August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

US Labor History

Frank Little

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

August 1, 1917: after organizing a strike of metal miners against the Anaconda Company, six masked men dragged Wobbly organizer Frank Little from his Butte, Mont., hotel room and hung him from the Milwaukee Railroad trestle. Years later writer Dashiell Hammett would recall his early days as a Pinkerton detective agency operative and recount how a mine company representative offered him $5,000 to kill Little. Hammett says he quit the business that night.  (IWW article on Little) (see Sept 5)

Philadelphia Transportation Company

August 1, 1944: as the US entered World War II, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, quickly became one of America’s largest war production sources. As many as 600,000 workers relied on the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) for transportation to factories and other workplaces.

On August 1, 1944, white PTC employees started a strike to protest the company’s decision to promote eight black workers to the position of trolley driver, a job previously reserved for white men. The men were promoted after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Orders 8802 and 9436, which prohibited companies with government contracts from discrimination based on race or religion and forced companies to include a nondiscrimination clause in their contracts.

White PTC employees James McMenamin, James Dixon, Frank Thompson, and Frank Carney led the strike, which they threatened would continue until the black workers were demoted. The strike grew to include over 6000 workers, crippling war production and impacting the entire city. It prevented nearly two million people from traveling and cost businesses almost $1 million per day. (Hidden City Philadelphia article) (see Aug 3)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Black History

Marcus Garvey

August 1 > 31, 1920: the Universal Negro Improvement Association held its first International Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World at Madison Square Garden and scheduled a massive parade in Harlem. During this convention, the UNIA adopts and signs a Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World, adopts a “nation” flag with the colors of the Red, Black, and Green, and elects officials for its provisional government. Garvey was elected Provisional President of Africa. (next BH, see Aug 10; see Garvey for expanded story)

Harlem Revolt

August 1, 1943: Harlem Riot of 1943, a NYPD policeman hit an African American woman who was being arrested for disturbing the peace at the Braddock Hotel in Harlem. Robert Bandy, a black soldier in the US Army tried to stop the police officer from striking the woman again. The situation rapidly escalated; the police officer drew his service revolver and shot Bandy in the shoulder.

Bandy’s wound was not serious, but he was taken to a nearby hospital, and crowds quickly gathered at the hospital, the hotel, and police headquarters. An onlooker shouted that an African American soldier had been killed, provoking a riot.

Hundreds of businesses were destroyed and looted, the property damage approaching $5,000,000. Overall, six people died and nearly 400 were injured. Five hundred men and women were arrested in connection with the riot. (see 20015 NY Daily News article)  Dail(BH, see Aug 11,; RR, see August 10, 1946; Harlem Riot 1964, see July 16, 1964)

Sarah Keys Evans refuses

August 1, 1952: Sarah Keys Evans refused to give up her seat on a state-to-state charter bus. (next BH, see Sept 4; Sarah Keys, see September 1, 1953)

Washington, DC Revolt

August 1, 1967: race Revolts in Washington, D.C. (2008 Washingtonian article) (BH, see Aug 3; RR, see January 23, 1968) 

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Nuclear News

AEC

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

August 1, 1946: the Atomic Energy Commission was established as President Harry S. Truman signed the Atomic Energy Act, which transfered the control of atomic energy from military to civilian hands. Almost a year after World War II ended, Congress established the United States Atomic Energy Commission to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. The National Laboratory system was established from the facilities created under the Manhattan Project. and Argonne National Laboratory was one of the first laboratories authorized under this legislation as a contractor-operated facility dedicated to fulfilling the new Commission’s mission. (USNRC site) (see Dec 14)

NORAD

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

August 1, 1957: the United States and Canada announced the creation of NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense) Command, a unified military unit tasked with early warning and defense coordination. NORAD brought the US and Canada into closer cooperation for air defense through a system of radar and sensors to guard against possible long-range Soviet strategic bombers armed with nuclear weapons.

The US Army Corps of Engineers supervised the excavation of Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado and the construction of the tech command and control headquarters. (NAADC site) (see Aug 26)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Calvin Graham

August 1, 1951: Graham left the US Marine Corps after injuring his back in a fall. (see Graham for expanded story)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Native Americans

Resolution 108

August 1, 1953: the federal policy of terminating Native-American tribes began on this day with the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 108. Termination meant that a tribe was no longer officially recognized as a sovereign nation by the federal government. Termination was part of the policy of assimilating Native-Americans into mainstream American life. Between 1953 and 1964, a total of 109 tribes were terminated. The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska was the last to be terminated, in 1966.

