June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Native Americans
“Long Walk” home
June 18, 1868: the once-scattered bands of Navajo people who called themselves Diné, set off together on the return journey, the “Long Walk” home. This was one of the few instances where the U.S. government relocated a tribe to their traditional boundaries. The Navajos were granted 3.5 million acres of land inside their four sacred mountains. (see March 3, 1871)
Indian Reorganization Act
June 18, 1934: The Indian Reorganization Act, sometimes known as the Indian New Deal, secured certain rights to Native Americans (known in law as American Indians or Indians), including Alaska Natives. These rights include actions that contributed to the reversal of the Dawes Act’s privatization of communal holdings of American Indian tribes and a return to local self-government on a tribal basis. The Act also restored to Indians the management of their assets (being mainly land) and included provisions intended to create a sound economic foundation for the inhabitants of Indian reservations. [Living New Deal article]
World War II
From 1941 – 1945: some 44,000 Native Americans served in the United States military during World War II. For every one drafted, one and a half volunteered; American Indian participation in the war per capita exceeded any other group. The young men were drafted and, unlike Black Americans, served in integrated units.
Most notably were the 400-500 Native American Marines who served in the United States Marine Corps and whose primary job was the transmission of secret tactical messages. Code talkers transmitted these messages over military telephone or radio communications nets using formal or informally developed codes built upon their native languages. Their service improved communications in terms of speed of encryption at both ends in front line operations during World War II. [Native Voices article] (WWII, see Dec 7; Code Takers, see November 5, 2008; NA, see August 13, 1946)
Wounded Knee II trial
June 18, 1974: after five months, the Government had still not gotten to the core if its case: that Dennis J Banks and Russell C Means led 30 Indians to seize and destroy Wounded Knee. (see Sept 17)
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
June 18, 2012: Brendan Johnson, the US attorney for South Dakota said that prosecutors would re-examine the circumstances surrounding dozens of deaths that occurred on or near the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, many dating back to the 1970s when the reservation was embroiled in political violence. (see October 8, 2012)
Washington Redskins trademark
June 18, 2014: the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cancelled six Washington Redskins trademarks, ruling that the polarizing moniker was “disparaging to Native Americans.” The decision did not require the team to change its name, but came at a time of increased pressure on the team to do so.
“We decide, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered,” the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board wrote in its opinion. [USA Today article] (see Sept 24)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Vietnam
June 18, 1919: Nguyen Ai Quoc had worked to found the Association for Annamite Patriots, an organization composed of Vietnamese nationals living in France who opposed the French colonial occupation of Vietnam. He authored a petition demanding the end of the French colonial exploitation of Vietnam.
On this date he attempted to present his petition to President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson was not in his hotel suite and his secretary, though accepting the petition, never showed it to Wilson. (see In June 1923)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
BLACK HISTORY
Murray v. Pearson
June 18, 1935: NAACP lawyers Thurgood Marshall and Charles Hamilton Houston successfully argued the landmark case in Maryland that opened admissions to the University of Maryland School of Law on the basis of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. [AAREG article] (BH, see February 14, 1936)
Executive Order 8802
June 18, 1941: civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph called off a march after a dramatic confrontation with President Franklin Roosevelt in the White House during which Roosevelt agreed to issue Executive Order 8802, prohibiting racial discrimination in government defense factories. [Our Documents] (see June 25)
Muhammad Ali
June 18, 1963: in his first foreign professional bout, Cassius Clay defeated British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper before fifty-five thousand fans in London. Cooper suffered a cut above his left eye, making this one of the bloodiest fights in Clay’s young career. Although knocked down in the fourth round, the fight was stopped in the fifth round just as Clay had predicted to reporters before the fight. [Sports Illustrated artilce] (BH, see June 19; Ali, see January 24, 1964)
Monson Motor Lodge
June 18, 1964: shouting “I’m cleaning the pool!”, James Brock — owner of the Monson Motor Lodge in St. Augustine, Florida — poured muriatic (hydrochloric) acid near several people taking part in an effort to integrate the hotel’s pool. (The muriatic acid, a cleaning agent used on concrete, was not strong enough to cause any injuries to the demonstrators.) [NPR article] (see June 19)
Stop and Frisk Policy
June 18, 2014: NY State Supreme Court Justice Anil Singh upheld the Community Safety Act passed by the City Council last year. Singe ruled that the NYC Council’s legislation was neither too vague nor was it preempted by state criminal procedure law, as its opponents had charged.
The judge also rejected a request from the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and the Sergeant’s Benevolent Association to issue an injunction against the measure.
