Category Archives: Lynching

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

Crime and Punishment

May 31, 2024:  Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.

Trump sat stone-faced while the verdict was read as cheering from the street below could be heard in the hallway on the courthouse’s 15th floor where the decision was revealed after more than nine hours of deliberations. [AP article] (next C & P, see June 13)

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

Slaveholder George Washington

May 23, 1796: a newspaper ad was placed seeking the return of Ona “Oney” Judge, an enslaved Black woman who had “absconded from the household of the President of the United States,” George Washington. Ms. Judge had successfully escaped enslavement two days earlier, fleeing Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and settling in freedom in New Hampshire. [see EJI article for expanded Oney story]

Dred Scott

c 1799: Scott born a slave in Virginia. (next BH, see August 30, 1800; see Dred Scott for expanded story)

Dyer Anti-Lynching bill

May 23, 1922; the Senate Committee on the Judiciary concluded that the Dyer Anti-Lynching bill was unconstitutional and for that reason could not submit it to the Senate.  [NAACP article] (see June 14)

George Lincoln Rockwell

May 23, 1961: George Lincoln Rockwell, center, self-styled leader of the American Nazi Party, and his “hate bus” with several young men wearing swastika arm bands, stops for gas in Montgomery, Alabama, en route to Mobile, Alabama. [2017 Washington Post article] (see May 24)

Delray Beach, Fl Segregation

May 23, 1956: the Delray, Florida city commission enacted a formal segregation ordinance that codified years of de facto segregation and barred Black residents from using the Delray municipal beach or pool. Within three weeks of the city’s enactment, three neighboring beachfront towns—Riviera Beach, Lake Worth, and Daytona Beach—had adopted identical segregation ordinances.

Over the next month, the Delray Beach City Commission attempted to get Black leaders in the Delray Civic League to “cooperate” in keeping their fellow Black residents off the municipal beach. The city initially proposed the construction of a separate and unequal beach for Black residents on a 100-foot strip of rocky land. Black leaders rejected this proposal, demanding access to city facilities on equal terms with white citizens. The Civic League requested a 500-foot section of beach and the immediate construction of a pool for Black residents.

In July, the city finally agreed to construct a swimming pool for Black residents, but conditioned the pool’s construction on continued exclusion of Black residents from the municipal beach. The city repealed the segregation ordinance, returning to its decades-long policy of de facto segregation, and subsequently abandoned all plans to construct a beach for Black residents.  [EJI article] (next BH, see May 26)

137 SHOTS

May 23, 2015: Judge John P. O’Donnell acquitted  Michael Brelo. O’Donnell stated, ““The state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Michael Brelo, knowingly caused the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams.” [NYT article] (see 137 for expanded story)

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

US Labor History

Toledo Auto-Lite strike

May 23, 1934 (Wednesday): at the Toledo Auto-Lite strike,  the sheriff of Lucas County (Ohio) decided to take action against the picketers. In front of a crowd which numbered nearly 10,000, sheriff’s deputies arrested five picketers. As the five were taken to jail, a deputy began beating an elderly man. Infuriated, the crowd began hurling stones, bricks and bottles at the sheriff’s deputies. A fire hose was turned on the crowd, but the mob seized it and turned the hose back on the deputies. Many deputies fled inside the plant gates, and Auto-Lite managers barricaded the plant doors and turned off the lights. The deputies gathered on the roof and began shooting tear gas bombs into the crowd. So much tear and vomit gas was used that not even the police could enter the riot zone. The mob retaliated by hurling bricks and stones through the plant’s windows for seven hours. The strikers overturned cars in the parking lot and set them ablaze. The inner tubes of car tires were turned into improvised slingshots, and bricks and stones launched at the building. Burning refuse was thrown into the open door of the plant’s shipping department, setting it on fire. In the early evening, the rioters attempted to break into the plant and seize the replacement workers, security personnel and sheriff’s deputies. Police fired shots at the legs of rioters to try to stop them. The gunfire was ineffective, and only one person was (slightly) wounded. Hand-to-hand fighting broke out as the rioters broke into the plant. The mob was repelled, but tried twice more to break into the facility before they gave up late in the evening. More than 20 people were reported injured during the melee. Auto-Lite president Clement O. Miniger was so alarmed by the violence that he ringed his home with a cordon of armed guards. (see Toledo for expanded chronology)

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

Judicial Milestone

Johnson v. Zerbst

May 23, 1938: the US Supreme Court held that the federal court had infringed upon Johnson’s life and liberty by not giving him counsel to defend him during trial. Johnson, had been convicted in federal court of feloniously possessing, uttering, and passing counterfeit money in a trial where he had not been represented by an attorney but instead by himself.

Johnson filed for habeas corpus relief, claiming that his Sixth Amendment right to counsel had been violated, but he was denied by both a federal district court and the court of appeals.

This decision set the precedent that defendants [in federal court] have the right to be represented by an attorney unless they waive their right to counsel knowing full well the potential consequences.  [2009 World Socialist article] (see May 20, 1940)

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

Fourth Amendment

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

May 23, 1957: three police officers arrived at a house in Cleveland and demanded to enter. They wanted to question a man about a recent bombing and believed he was hiding inside. A woman who lived there, Dollree Mapp, refused to admit them.