By the 1960s as a result of the Native American rights movement attitudes had changed among Native-Americans and other Americans. Both President Lyndon Johnson and President Richard Nixon supported a policy of self-determination. See President Nixon’s speech on July 8, 1970, when he declared “Forced termination is wrong,” and the end of the termination policy January 4, 1975. (Stanford School of Medicine article) (see August 15, 1953)

North Dakota Voter ID

August 1, 2016: U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland struck down a North Dakota law requiring photo IDs in order to vote, ruling that the law unfairly burdened the Native American voters who comprised one-fourth of the state’s electorate. Hovland rejected the state’s argument that the law was “necessary” to prevent voter fraud, writing that “[t]he undisputed evidence before the Court reveals that voter fraud in North Dakota has been virtually non-existent.” (NY Times article) (see Aug 16)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

see August 1 Music et al for more

Moondog Alan Freed

August 1, 1954: Moondog Jubilee Alan Freed, working as a disc jockey in New York, throws the “Moondog Jubilee of Stars Under the Stars” at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York. The performing line-up included black artists Fats Domino and Muddy Waters. (see February 23, 1955)

Bob Newhart

August 1 – September 25, 1960: comedian Bob Newhart’s The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart comedy album is Billboard #1.

Hard Day’s Night

August 1 – 14, 1964:  “A Hard Day’s Night” #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. (see Aug 11)

Atlantic City Pop Festival

August 1 – 3, 1969: Atlantic City (NJ) Pop Festival took place at the Atlantic City Race Track. Approximately 100,000 people were there.  (see Atlantic City for expanded story)

Concert for Bangladesh

August 1, 1971: George Harrison and Ravi Shankar organized and hosted The Concert for Bangladesh raising nearly a quarter of a million dollars for the hungry of the poor country. The concert ushered in a new type of proactive political activism (Beatles, see Sept 9; Bangladesh, see Dec 16; concert movie, see March 23, 1972)

Cultural milestone: MTV

August 1, 1981: MTV (Music Television) made its debut at 12:01 a.m. The first music video shown on the rock-video cable channel was, appropriately, Video Killed the Radio Star, by the Buggles. MTV’s original five veejays were Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson and Alan Hunter. MTV changed the way that popular music was presented from the traditional way of simply listening to watching as well as listening. [HUFFPOST article on first videos]  (MTV, see March 1983; CM, see July 29, 1987)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Independence Day

August 1, 1960: Benin independent from France. (see Aug 3)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Austin Rampage

August 1, 1966: 25-year old Charles Whitman, a student at the University of Texas at Austin and a former Marine, killed 16 people and wounded 32 others during a shooting rampage on and around the university’s campus.

 August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

August 1, 1968: 541,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam (see Aug 25 – 29)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Watergate

August 1, 1972: a $25,000 cashier’s check, apparently earmarked for the Nixon campaign, wound up in the bank account of a Watergate burglar, The Washington Post reports. (see Watergate for expanded story)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Nominations

August 1, 1972, Thomas Eagleton, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, withdraws from the race after revealing he was once treated for mental illness. (2012 NPR article)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Irish Troubles

August 1, 1981:  The seventh hunger striker died. Kevin Lynch (25) died after 71 days on hunger strike. Lynch was a member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). (see Troubles for expanded story)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Terrorism

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

August 1, 1989: a terrorist group in Lebanon said that it had hanged hostage Marine Lieut. Col. William R. Higgins and distributed a grisly videotape that showed a figure identified as the American twisting at the end of a rope. (NYT article) (next T, see Dec 18; Higgins, see July 6, 1990)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Native Americans

August 1, 2016: U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland struck down a North Dakota law requiring photo IDs in order to vote, ruling that the law unfairly burdened the Native American voters who comprised one-fourth of the state’s electorate. Hovland rejected the state’s argument that the law was “necessary” to prevent voter fraud, writing that “[t]he undisputed evidence before the Court reveals that voter fraud in North Dakota has been virtually non-existent.” [NYT article] (see Aug 16)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Cannabis

August 1, 2021: marijuana decriminalization took effect in Louisiana and advocates and lawmakers were working to ensure that residents know what they can and cannot do without going to jail under the new law.

Gov. John Bell Edwards (D) had signed the legislation in June, and he emphasized that it was “not a decision I took lightly,” but he recognized that criminalization had significant consequences for families and taxpayers.