“Local Law 71 does not prevent police officers from continuing to stop, question and frisk while utilizing their training and experience,” Singh wrote in a 35-page decision. “The law only seeks to deter the use of attributes such as race as the sole basis for an investigatory stop which is antithetical to our constitution and values,” the judge wrote, adding that the court understood cops had to make “split-second decisions” when conducting investigative stops. (see July 29)
Stephon Clark
June 18, 2019: the city of Sacramento reached a partial “verbal settlement” with the family of Stephon Clark in a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in January.
According to court documents, the settlement addressed claims filed on the behalf of Clark’s two sons by their guardians. The exact amount was sealed by the court.
“After discussions with the Court, parties reached a verbal settlement as to the claims against defendants brought by A.C., C.C., and their guardians, subject to Sacramento City Council approval. Terms of the settlement stated on the record,” the court filing said. (B & S, see July 18; SC, see Sept 26)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Human Rights
June 18, 1948: the United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted the International Declaration of Human Rights. [UN site text]
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
June 18 Music et al
Yeh-Heh-Heh-Heh, Baby
June 18, 1956: in a Time magazine article entitled, Yeh-Heh-Heh-Hes, Baby, the author describes Rock and Roll music as “…based on Negro blues, but in a self-conscious style which underlines the primitive qualities of the blues with malice, aforethought. Characteristics: an unrelenting, socking syncopation that sounds like a bull whip; a choleric saxophone honking mating-call sounds; an electric guitar turned up so loud that its sound shatters and splits; a vocal group that shudders and exercises violently to the beat while roughly chanting either a near-nonsense phrase or a moronic lyric in hillbilly idiom.” The article also mentioned several US cities that had tried to limit or eliminate rock and roll concerts. (see June 30)
Jimi Hendrix
June 18, 1967: The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their first show in the US at the Monterey International Pop Festival. Hendrix was pretty well established in the UK but very few in the audience that night knew what to expect. Hendrix had lost a coin toss with Pete Townshend deciding who was going to play first.
The Who ended their set by smashing the equipment. They had set the bar.
Hendrix came on and during his version of “Wild Thing” he lit his guitar on fire, resulting in one of the most iconic Rock and Roll pictures ever taken.
While Hendrix was on stage, Townshend had gone into the audience to watch the show. Pete was sitting next to “Mama” Cass Elliot of The Mamas & the Papas. Mama Cass leaned over to Pete and said “he’s stealing your act”. Townshend said “no, he’s not stealing my act – he’s doing my act.”
Townshend said later on, “for me, it was an act and for him, it was something else. It was an extension of what he was doing.” (see July 8)
The (bumpy) Road to Bethel
June 18, 1969: Samuel W Eager, a Middletown lawyer who had agreed to represent Woodstock Ventures (WV thinking a local lawyer would be better received than a NYC one), called Jack Scholsser (Wallkill Town Supervisor) and requested an informal meeting between the members of the town board and the four Woodstock officers. It is set for June 19. (see Chronology for expanded story)
‘A Day In The Life’
June 18, 2010: John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to The Beatles song ‘A Day In The Life’ sold for $1.2m at an auction at Sotheby’s in New York. The double-sided sheet of paper with notes written in felt marker and blue ink also contained some corrections and other notes penned in red ink. (see Sept 7)
“Same Love”
June 18, 2012: Ben Haggerty, better known by his stage name Macklemore, released “Same Love” in support of same sex marriage. (“Same Love,” see November 30; LGBTQ, see July 17)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Weather Underground
June 18 – 22, 1969: Students for a Democratic Society SDS National Convention held in Chicago, Illinois. Publication of “Weatherman” founding statement. Members seized control of SDS National Office. (next Vietnam, see June 27; next WU, see Oct 5; next Free Speech, see Oct 31)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Pentagon Papers
June 18, 1971: The Washington Post published excerpts of the Pentagon Papers but is immediately enjoined from publishing additional excerpts. Eventually, 17 other papers will publish portions of the report. (see DE/PP for expanded story)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
LGBTQ
President Jimmy Carter
June 18, 1977: in a long interview in which he planned to highlight his family-friendly policies, President Jimmy Carter suggested that same-sex relationships were “not normal.” The issue came up in response to a question about allowing same-sex couples to adopt children. The comment alienated Carter’s lesbian and gay supporters. (see June 21)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Nuclear/Chemical News
June 18, 1979: the United States and Soviet Union signed the SALT II nuclear arms limitation treaty. The treaty was part of a series of nuclear arms reduction treaties signed between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. SALT II was preceded by SALT I and followed by the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and START II. (NN, see Oct 1; CW, see January 2, 1980)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Feminism
Dr. Sally Ride
June 18, 1983: the space shuttle Challenger launched on its second mission. Aboard the shuttle was Dr. Sally Ride, who as a mission specialist became the first American woman to travel into space. During the six-day mission, Ride, an astrophysicist from Stanford University, operated the shuttle’s robot arm, which she had helped design. [NASA article on Ride] (see Aug 29)
Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori
June 18, 2006: Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected the first female presiding bishop for the Episcopal Church, the U.S. arm of the global Anglican Communion. (see Nov 6)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Religion and Public Education
June 18, 1993: the US Supreme Court ruled in Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District that the district may provide a sign language interpreter for a deaf child attending a Catholic high school without violating the establishment clause of the First Amendment. [Oyez article] (see in September 1996)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
IRAQ
June 18, 1993: Iraq refused to allow UNSCOM weapons inspectors to install remote-controlled monitoring cameras at 2 missile engine test stands. (see June 29)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
CLINTON IMPEACHMENT
June 18, 1998: sources tell CNN that three FBI agents have testified in secret affidavits that a plan to wire Monica Lewinsky and monitor her conversations did exist. The secret testimony refutes Ken Starr’s published denial of the plan, but does not specify that the conversations Starr’s prosecution wished to tape were with the president or Vernon Jordan. (see Clinton for expanded story)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Sexual Abuse of Children
June 18, 2003: following controversial remarks in which he said some church officials were being as secretive as members of the Mafia, former Oklahoma Gov. Charles Keating said he’ll resign as head of the church’s national panel on sex abuse. Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, whom Keating accused of listening “too much to his lawyer and not enough to his heart” in dealing with the panel’s investigation, called Keating’s comments “the last straw.” (see July 23)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Women’s Health
Eric Rudolph sentenced
July 18, 2005: Eric Rudolph was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole for the January 29, 1998 murder of a police officer. (see January 31, 2006)
Church Bans Biden
June 18, 2021: the Roman Catholic bishops of the United States overwhelmingly voted to draft guidance on the sacrament of the Eucharist, advancing a push by conservative bishops to deny President Biden communion because of his support of abortion rights.
The decision was aimed at the nation’s second Catholic president, perhaps the most religiously observant commander in chief since Jimmy Carter, and exposed bitter divisions in American Catholicism. The measure was approved by a vote of 73 percent in favor and 24 percent opposed. [NYT article] (next WH, see Nov 10)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
DEATH PENALTY
Ronnie Lee Gardner
June 18, 2010: Utah executed convicted killer Ronnie Lee Gardner by firing squad. He became just the third person [all in Utah] in the last 33 years to be executed by being shot and likely one of the last. Utah has eliminated the firing squad (Gardner, convicted before the legal change, was grandfathered in) and it only remains legal as a means of execution in Oklahoma – even then, only as a backup. Gardner’s attorney said he chose the method of execution because it was ‘more humane’ than a lethal injection.”
“A hood was placed over Gardner’s head and a paper target pinned to his chest. He was heavily restrained as a five-person firing squad took aim at the target and shot him,” witnesses said. Gardner, 49, was convicted for the shooting death of attorney Michael Burdell during a botched escape attempt from custody in 1985 at a Salt Lake City, Utah, courthouse.
As of June 18, 2010, Gardner was the last person executed by firing squad in the US. [BBC article] (see August 2010)
Brumfield v. Cain
June 18, 2015 : in Brumfield v. Cain the US Supreme Court rule 5 – 4 that there was sufficient evidence that a death-row inmate in Louisiana could show he was impaired by an intellectual disability that he was entitled to have his claims under Atkins v. Virginia (which bars the execution of inmates with a mental disability)
Kevin Brumfield was convicted in 1995 of murdering off-duty Baton Rouge police officer Betty Smothers during an attempted bank robbery. He remained on death row until the appeals court decided if the judge who held the hearing was correct to find that Brumfield was ineligible for the death penalty. [Oyez article] (see June 29)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
STAND YOUR GROUND LAW
June 18, 2013: Circuit Judge J. David Walsh sentenced Paul Miller, who shot a neighbor to death during an argument over barking dogs, to life in prison. (SYG, see July 19; Paul Miller, see Aug 8)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Student Rights
June 18, 2015: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a measure to decriminalize unexcused absences and require school districts to implement preventive measures, The law that had sent about 100,000 students a year to adult criminal court for missing school. (see Aug 17)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Environmental Issues
June 18, 2015: Pope Francis called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change. His papal encyclical blended a biting critique of consumerism and irresponsible development with a plea for swift and unified global action.
Francis’s 184-page encyclical described a relentless exploitation and destruction of the environment, for which he blamed apathy, the reckless pursuit of profits, excessive faith in technology and political shortsightedness. The most vulnerable victims are the world’s poorest people, he declared, who are being dislocated and disregarded. (see June 22)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
June 18, 2015 US Supreme Court
Two FREE SPEECH decisions
#1: Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans
In Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc., the Supreme Court ruled that Texas can prohibit vanity license plates containing an image of the Confederate battle flag. Texas excluded the group Sons of Confederate Veterans from its vanity plate program in 2011, saying “a significant portion of the public associates the Confederate flag with organizations advocating expressions of hate directed toward people or groups that is demeaning to those people or groups.”
