April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

Maryland Toleration Act

April 21, 1649: the Maryland assembly passed the Maryland Toleration Act, which provided for freedom of worship for all Christians: And whereas the inforceing of the conscience in matters of Religion hath frequently fallen out to be of dangerous Consequence in those commonwealthes where it hath been practised, And for the more quiett and peaceable governement of this Province, and the better to preserve mutuall Love and amity amongst the Inhabitants thereof, Be it Therefore also by the Lord Proprietary with the advise and consent of this Assembly Ordeyned and enacted (except as in this present Act is before Declared and sett forth) that noe person or persons whatsoever within this Province, or the Islands, Ports, Harbors, Creekes, or havens thereunto belonging professing to beleive in Jesus Christ, shall from henceforth bee any waies troubled, Molested or discountenanced for or in respect of his or her religion nor in the free exercise thereof within this Province or the Islands thereunto belonging nor any way compelled to the beleife or exercise of any other Religion against his or her consent, soe as they be not unfaithfull to the Lord Proprietary, or molest or conspire against the civill Governement established or to bee established in this Province under him or his heires. (let.rug.nl site article) (see October 27, 1659)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Feminism

April 21, 1917: headed by previous president of the National American Women’s Suffrage Association, Dr Anna Howard Shaw, the Women’s Committee of the US Council of National Defense was seen by the US government to be “the leader of the women of America,” guiding women’s organizations across the country in how best to accomplish women’s defense work. (see June 20)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

FREE SPEECH

Comics Code Authority

April 21, 1954: a U. S. Senate committee held hearings in New York City on the alleged dangers of comic books. The hearings were part of a nationwide panic over comics contributing to juvenile delinquency. Further hearings were held on April 22nd and June 4th. The major result was the Comics Code Authority, an exercise in self-censorship by the major publishers, on October 26, 1954. (cbldr dot org article)

Sidney Street

April 21, 1969: after hearing a news report of the attempted murder of James Meredith, Sidney Street, took a 48-star U.S. flag and burned it. Upon being questioned by police, he said, “Yes; that is my flag; I burned it. If they let that happen to Meredith, we don’t need an American flag.” He was arrested, and a document was prepared that charged him with “the crime of Malicious Mischief in that [he] did willfully and unlawfully defile, cast contempt upon and burn an American Flag, in violation of 1425-16-D of the Penal Law, under the following circumstances: . . . [he] did willfully and unlawfully set fire to an American Flag and shout, “If they did that to Meredith, We don’t need an American Flag.“

On this date in Street v New York, the US Supreme Court that a New York state law making it a crime “publicly [to] mutilate, deface, defile, or defy, trample upon, or cast contempt upon either by words or act [any flag of the United States]” was, in part, unconstitutional because it prohibited speech against the flag. The Court left for a later day the question of whether it is constitutional or unconstitutional to prohibit, without reference to the utterance of words, the burning of the flag  (Oyez article on T v J) (FS, see Apr 25; Texas v. Johnson, see June 21, 1989) 

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

see April 21 Music et al for more

Roots of Rock

Elvis Presley

April 21, 1956: Elvis Presley had his first number one hit with “Heartbreak Hotel“. (see May 5)

Roots of Rock

April 21, 1960: Dick Clark testified before a congressional committee investigating payola. He admitted that he had a financial interest in 27 percent of the records he played on his show in a period of 28 months. (see May 19)

Good Luck Charm

April 21 – May 4, 1962: “Good Luck Charm” by Elvis Presley #1 Billboard Hot 100. (see April 11, 1964)

LSD/The Merry Pranksters

April 21, 1965: The Merry Pranksters got a tip that a warrant had been drawn up and police would raid their camp in La Honda, California. (next LSD, see Apr 23)

The Road to Bethel

April 21, 1969: Canned Heat signed ($13,000) (see Chronology for expanded story)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

Kress store lunch counter

April 21, 1960: police arrested forty-five students (including Ezell Blair, Jr., Joseph McNeil, David Richmond and 13 Bennett College students) for trespassing as they sat at the Kress store lunch counter. All were released without bail. (BH, see Apr 24; see G4 for expanded story)

George Whitmore, Jr

April 21, 1965: The prosecution rested in the Minnie Edmonds murder trial.

