Category Archives: Black history

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

Environmental Issues

June 4, 1892: the Sierra Club was incorporated in San Francisco. [SC site] (see July 1, 1905)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

Afro-American Council

June 4, 1899: the Afro-American Council declared a national day of fasting to protest lynching and violence against African Americans. [Black Past dot org article on A-A C] (next BH & Lynching,  see July 22; see 19th century for expanded lynching chronology)

Savannah Theaters Segregated Again

June 4, 1963: in the spring of 1963 the Lucas Theater, Weis Theater, and Savannah Theater in Savannah, Georgia had announced they would implement a policy of racial integration and on June 3 the theaters for the first time opened their doors to all patrons equally regardless of race.

White community members committed to segregation protested the change by picketing at Savannah City Hall.

On June 4, the three theaters announced that they would be restoring segregation policies that barred Black people from attending film screenings on an equal basis with white customers.

Savannah Mayor Malcolm MacLean condoned the continued racist policies, and issued a statement maintaining that the theaters were “free to do whatever they wanted on the segregation issue.” [EJI article (next BH, see June 9)

Angela Davis

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

June 4, 1972: a jury acquitted Black militant and academic Angela Davis on charges of conspiracy, murder, and kidnapping in San Jose, California. [Black Then dot com article] (see June 22)

Amadou Diallo

June 4, 2000: Bruce Springsteen sings “41 Shots” for the first time live at Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA. (see June 8)

Albany Movement

June 4, 2011: President Barack Obama presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charles Sherrod and his wife Shirley at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Southwest Georgia Project in Albany on June 4, 2011. (BH, see June 26)

Colin Kaepernick

June 4, 2020: a host of players, including some of Drew Brees’s teammates, responded with statements of their own, calling Brees’s comments hurtful and criticizing him for ignorance of or callousness to the struggles of African-Americans.

“Drew Brees, you don’t understand how hurtful, how insensitive your comments are,” Malcolm Jenkins, Brees’s teammate, said in a video posted to Twitter. “I’m disappointed, I’m hurt, because while the world tells you, ‘You are not worthy,’ that your life doesn’t matter, the last place you want to hear it from are the guys you go to war with and that you consider to be your allies and your friends.

“Even though we are teammates, I can’t let this slide.”

Later that day, Brees walked back his position in a post on Instagram, saying his earlier comments were “insensitive and completely missed the mark.” Brees also asked for forgiveness and said that he took full responsibility for his words.

I recognize that I should do less talking and more listening … and when the black community is talking about their pain, we all need to listen,” he wrote.

President Trump, who had praised Bree’s first comment, criticized Bree’s retraction.[NYT article] (next BH & CK, see  June 5)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

US Labor History

June 4, 1912: first state minimum wage law: Massachusetts adopted the first minimum wage law, setting a floor under the pay of women and minors. Other states will pass similar laws beginning the same year. [Think Progress article]  (see January 23, 1913)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

Voting Rights

June 4, 1919: the US Senate passed the Nineteenth Amendment and sent it to the states for ratification. (see February 14, 1920)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

Article 93

June 4, 1920: a House of Representatives Subcommittee of the Committee on Military Affairs approved Revisions to The Articles of War, which criminalized sodomy. Article 93 states: “Various Crimes.–Any person subject to military law who commits manslaughter, mayhem, arson, burglary, housebreaking, robbery, larceny, embezzlement, perjury, forgery, sodomy…shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.” [Imiblio dot org article] (see December 10, 1924)

Oregon

June 4, 2014: the U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt new marriages between same-sex couples in Oregon. The National Organization for Marriage had sought a stay of a lower court’s decision allowing marriages to take place after the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a similar request two weeks ago. [NYT article] (see June 24)

Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd v Colorado

June 4, 2018: in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the US Supreme Court sided with a Colorado baker.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority in the 7-2 decision, relied on narrow grounds, saying a state commission had violated the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom in ruling against the baker, Jack Phillips, who had refused to create a custom wedding cake for a gay couple.

The neutral and respectful consideration to which Phillips was entitled was compromised here,” Justice Kennedy wrote. “The Civil Rights Commission’s treatment of his case has some elements of a clear and impermissible hostility toward the sincere religious beliefs that motivated his objection.”