The Sons of Confederate Veterans sued, contending the state violated the group’s free speech rights. The Supreme Court took the case to clarify ways to distinguish government speech from private speech. Texas argued that the license plate was government speech. The Sons of Confederate Veterans contended license plates are private speech by motorists, and the state has no business meddling in the message. (see following)
#2: Reed v. Town of Gilbert
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that an Arizona town had violated the First Amendment by placing limits on the size of signs announcing church services.
The case, Reed v. Town of Gilbert, No. 13-502, concerned an ordinance in Gilbert, Ariz., that has differing restrictions on political, ideological and directional signs. It was challenged by a church and its pastor.
All of the justices agreed that the distinctions drawn by the ordinance were impermissible. But they divided 6 to 3 on the rationale, with the majority saying that all content-based laws require the most exacting form of judicial review, strict scrutiny, one that is exceptionally hard to satisfy.
“Content-based laws — those that target speech based on its communicative content — are presumptively unconstitutional and may be justified only if the government proves that they are narrowly tailored to serve compelling state interests,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority. [Oyez article] (see Aug 11)
Judicial Milestone
In Ohio v. Clark, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Cleveland prosecutors acted constitutionally when they relied on what an abused child told his teachers to convict a man of felonious assault. The justices overturned a decision last year by the Ohio Supreme Court in which the state justices threw out the conviction of Darius Clark because he was not given the right to confront his accuser. Because the child was so young, he was not deemed competent to testify at the trial, forcing prosecutors to rely on what he told his preschool teachers about the abuse.
Writing for the court, Justice Samuel Alito ruled that “we have never suggested” that the Constitution “bars the introduction of all out-of-court statements that support the prosecution’s case.” Alito wrote when the child told the teachers about his injuries, it was not “for the primary purpose of assisting in Clark’s prosecution” and could be admitted as evidence at trial. Under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a defendant has the right to confront the witnesses testifying against him or her. [Justia article]
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Cannabis
June 18, 2015: Delaware became the 20th state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Gov. Jack Markell (D) signed House Bill 39 into law not long after the state Senate approved the bill 12-9. No state Republican senators voted in favor of the bill and no Republicans supported it when it passed the House.The measure, introduced by state Rep. Helene Keeley (D) in the House and sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chair Margaret Rose Henry (D) in the Senate, removed criminal penalties for an adult in possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use. Marijuana possession would be a civil offense punishable by $100 fine. Sales remain banned. [Vox article] (see July 1 or see CCC for expanded Cannabis chronology)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Voting Rights
June 18, 2018:
- in Benisek v. Lamone the US Supreme Court unnanimously ruled ruled in an unsigned opinion against Republican voters who had challenged the congressional map drawn by Democratic lawmakers in Maryland.
- in Gill v Whitford, the US Supreme Court unanimously sent back the challenge to Wisconsin’s legislative map to the lower courts. The court said the plaintiffs there had not proved they had suffered the sort of direct injury that would give them standing to sue. The justices sent the case back to a trial court to allow the plaintiffs to try again to prove that their voting power had been directly affected by the way state lawmakers drew voting districts for the State Assembly. (see June 25)
June 18 Peace Love Art Activism
Immigration History
Separation of children
June 18, 2018: the investigative news site ProPublica released a recording of immigrant children calling out desperately for their parents after being separated from them by United States immigration authorities.
The recording, nearly eight minutes in length, added disturbing and intimate notes to the debate over the Trump administration’s practice of separating children from their parents when families are detained at the border. (see June 20)
DACA
June 18, 2020: NBC News reported that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could not carry out its plan to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which had allowed nearly 800,000 young people, known as “Dreamers,” to avoid deportation and remain in the U.S.
The ruling said the government failed to give an adequate justification for ending the federal program. The administration could try again to shut it down by offering a more detailed explanation for its action, but the White House might not want to end such a popular program in the heat of a presidential campaign. (next IH, see June 22)
Undocumented Spousal Protection
June 18, 2024: President Biden announced new executive actions that would offer protection against deportation to an estimated half a million undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.
The plan grants “parole in place” to undocumented people who had been in this country for at least 10 years. This measure would also allow eligible immigrants to apply for legal permanent status.
Additionally, it would extend a path to legality to noncitizen minors, and stepchildren of American citizens.
These executive actions included providing eligible immigrants with work permits. [NPR article] (next IH, see )