April 21, 1971:  the New York Court of Appeals by a four-to-three vote upheld the Whitmore conviction without an explanatory opinion. (next BH, see Apr 23; see Whitmore for expanded story)

Milton Olive III

April 21, 1966:  Milton Olive III became the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Olive and fellow members of the 3d Platoon of Company B had been making their way through the jungles to locate Viet Cong (aka, National Liberation Front) operating in the area. As the soldiers pursued the enemy, a grenade was thrown into the middle of them. Olive grabbed the grenade and fell on it, absorbing the blast with his body. His actions saved the lives of his platoon members. Olive’s parents received the medal on his behalf. (next BH, see May 13; see M Olive for expanded story)

Turner County High School

April 21, 2007: Turner County High School students attended the school’s first racially integrated prom. Located in Ashburn, Georgia, a small, rural, peanut-farming town of 4400 residents, the school’s racial demographics reflected those of the local community: 55% black and 45% white. The prom theme, “Breakaway,” was chosen to signify a break from the tradition of privately-funded, separate “white” and “black” proms sponsored by parent groups.

The school administration’s handbook provided for funding an official school-wide prom but stipulated that the senior class officers and student body had to express genuine support for an integrated event. During the 2006-2007 school year, the school’s four senior class officers ? two white and two black ? approached the principal to discuss holding a school-wide prom. Regarding the segregated proms, senior class president James Hall said, “Everybody says that’s just how it’s always been. It’s just the way of this very small town. But it’s time for a change.”

Turner County High School’s class of 2007 also abandoned the “tradition” of electing both a white and a black homecoming queen. White parents still held a private, whites-only prom one week before the school-wide event and some parents refused to allow their children to attend the integrated prom. Principal Chad Stone, who is white, said he would not make efforts to end private proms for future classes but favored the integrated approach, “We already go to school together ? let’s start a tradition so that 20 years from now, this is no big deal at all.” (see May 3)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

CIA

April 21, 1965: the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency report a “most ominous” development: a regiment of the People’s Army of Vietnam–the regular army of North Vietnam–division was operating with the Viet Cong (aka, National Liberation Front) in South Vietnam. Prior to this, it was believed that South Vietnam was dealing with an internal insurgency by the Viet Cong only. The report detailed that, in fact, the Viet Cong forces were being joined in the war against the Saigon government by North Vietnamese army units.

In short, the report revealed that South Vietnam was now involved in a much larger war than originally believed. The situation far outstripped the combat capability of the South Vietnamese forces. In order to stabilize the situation, President Lyndon B. Johnson would have to commit U.S. ground combat units, leading to a much greater American involvement in the war. Indeed, eventually over 500,000 U.S. troops were stationed in South Vietnam. (see May 3)

April 21, 1975

• South Vietnam president, Nguyen Van Thieu, resigned, condemning the United States. (2001 NYT obit) (see Apr 28)
• Xuan Loc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, fell to the communists.  (see April 23)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

Mattachine Society

April 21, 1966: members of the Mattachine Society stage a “sip-in” at the Julius Bar in Greenwich Village, where the New York Liquor Authority prohibits serving gay patrons in bars on the basis that homosexuals are “disorderly.” Society president Dick Leitsch and other members announced their homosexuality and were immediately refused service.  Following the sip-in, the Mattachine Society sued the New York Liquor Authority. Although no laws are overturned, the New York City Commission on Human Rights declared that homosexuals have the right to be served. (NPR story) (see May 11)

Domestic partnership

April 21, 2007: Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire signed a domestic partnership bill into law. In the weeks that follow, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongski and New Hampshire Governor John Lynch also signed a domestic partnership law and a civil union law, respectively. (see May 3, 2007)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Women’s Health