The Supreme Court’s decision, which turned on the commission’s asserted hostility to religion, strongly reaffirmed protections for gay rights and left open the possibility that other cases raising similar issues could be decided differently. (LGBTQ, see June 16; religious beliefs, see June 25)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

Judicial Milestone

Olmstead v. United States

June 4, 1928: was a decision by the US Supreme Court, in which the Court reviewed whether the use of wiretapped private telephone conversations, obtained by federal agents without judicial approval and subsequently used as evidence, constituted a violation of the defendant’s rights provided by the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that neither the Fourth Amendment nor the Fifth Amendment rights of the defendant were violated. [Oyez article] (JM, see May 23, 1938; Olmsted, see December 18, 1967)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

Cultural Milestone

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

June 4, 1937: Humpty Dumpty supermarket in Oklahoma City introduced the first shopping carts. With the help of a mechanic, Fred Young, store owner Sylvan Goldman designed the shopping cart based on a folding chair. They placed wheels where the bottoms of the chair legs would be and two metal baskets on top of each other where the seat would have been. They could store the carts could by folding them. [priceeconomics article] (see Aug 10)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

FREE SPEECH

Dennis v. United States

June 4, 1951: on October 14, 1949, eleven Communist Party leaders were convicted of advocating the violent overthrow of the US government and for the violation of several points of the Smith Act [June 28, 1940]. The party members who had been petitioning for socialist reforms claimed that the act violated their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and that they served no clear and present danger to the nation.

In a 6 – 2 decision, the US Supreme Court upheld the defendants’ convictions for conspiring to overthrow the U.S. government by force through their participation in the Communist Party were not in violation of the First Amendment. Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. [Oyez article] (trial/Free Speech, see March 10, 1952)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

Vietnam independence

June 4, 1954: French and Vietnamese officials signed treaties in Paris according independence to Vietnam. (see June 8)

Anti-war advertisement

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

June 4, 1966: a  three-page anti-war advertisement appears in the New York Times signed by 64,00 teachers and professors. (see June 20)

Eleanor Sobel

June 4, 1969: the Brookline, Massachusetts School Board suspended junior high school teacher, Eleanor Sobel, because she had written “Was this war worth your brother’s life? Maybe he should have burned his draft card” on an essay of 12-year-old Sheila McNabb whose brother, John, was killed in Vietnam in November, 1967. (Vietnam; see June 5; DCB, see January 2, 1970)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

June 4 Music et al

Beatles sign

June 4, 1962: Brian Epstein and Beatles officially signed a record deal with Parlophone/E.M.I. (see June 6)

Beach Boys

June 4, 1962: Beach Boys released second single,  “Surfin’ Safari.” Peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. (see Oct 29)

see Jimi Hendrix for more

June 4, 1967: the Jimi Hendrix Experience played their last show in England at London’s Saville Theatre before heading off to America. (Brian Epstein ran The Saville). Hendrix, had gotten a copy of Sgt. Pepper prior to the show. There are some who say he bought it and others who say Paul McCartney had given it to him. The Beatles decided to go to the concert. (Beatles, see June 12; Hendrix, see June 18)

Bob Dylan

June 4, 2017: to officially collect the title, Nobel Prize awardees must deliver a lecture within six months of the Academy’s official awards ceremony. On this date,  Dylan submitted a recording of his acceptance speech. [transcript] (next Dylan, see December 7, 2020)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

INDEPENDENCE DAY

June 4, 1970: Tonga no longer a protectorate under the United Kingdom. [Commonwealth article] (see Oct 10)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

Cold War

June 4, 1974: President Richard Nixon abolished the Attorney General’s List of Subversive Organizations, which was a major instrument in the attack on freedom of belief and association during the Cold War. President Harry Truman had ordered the list as part of his federal Loyalty Program on March 21, 1947, and first published on December 4, 1947. During the anti-Communist hysteria of the Cold War, individuals lost their jobs or were denied employment because they belonged to, or once belonged to, an organization on the list.