Mapp told the officers that she wanted to see a search warrant. They did not produce one. A few hours later, more officers arrived and forced their way into the house. Ms. Mapp called her lawyer and again asked to see a warrant. When one officer held up a piece of paper that he said was a warrant, Ms. Mapp snatched it and stuffed it into her blouse. The officer reached inside her clothing and snatched it back.

The officers handcuffed Ms. Mapp — they called her “belligerent” — and then searched her bedroom, where they paged through a photo album and personal papers. They also searched her young daughter’s room, the kitchen, a dining area and the basement.

They did not find the man they were looking for, but they did find what they said were sexually explicit materials — books and drawings that Ms. Mapp said had belonged to a previous boarder — and they arrested Ms. Mapp. [2014 NYT obit] (see June 19, 1961)

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

see May 23 Music et al for more

Theme from a Summer Place album

May 23 – 29, 1960: Theme from a Summer Place album again Billboard #1.

“Cathy’s Clown”

May 23 – June 26, 1960: “Cathy’s Clown” by the Everly Brothers #1 Billboard Hot 100.

Hendrix restricted

May 23, 1962: Jimi Hendrix failed to report for bed check and was again given 14 days of restriction between May 24 and June 6. (see Hendrix/military for expanded chronology)

Our Man In Paris

May 23, 1963,  Dexter Gordon released Our Man In Paris album

1969 Festivals…
see Aquarian Family Festival for more

May 23 – 24, 1969, Aquarian Family Festival, San Jose, CA. (on the San Jose State University football practice field)

see Northern California Folk-Rock Festival for more

May 23 – 25, 1969: Northern California Folk-Rock Festival (Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, San Jose, CA)

see Big Rock Pow Wow for more

May 23 – 25, 1969: Big Rock Pow Wow (Seminole Indian Village, Hollywood, FL).

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

Feminism

see Deborah Sampson for more

May 23, 1983: Governor Michael J. Dukakis signed a proclamation which declared that Deborah Sampson was the Official Heroine of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Two news services stated this was the first time in US history that any state had proclaimed anyone as the official hero or heroine. (see Sampson for expanded story)

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

BSA

May 23, 2013: the Boy Scouts of America ended its longstanding policy of forbidding openly gay youths to participate in its activities, a step its chief executive called “compassionate, caring and kind.” [NYT article]  (LGBTQ see June 20; BSA, see Sept 7)

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

 

May 23, 2016: President Obama announced at a news conference in Hanoi that the US had rescinded a ban on sales of lethal military equipment to Vietnam, ending one of the last legal vestiges of the Vietnam War.

Mr. Obama portrayed the decision as part of the long process of normalizing relations between the two countries after the Vietnam War. [White House archives article] (see Dec 3)

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

FREE SPEECH

May 23, 2017: Middlebury College disciplined 67 students for their roles in shutting down a speech by the author Charles Murray on March 2.  The college spared the students the most serious penalties in the episode, which left a faculty member injured and came to symbolize a lack of tolerance for conservative ideas on some campuses.

The college issued a statement describing sanctions against the students “ranging from probation to official college discipline, which placed a permanent record in the student’s file.” The statement did not disclose how many students received the harsher punishment, but said, “Some graduate schools and employers require individuals to disclose official discipline in their applications.” None of the students were suspended or expelled. [NYT article] (see June 19)

Colin Kaepernick

May 23, 2018: the National Football League’s 32 owners decided to overhaul N.F.L. policy on protocol for the national anthem. At their two-day meeting in Atlanta, the owners said that the league would allow players to stay in the locker room during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” but said that teams would be fined if players “do not stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem.”

Those teams can then punish players however they see fit. (CK, see July 10)

Trump/Twitter

May 23, 2018: Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, addressing a novel issue about how the Constitution applies to social media platforms and public officials, found that the president’s Twitter feed is a public forum. As a result, she ruled that when Mr. Trump or an aide blocked seven plaintiffs from viewing and replying to his posts, he violated the First Amendment. (see June 14)

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism

TERRORISM

May 23, 2019: authorities released John Walker Lindh, known as the “American Taliban” after his capture in Afghanistan in 2001. He had served 17 years of a 20-year sentence.

Lindh received three years off for good behavior, though his probation terms include a host of restrictions: He would needs permission to go on the Internet; he’d be closely monitored; he’d be required to receive counseling, and he was not allowed to travel. (see Aug 3)

Sexual Abuse of Children

May 23, 2023: an investigative report from the office of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raouk reported that more than 450 credibly accused child sex abusers had ministered in the Catholic Church in Illinois over almost seven decades. That number was more than four times the number that the church had publicly disclosed before 2018, when the state began its investigation.

The 696-page report found that clergy members and lay religious brothers had abused at least 1,997 children since 1950 in the state’s six dioceses, including the prominent Archdiocese of Chicago. [NYT article] (next SAC, see )

May 23 Peace Love Art Activism