United States v. Vuitch

April 21, 1971: United States v. Vuitch, decided on this day, was the first abortion case heard by the Supreme Court. Dr. Milan Vuitch was prosecuted in the District of Columbia for performing abortions. Vuitch argued that the law permitting abortion when it was necessary for the life or health of the woman was unconstitutionally vague. The District Court agreed and dismissed the indictment. In Vuitch, however, the Supreme Court held that the law was not unconstitutionally vague. Justice Hugo Black’s majority opinion, however, interpreted the law in such way as to make criminal prosecutions extremely difficult. Although technically losing in Supreme Court, Dr. Vuitch said he was pleased with the decision. (Oyez article) (see March 22, 1972)

Mifepristone

April 21, 2023: the Supreme Court ordered the abortion pill mifepristone to remain broadly available as litigation played out in a lower court.

The high court’s decision came in response to an emergency request by the Department of Justice to block lower court rulings that would severely limit access to the medication even in some states where abortion remains legal.

The case would be heard in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. [CNBC article] (next WH, see Apr 28)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Symbionese Liberation Army

April 21, 1975: four members of the S.L.A. held up the Crocker Bank in Carmichael, California. During the hold up, Emily Harris shot and killed a bystander, Myrna Opsahl. (see Patty Hearst for expanded story)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Tiananmen Square

April 21, 1989: Chinese students begin protesting in Tiananmen Square. (see May 20)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

DEATH PENALTY

April 21, 1992: after an extraordinary bicoastal judicial duel kept his fate in doubt throughout the night, Robert Alton Harris died in San Quentin’s gas chamber at sunrise becoming the first person executed in California in 25 years. Harris, 39, was pronounced dead at 6:21 a.m., just 36 minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the last of four overnight reprieves that delayed his execution by more than six hours.

Earlier that day, Harris came within seconds of death but was rescued by a federal judge, who halted the execution even as the acid used to form the lethal gas flowed into a vat beneath the prisoner’s seat. That final stay was quickly tossed out by the U.S. Supreme Court, which clearly had had its fill of the Harris case. In an unprecedented ruling that capped a night of coast-to-coast faxes and deliberations the justices voted 7 to 2 to forbid any federal court from meddling further in the execution. (LA Times article) (see January 25, 1993)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Oklahoma City Explosion

April 21, 1995: Terry Nichols learned he was wanted for questioning, turned himself in, and consented to a search of his home. The search turned up blasting caps, detonating cords, ground ammonium nitrate, barrels made of plastic similar to fragments found at the bombing site, 33 firearms, anti-government warfare literature, a receipt for ammonium nitrate fertilizer with McVeigh’s fingerprints on it, a telephone credit card that McVeigh had used when he was shopping for bomb making equipment, and a hand-drawn map of downtown Oklahoma City. (see May 10)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

CLINTON IMPEACHMENT

April 21, 1998: former President George Bush weighed in, challenging Ken Starr’s attempt to get Secret Service officers to testify before the grand jury. (see Clinton for expanded story)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Immigration History

Luis Ramirez

April 21, 2009: county charges were dropped against Colin Walsh, 17, one of three teenagers arrested in the beating death of Luis Ramirez because the Walsh entered a guilty plea on April 8 to charges in federal court. (DoJ Walsh sentencing article)  (IH & Ramirez, see May 2 or see LR for expanded story)

Not quite close borders

April 21, 2020: the NYT reported that the Trump administration announced new restrictions on permanent residency in the United States.

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Fourth Amendment

April 21, 2015: the US Supreme Court ruled that the police may not prolong traffic stops to wait for drug sniffing dogs to inspect vehicles. “A police stop exceeding the time needed to handle the matter for which the stop was made violates the Constitution’s shield against unreasonable seizures,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the majority. The vote was 6 to 3.