The list had a devastating influence, inspiring similar lists, including Red Channels, a privately sponsored list published on June 22, 1950, which also became the basis for blacklisting in the radio, television and motion picture industries. The Attorney General’s list also inspired the House Un-American Activities Committee’s “Guide to Subversive Organizations,” first published on May 14, 1951. (see July 12)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

Wallace v. Jaffree

June 4, 1985: the US Supreme Court ruled that an Alabama law authorizing public school teachers to hold a minute of silence for “meditation or voluntary prayer” violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. The Court held that the Alabama statute failed the Lemon Test [28 June 1971] by advancing a religious, rather than a secular, purpose. [Oyez article] (see June 19, 1987)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

Tiananmen Square Massacre

June 4, 1989: Chinese soldiers deployed to end demonstrations. The soldiers shot randomly at them. The official Chinese government figure is 241, but this is almost certainly a drastic under count. Between soldiers, protesters and civilians, it seems likely that anywhere from 800 to 4,000 people were killed. The Chinese Red Cross initially put the toll at 2,600, based on counts from local hospitals, but then quickly retracted that statement under intense government.

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

Jack Kevorkian

June 4, 1990: Kevorkian was present at the death of Janet Adkins, a 54-year-old Portland, Oregon, woman with Alzheimer’s disease. Her death using the “suicide machine” occurs in Kevorkian’s 1968 Volkswagen van in Groveland Oaks Park near Holly, Michigan. (see JK for expanded story)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

Stop and Frisk Policy

June 4, 2012: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed for the decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana in public view. (see June 17)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

Women’s Health

June 4, 2012: The National Center for Health Statistics reported that teen births were at their lowest level in almost 70 years. Birthrates for ages 15-19 in all racial and ethnic groups were lower than ever reported. The new numbers elaborated on federal data released in November (2011) that found the teen birthrate dropped 9% from 2009 to 2010, to a historic low of 34.3 births per 1,000 teens. That was down 44% from 61.8 in 1991. The all-time high was 96.3 during the Baby Boom year of 1957. (see Oct 23)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

Sexual Abuse of Children

June 4, 2016: a year after approving the creation of a new tribunal to discipline bishops who covered up child sex abuse by priests, Pope Francis scrapped that plan on and issued new guidelines to oust those who have been “negligent” in handling such cases.

Under the new guidelines, issued in an apostolic letter, Roman Catholic bishops who have failed to properly handle sex abuse cases will be investigated by four Vatican offices. If the bishops are found to have betrayed their mission, they will be removed “to protect those who are the weakest among the persons entrusted to them.” (see October 6)

June 4 Peace Love Art Activism

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Native Americans

The Treaty of Bosque Redondo

June 1, 1868: the Treaty of Bosque Redondo between the United States and many of the Navajo leaders was concluded at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Some of the provisions included establishing a reservation, restrictions on raiding, a resident Indian Agent and agency, compulsory education for children, the supply of seeds, agricultural implements and other provisions, rights of the Navajos to be protected, establishment of railroads and forts, compensation to tribal members, and arrangements for the return of Navajos to the reservation established by the treaty. The Navajo agreed for ten years to send their children to school and the U.S. government agreed to establish schools with teachers for every thirty Navajo children. The U.S. government also promised for ten years to make annual deliveries of things the Navajos could not make for themselves. [Bosque Redondo memorial article] (see June 18)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

Tulsa Race Riot

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

May 31 and June 1, 1921: The Tulsa Race Riot was a large-scale racially motivated conflict in which whites attacked the Tulsa, Oklahoma black community of the Greenwood District, also known as ‘the Black Wall Street’ and the wealthiest African-American community in the United States. Whites burned it to the ground.

During the 16 hours of the assault, over 800 people were admitted to local hospitals with injuries, and more than 6,000 Greenwood residents were arrested and detained. An estimated 10,000 blacks were left homeless, and 35 city blocks composed of 1,256 residences were destroyed by fire. (next BH, see Oct 5; next RR, see March 19, 1935;  next lynching, see Oct 20;  additional Tulsa, see February 21, 2001)

Alabama’s NAACP ban overturned

June 1, 1964: the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned Alabama’s ban on the NAACP, allowing the NAACP to operate in the state for the first time since 1956. [King Institute article] (see June 7)

Death Penalty

June 1, 1965: NY Gov Nelson Rockefeller signed the abolition of death penalty bill. [Death Penalty Info article] (BH & DP, see June 2; see Whitmore for expanded story)

Rodney King

June 1, 1994: King  awarded nothing in punitive damages in a civil trial against the police officers. He had asked for $15 million.  [NYT article] (King, see April 2012)