Under the law, possession of up to 14 grams of cannabis is now punishable by a $100 fine, without the threat of jail time. The governor has pushed back against the definition of the policy as “decriminalization,” but that’s exactly how advocates define policies that remove the threat of incarceration for low-level possession. [MM article] (next Cannabis, see  or see CAC for expanded chronology)

August 1 Peace Love Art Activism

August Music et al

August Music et al

Quarrymen

August Music et al

In August 1956: named after his school, John Lennon forms The Quarrymen, The band performed what was known in England as “skiffle” music which was originally an early 20th century American style music. (see July 6, 1957)

August Music et al

Ringo Rory Storm

August Music et al

In August 1959: Ringo Starr begins drumming for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. (Ringo would be Rory’s drummer until August 18, 1960). (see Aug 29)

August Music et al

Beat Brothers

In August 1961: Tony Sheridan and the Beatles or Beat Brothers released “My Bonnie/The Saints (Go Marching In) in Germany. (see Oct 28)

August Music et al

Sam Cooke

In August 1963,  Sam Cooke released Night Beat album.

August Music et al

Bob Dylan

In August, 1964: “I’m Going to Get My Baby Out of Jail” by Len Chandler & Bernice Johnson Reagon. Dylan “stole” the Len Chandler tune to accompany his “The Death of Emmett Till.” (see March 11, 1962) (see Aug 8)

August Music et al

LSD

In August, 1964: Ken Kesey & his Merry Pranksters arrived with their Bus to visit Timothy Leary & Richard Alpert at Millbrook, NY. (see Dec 1)

August Music et al

John Sebastian

In August 1965: The Lovin’ Spoonful (John Sebastian age 19) released their first single, “Do You Believe in Magic” (see Aug 13)

August Music et al

Pink Floyd

In August 1967: Pink Floyd released their first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

August Music et al

Vietnam

In August 1968: WNEW-FM DJ Rosko reads anti-war column on air. (see Aug 1)

James Brown

In August 1968, James Brown released “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” (see Nov 9)

August Music et al

Santana

August Music et al

In August, 1969: Santana (Carlos Santana age 22) released its first album, Santana. In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Langdon Winner panned Santana as “a masterpiece of hollow techniques” and “a speed freak’s delight – fast, pounding, frantic music with no real content”. He compared the music’s effect to methedrine, which “gives a high with no meaning”, finding Rollie and Santana’s playing repetitively unimaginative amidst a monotony of incompetent rhythms and inconsequential lyrics.

John & Yoko

In August 1971: John & Yoko rent a loft apartment at 105 Bank Street in Greenwich Village. (NYCGO article) (see Aug 1)

Eric Clapton #1

In August 1974: Eric Clapton’s cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” reached #1 on US singles charts.

August 1 Music et al

August 1 Music et al

Moondog Alan Freed

August 1, 1954: Moondog Jubilee Alan Freed, working as a disc jockey in New York, throws the “Moondog Jubilee of Stars Under the Stars” at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York. The performing line-up included black artists Fats Domino and Muddy Waters. (Pop History Dig article) (see February 23, 1955)

August 1 Music et al

Bob Newhart

August 1 – September 25, 1960: comedian Bob Newhart’s The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart comedy album is Billboard #1.

August 1 Music et al

Hard Day’s Night

August 1 Music et al

August 1 – 14, 1964:  “A Hard Day’s Night” #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. (see Aug 11)

August 1 Music et al

Atlantic City Pop Festival

August 1 – 3, 1969: Atlantic City (NJ) Pop Festival took place at the Atlantic City Race Track.  (see Atlantic City for expanded story)

August 1 Music et al

Ann Arbor Blues Festival

August 1 – 3, 1969: a group of University of Michigan students decided it would be cool to have a blues festival. They were right. (see AABF for more)

August 1 Music et al

Concert for Bangladesh

August 1, 1971: George Harrison and Ravi Shankar organized and hosted The Concert for Bangladesh raising nearly a quarter of a million dollars for the hungry of the poor country. The concert ushered in a new type of proactive political activism (Live for Live Music article) (Beatles, see Sept 9; Bangladesh, see Dec 16; concert movie, see March 23, 1972)

August 1 Music et al

MTV

August 1, 1981: MTV (Music Television) made its debut at 12:01 a.m. The first music video shown on the rock-video cable channel was, appropriately, Video Killed the Radio Star, by the Buggles. MTV’s original five veejays were Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson and Alan Hunter. MTV changed the way that popular music was presented from the traditional way of simply listening to watching as well as listening. (MTV, see March 1983; CM, see July 29, 1987)

August 1 Music et al