xjimenez, a department spokeswoman Van Houten would have a “three-year maximum parole term,”.

The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom had said this month that it would not challenge her release. Newsom had reversed Van Houten’s parole grant three times since taking office, most recently in March 2022. [NYT article]