Stand Your Ground/George Zimmerman

June 1, 2012: Seminole County Circuit Court judge, Kenneth R. Lester Jr., revoked George Zimmerman’s bond during a hearing on Friday and gave him 48 hours to surrender. In revoking the bond, Judge Lester found that Zimmerman had misled the court about his finances, with the help of his wife, during his April bond hearing. (see June 3)

Nelson Mandela

June 1, 2004: Mandela said he would severely reduce his public activities so he could spend his remaining years resting and writing. A month shy of 86, he was increasingly frail and had trouble walking. (see Mandela for expanded chronology)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

KKK TERRORISM

June 1, 1925: on November 7, 1922, the voters of Oregon approved a Ku Klux Klan-sponsored referendum that amended the state’s compulsory education law to eliminate an exception for private schools. The law required children between the ages of 8 and 16 to attend public schools. Both the intent and the effect of the law was to shut down private parochial schools, particularly Roman Catholic schools, in the state.

In Pierce v. Society of Sisters, decided on this day, the Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional because it interfered with the right of parents to control the education of their children. (see Aug 8)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Judicial Milestone

June 1, 1942:  the case involved a man whom Maryland had denied counsel though he could not afford one and was forced to represent himself.

Previously, in  Johnson v. Zerbst [decided May 23, 1938] the Supreme Court had held that defendants in federal courts had a right to counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. In Powell v. Alabama [decided November 7, 1932, Scottsboro Nine case], the Court had held that state defendants in capital cases were entitled to counsel, even when they could not afford it; however, the right to an attorney in trials in the states was not yet obligatory in all cases as it was in federal courts under Johnson v. Zerbst.

In Betts v. Brady, Betts was indicted for robbery and upon his request for counsel, the trial judge refused, forcing Betts to represent himself. He was convicted of robbery, a conviction he eventually appealed to the Supreme Court on the basis that he was being held unlawfully because he had been denied counsel.

Betts filed writ of habeas corpus at the Circuit Court for Washington County, Maryland claiming he had been denied counsel and then filed a writ to Court of Appeals of Maryland. His petitions were all denied and he finally filed for certiorari to the Supreme Court. In a six to three decision, the Court found that Betts did not have the right to be appointed counsel  [Oyez article] (see May 3, 1954)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

McCarthyism

June 1, 1950: seven Republican Senators denounced and repudiated the tactics of Joe McCarthy, their party colleague, in his campaign to try to prove Communist penetration of the State Department. The Senators issued a “Declaration of Conscience” that accused “certain elements” of a design for “riding the Republican party to victory through the selfish political exploitation of fear, bigotry, ignorance, and intolerance.” The group also criticized President Truman for a lack of leadership. [Senate dot gov article] (see June 17, 1950)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

see June 1 Music et al for more

FM stereo

June 1, 1961: regular FM stereo radio broadcasting with a multiplexed signal began in the U.S. In Schenectady, NY, WGFM (owned by G.E.) was first on the air, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time. Zenith’s WEFM in Chicago, IL, followed and KMLA in Los Angeles, CA. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval specified the starting day. Field tests for stereo FM had begun in Mar 1959 to evaluate various competing systems. (see “in July 1964”)

Jimi Hendrix

June 1, 1962: supply officer Lyndon D Williams filed a report against Hendrix for lack of interest and inability to concentrate. (see Hendrix military for expanded chronology)

It’s My Party

June 1 – 14, 1963,  “It’s My Party” by Leslie Gore #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Let’s Get Together

June 1, 1964: The Kingston Trio released their album Back In Town. On the album was their version of “Let’s Get Together.” This version was the first to bring the song to the attention of the general public. Dino Valenti wrote the song which would later become well known when sung by the Youngbloods in 1967. (see Nov 1)

see Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band for more

June 1, 1967: Beatles released “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” released simultaneously in UK and US. It became a cultural benchmark and won the Grammy for “Album Of The Year”, the first rock record given that award. (see June 4)

  • Label: Parlophone (UK), Capitol (US)
  • Recorded: 6 December 1966 – 21 April 1967, EMI and Regent Sound studios, London
Mrs Robinson

June 1 – June 21, 1968: “Mrs Robinson” by Simon and Garfunkel #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Give Peace a Chance

June 1, 1969:  John and Yoko recorded “Give Peace a Chance” during their Bed-In. The recording session was attended by dozens of journalists and various celebrities, including Timothy Leary, Rabbi Abraham Feinberg, Joseph Schwartz, Allan Rock, Rosemary Woodruff Leary, Petula Clark, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsberg, Murray the K and Derek Taylor, many of whom are mentioned in the lyrics. Lennon played acoustic guitar and was joined by Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers, also on acoustic guitar. (Beatles, see June 13; Lennon, see July 1; Vietnam, see June 5)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

US Labor History

United Farm Workers

June 1, 1966: farm workers under the banner of the new United Farm Workers Organizing Committee strike at Texas’s La Casita Farms, demand $1.25 as a minimum hourly wage. (see June 20)

Abercrombie & Fitch

June 1, 2015: the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that retailer Abercrombie & Fitch may have violated workplace discrimination law when it turned down a Muslim job applicant because she wore a hijab, even though her religious beliefs never came up in the interview.

Samantha Elauf, the job seeker at the center of the case, applied for a sales position at an Abercrombie children’s store in Oklahoma in 2008. Despite her high marks in the interview, Elauf didn’t land the job because her headscarf ran afoul of Abercrombie’s employee “look policy,” which bars hats and promotes the retailer’s preppy brand. Elauf sued with the help of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Civil rights law required that employers accommodate workers’ religious beliefs in the workplace, and forbid them from firing or not hiring someone because of those beliefs. But Abercrombie argued that it couldn’t have known to make such an accommodation because Elauf, who was 17 at the time, never requested one. [NYT article] (see Aug 17)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Cultural Milestone

CNN

June 1 Peace Love Activism

June 1, 1980: CNN (Cable News Network), the world’s first 24-hour television news network, made its debut. The network signed on at 6 p.m. EST from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, with a lead story about the attempted assassination of civil rights leader Vernon Jordan. CNN went on to change the notion that news could only be reported at fixed times throughout the day. At the time of CNN’s launch, TV news was dominated by three major networks–ABC, CBS and NBC–and their nightly 30-minute broadcasts. [National Geographic article]  (see March 6, 1981)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Nuclear/Chemical News

Bush/Gorbachev

June 1, 1990: U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed a treaty to end chemical weapon production and begin destroying their respective stocks. [Politico article] (see January 26, 1992)

North Korea

June 1, 2018: eight days after abruptly canceling the June 12 meeting citing North Korea’s “open hostility,” Trump just as abruptly announced that it was back on, the latest head-spinning twist in a diplomatic drama that has captivated and confused much of the world. After complaining of North Korean bad faith, he said, in effect, never mind.

“We’re over that, totally over that, and now we’re going to deal and we’re going to really start a process,” Mr. Trump told reporters after meeting at the White House with a high-ranking North Korean envoy who delivered a personal letter from Mr. Kim. “We’re meeting with the chairman on June 12, and I think it’s probably going to be a very successful — ultimately, a successful process.” (see June 12)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

CLINTON IMPEACHMENT

June 1, 1998: Clinton’s defense team decides to drop the appeal on the executive privilege ruling. But his lawyers will continue to argue for attorney-client privilege to prevent close friend and aide Bruce Lindsey from answering all of Ken Starr’s questions. (see Clinton for expanded story)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Oklahoma City Explosion

June 1, 2004: the penalty phase of Terry Nichols trial began. The jury could not reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty. Judge Taylor called Nichols a terrorist and said “No American citizen has ever brought this kind of devastation; you are in U.S. history the No. 1 mass murderer in all of U.S. history” and sentenced Nichols to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole. Nichols was returned to the federal prison in Colorado. (see May 26, 2004)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Jack Kevorkian

June 1, 2007: paroled for good behavior. He had spent eight years and two and a half months in prison. (see JK for expanded story)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

June 1, 2010: oil began washing up on the beaches of Gulf Islands National Seashore. (see June 5)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Immigration History

Luis Ramirez

June 1, 2011: Matthew Nestor, the former police chief of Shenandoah, PA, who convicted of impeding a federal investigation into the beating death of Luis Ramirez was sentenced to 13 months in prison, a lower-than-expected term.

Judge A. Richard Caputo of Federal District Court in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., said the sentencing guidelines were too harsh for Nestor. A presentencing report by probation officials had recommended 57 to 71 months. Another officer, William Moyer, a lieutenant who was convicted of lying to federal investigators, was sentenced to three months. (IH, see June 2; see Ramirez for expanded story)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Kandahar massacre

June 1, 2012: the government dropped one of the murder charges against Bales, because one victim had been double counted. Simultaneously, other charges were filed including abuse of steroids, alcohol consumption, and attempting to destroy evidence. Assault charges were increased from six to seven. (see May 29, 2013)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Cannabis

June 1, 2015:  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill  legalizing the limited use of marijuana extracts for severe forms of epilepsy. The law allowed the use of cannabis oils that are high in CBD, or cannabidiol, a non-euphoric compound found in the marijuana plant, and low in THC — the main psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana associated with the “high” sensation — to treat intractable epilepsy. (see June 15) or see CCC for expanded cannabis chronology)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

FREE SPEECH

Elonis v. United States

June 1, 2015: the US Supreme Court, in a 7 – 2 ruling, reversed a lower court’s judgment against Anthony Elonis who posted violent messages on Facebook. The Court steered clear of discussing when exactly protected speech becomes an unprotected threat.

Elonis was previously found guilty of four counts of transmitting threats. After his wife left him, Elonis wrote a series of Facebook posts fantasizing about killing her and others. He claimed that the posts, made in the style of free-form rap lyrics, were therapeutic and a form of constitutionally protected free speech, pointing to similar wife-killing fantasies by performer Eminem. His estranged wife, however, said she was afraid for her life after seeing them, going as far as to get a restraining order. A post about shooting children at an elementary school, then one about killing an FBI agent who questioned him about it, also ended up on the list of charges.

Elonis argued that unless he intended to threaten his wife or anyone else with the posts, they couldn’t be taken as “true” threats. Prosecutors, though, said that intent shouldn’t matter — the real test was whether a “reasonable person” would find them threatening. While the Third Circuit federal court agreed with the “reasonable person” test, the Supreme Court now said that’s not enough. In a majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the law must consider someone’s mental state when deciding threat cases. [US Courts article] (see June 18)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Environmental Issues/June 1, 2017

Paris climate accord

June 1, 2017: President Trump announced that he would withdraw the United States from participation in the Paris climate accord, weakening global efforts to combat climate change and siding with conservatives who argued that the landmark 2015 agreement was harming the economy. He would stick to the withdrawal process laid out in the Paris agreement, which President Barack Obama joined and most of the world had already ratified. That could take nearly four years to complete, meaning a final decision would be up to the American voters in the next presidential election. [NYT article] (next climate accord, see November 4, 2019)

Michael Bloomberg

June 1, 2017: Bloomberg founder and CEO Michael Bloomberg offered to make up the $15 million in funding that the United Nations stood to lose from President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Under the agreement, the U.S. would have been expected to contribute that amount to the operating budget of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the accord’s coordinating agency.

Americans are not walking away from the Paris Climate Agreement,” the billionaire philanthropist and former New York City mayor said. “Just the opposite — we are forging ahead.” (see June 2)

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

June 1, 2021: the Biden administration said it would suspend oil drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that were issued in the waning days of the Trump presidency.

The decision could ultimately end any plans to drill in one of the largest tracts of untouched wilderness in the United States, delicate tundra that is home to migrating waterfowl, caribou and polar bears. Democrats and Republicans have fought over whether to allow oil and gas drilling there for more than four decades, and issuing the leases was a signature achievement of the Trump White House.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Tuesday published a secretarial order formally suspending the leases until the agency has completed an environmental analysis of their impact and a legal review of the Trump administration’s decision to grant them. [NYT article] (next EI, see June 7)

June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Fair Housing

June 1, 2021:  President Biden announced:

  1. The creation of a new interagency initiative to address inequity in home appraisals, led by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge. “Homes and majority Black neighborhoods are often valued at tens of thousands of dollars less than comparable homes in similar, majority white communities,” said White House officials. “This effort will seek to utilize, very quickly, the many levers at the federal government’s disposal…to root out discrimination in the appraisal and home buying process.”
  2. HUD will issue two Fair Housing Act rules that reverse efforts made by HUD during the Trump administration to weaken protections afforded by the law. “In both cases, HUD is moving to return to traditional interpretations of the Fair Housing Act,” officials said Monday. The new rules are intended to “clear the way for HUD to more vigorously enforce the Fair Housing Act,” they said. [CNBC article] (next FH, see Oct 22)
    June 1 Peace Love Art Activism

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

Cultural Milestones

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg

May 31, 1884: Dr. John Harvey Kellogg applied for a patent for “flaked cereal.”  He was trying to improve the vegetarian diet of his hospital patients, by searching for a digestible bread-substitute by the process of boiling wheat. Kellogg accidentally left a pot of boiled wheat to stand and it become tempered. When it was put through a rolling process, each grain of wheat emerged as a large, thin flake. When the flakes were baked, they became crisp and light, creating an easy to prepare breakfast when milk was added. [Forbes article]  (CM see February 18, 1885; Kellogg, see February 19, 1906)

Seinfeld

May 31, 1990: the sitcom “Seinfeld” premiered on NBC (see December 22, 1992)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

Tulsa Massacre

May 31 and June 1, 1921: the Tulsa Massacre was a large-scale lynching. Whites attacked and burned to the ground the Tulsa, Oklahoma black community of the Greenwood District, also known as ‘the Black Wall Street’ and the wealthiest African-American community in the United States.

During the 16 hours of the assault, 100s were killed (and buried in unmarked mass graves) and white hospitals denied admittance to 100s of injured. More than 6,000 Greenwood residents were arrested and detained. An estimated 10,000 blacks were left homeless, and 35 city blocks composed of 1,256 residences and stores were destroyed by fire.  [Tulsa History article or NYT article] (next BH & Lynching, see Oct 11; next Tulsa,  see June 1)

Henry Argo Lynched

May 31, 1930: Henry Argo, a 19-year-old Black man, was lynched after a mob of over 1,000 white men and boys as young as 12 stormed the Grady County jail in Chickasha, Oklahoma. He was shot in the head and stabbed by members of the mob, despite the presence of the National Guard who were ordered to protect him.

Mr. Argo had been accused of assaulting a white woman.

The mob of white people was led by a white man named George Skinner, who had accused Mr. Argo of assaulting his wife. The mob assembled late the night before, on May 30, after Mr. Argo had been arrested and taken into custody. They attempted to use sledgehammers and battering rams to break into the jail and kill Mr. Argo. The National Guard was then deployed to protect Mr. Argo, but they failed. [EJI article] (next BH & Lynching, see July 15 or see AL3 for expanded chronology)

Detroit Packard Motor Car Co

May 31, 1943: some 25,000 white autoworkers walked off the job at a Detroit Packard Motor Car Co. plant, heavily involved in wartime production, when Packard promoted three black workers to work on a previously all-white assembly line. The black workers were relocated and the whites returned. [images] (BH see June 15; Labor, see June 25)

Brown II case

May 31, 1955: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (the so-called Brown II case) In Brown II the US Supreme Court delegated the task of carrying out the desegregation to district courts with orders that desegregation occur with all deliberate speed.” School districts would use the “deliberate speed” phrase to delay or postpone indefinitely school desegregation. [Oyez article] (BH, see June 29; SD, see March 12, 1956)

James H Meredith

May 31, 1961: the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed suit in the U.S. District Court, alleging that the university had rejected Meredith only because of the color of his skin, as he had a highly successful record. (BH, see, June 2; Meredith, see July 28, 1962)

Michael Schwerner & Earl Chaney speak

May 31, 1964: Michael Henry Schwerner (24, New York) and James Earl Chaney (21, Meridian, Mississippi) speak at the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in the Longdale community, just west of Philadelphia in Neshoba County. They and church members were making plans for the church to house a Freedom School. (BH, see June 1; Schwerner,  see June 21)

Mic silenced

May 31, 2021: during his Memorial Day speech at a service organized by the American Legion post in Hudson, Ohio , Barnard Kemter‘s mic was silenced. an unusual thing happened: His microphone was silenced.

Kemter, 77, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served in the Persian Gulf war, had been crediting formerly enslaved Black Americans with being among the first to pay tribute to the nation’s fallen soldiers after the Civil War when his audio cut out.

He learned that he had been intentionally muted by the event’s organizers, who disapproved of his message.

One of the organizers of the event, James Garrison, resigned as a post officer, the commander of the American Legion Department of Ohio, Roger Friend, later said in a statement on Facebook. The statement added that the censoring that took place was “premeditated and planned” by Mr. Garrison and another organizer, Cindy Suchan-Rothgery.

The statement added that the Hudson American Legion post had been suspended, pending its permanent closure.  [NYT article] (next BH, see June 7)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

May 31, 1946: Ho Chi Minh left for Paris to iron out the reality of Vietnam as an autonomous state only to find that the French will not specify what is actually meant. During the four months that Minh was in France, his General Vo Nguyen Giap conducted a merciless purge killing landlords and moneylenders and members of rival parties. He imprisoned thousands of others. (see In November)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

 

see May 31 Music et al for much more

Jimi Hendrix enlists

May 31, 1961: Hendrix (19 years old) enlisted in the Army after  being caught for a second time riding in stolen cars and given a choice between spending two years in prison or joining the Army. After completing basic training, he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division and stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Hendrix discharged

May 31, 1962: paperwork was filled recommending a discharge for Hendrix.  (see Hendrix for expanded military chronology)

White album begins

May 31, 1968: began recording the so-called “White Album. Sessions will span 4+ months, ending on Oct 14. (see July 17)

Grateful Dead

May 31, 2017: Jerry Garcia’s famous Wolf guitar sold at auction for over $1.9 million. “Wolf” was Garcia’s go-to instrument for over two decades. The Grateful Dead singer-guitarist first wielded the instrument during a 1973 show for the Hell’s Angels in New York City.

Timothy Leary

May 31, 1996: Timothy Leary died. (see November 10, 2001)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

Native Americans

Alcatraz Takeover

May 31, 1970: the federal government shut off power and stopped fresh water supplies on its property. Hundreds of Indians flock to the island to protest the government’s plan to turn the island into a park. (see June 2)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

US Labor History

W. A. Boyle

May 31, 1985: Boyle, the powerful leader of the nation’s coal miners until he was convicted of embezzlement and of ordering the murder of union rival Joseph Yablonski and his family, died at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He was 83 years old. [Native Village article] (see June 27)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

The Cold War

Nuclear/Chemical News

May 31, 1994: President Bill Clinton pledged continued cooperation with Russia in a New World Order, declaring that the U.S. would no longer point nuclear missiles at Russia, ending the antagonism and fear of mutually assured destruction that characterized the half-century-long Cold War between the two superpowers.. (NN, see January 25, 1995; CW, see Aug 18)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

Women’s Health

Eric Rudolph

May 31, 2003: police arrested Eric Rudolph, suspected in bombings at a Birmingham. Ala., abortion clinic and at the Atlanta Olympics, outside a grocery store in Murphy, N.C. (see April 8,  2005)

Scott Roeder

May 31, 2009: Scott Roeder assassinated women’s health care provider Dr George Tiller.  (Terrorism, see Dec 25; BC, see January 29, 2010)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

Watergate Scandal

Deep Throat

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

May 31, 2005: W. Mark Felt’s family ended 30 years of speculation, identifying Felt, the former FBI assistant director, as “Deep Throat,” the secret source who helped unravel the Watergate scandal. The Felt family’s admission, made in an article in Vanity Fair magazine, took legendary reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who had promised to keep their source’s identity a secret until his death, by surprise. Tapes show that Nixon himself had speculated that Felt was the secret informant as early as 1973. [Felt’s 2008 NYT obit](see Watergate for expanded story)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

Stop and Frisk Policy

May 31, 2011: NYPD data showed that in the first quarter of 2011, stop-and-frisk hit an all-time high. There were 183,326 stop-and-frisks between January and March 2011. (see Aug 31)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

Cannabis

May 31, 2012:  Connecticut became the 17th state to legalize medical marijuana. (see Nov 6 or see CC for expanded chronology)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

May 31, 2012: a federal appeals court ruled unanimously that the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA] passed by Congress in 1996, discriminated against married same-sex couples by denying them the same federal benefits afforded to heterosexual couples. [NYT article] (DOMA, see October 18; LGBTQ, see June 2 or see or see December 13, 2022 re DoMA)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism

Environmental Issues

May 31, 2023, : a study by the international scientist group Earth Commission published in the journal Nature that looked at climate, air pollution, phosphorus and nitrogen contamination of water from fertilizer overuse, groundwater supplies, fresh surface water, the unbuilt natural environment and the overall natural and human-built environment found that Earth had pushed past seven out of eight scientifically established safety limits and into “the danger zone,” not just for an overheating planet that’s losing its natural areas, but for the well-being of people living on it. Only air pollution wasn’t quite at the danger point globally.  [AP article] (next EI, see July 20)

May 31 Peace Love Art Activism