The case, Rodriguez v. United States, started when a Nebraska police officer saw a Mercury Mountaineer driven by Dennys Rodriguez veer onto the shoulder of a state highway just after midnight. The officer, Morgan Struble performed a routine traffic stop, questioning Mr. Rodriguez and his passenger and running a records check. He then issued Mr. Rodriguez a written warning.

That completed the stop, Justice Ginsburg wrote. But Officer Struble then had his drug-sniffing dog, Floyd, circle the vehicle. Floyd smelled drugs and led his officer to a large bag of methamphetamine. About eight minutes elapsed between the written warning and Floyd’s alert. (see May 7)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Sexual Abuse of Children

April 21, 2015: three years after Bishop Robert W. Finn became the first Roman Catholic prelate to be convicted of failing to report a pedophile priest, he resigned as head of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in northern and western Missouri. (see June 5)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Environmental Issues

April 21, 2015:  abandoning years of official skepticism, Oklahoma’s government embraced a scientific consensus that earthquakes rocking the state are largely caused by the underground disposal of billions of barrels of wastewater from oil and gas wells.

  The state’s energy and environment cabinet introduced a website detailing the evidence behind that conclusion Tuesday, including links to expert studies of Oklahoma’s quakes. The site includes an interactive map that plots not only earthquake locations, but also the sites of more than 3,000 active wastewater-injection wells. The website coincided with a statement by the Oklahoma Geological Survey that it “considers it very likely” that wastewater wells are causing the majority of the state’s earthquakes. (USGS article on induced earthquakes) (see Apr 22)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Nuclear/Chemical News

April 21, 2018: North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, announced that his country no longer needed to test nuclear weapons or long-range missiles and would close a nuclear test site.

“The nuclear test site has done its job,” Mr. Kim said in a statement carried by North Korea’s state media.

Kim’s announcement came just days before a scheduled summit meeting with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea; Mr. Kim also planned to meet with President Trump soon. It was the second time in two days that he made what appeared to be a significant concession to the United States but in reality cemented the status quo. North Korea already had stopped testing its weapons.

Mr. Kim made no mention in his latest remarks of dismantling the nuclear weapons and long-range missiles North Korea has already built. On the contrary, he suggested he was going to keep them. (see Apr 29)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Colin Kaepernick

April 21, 2018: human rights organization Amnesty International  honored former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick with its Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2018, lauding his peaceful protests against racial inequality. The former San Francisco 49ers star was handed the award at a ceremony in Amsterdam by onetime teammate Eric Reid.

Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty called Kaepernick “an athlete who is now widely recognized for his activism because of his refusal to ignore or accept racial discrimination.” (see May 23)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

US Labor History

April 21, 2019: after more than three months of negotiations and 11 days on strike, over 30,000 Stop & Shop workers reached a tentative agreement with the supermarket chain that they said met their demands for better pay and health care coverage.

The employees, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union at more than 240 Stop & Shops across Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, returned to work the next day after reaching the deal. [NYT article] (next LH, see Sept 16)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Fair Housing

April 21, 2022:  the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) released new guidance to reinforce requirements that HUD-subsidized multifamily housing’s marketing and application processes be designed to be inclusive of persons of all races and national origins.

The two new guidance pieces, titled “Guidance on Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in Marketing and Application Processing at Subsidized Multifamily Properties” and “Implementation Sheet for HUD’s Title VI Guidance” clarify how certain marketing, rental application processing, and waitlist management practices can perpetuate segregation or otherwise discriminate in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The guidance is designed to assist property owners in understanding and implementing more inclusive practices less likely to produce discriminatory results. [US Housing article] (next FH, see June 21)

April 21 Peace Love Art Activism

Cannabis

April 21, 2023: Gov. John Carney (D) of Delaware said that he would allow a pair of bills to legalize marijuana possession and establish ad regulated adult-use market become law without his signature.

Advocates were concerned that Carney would veto the proposals as he did in the last session, but in a welcome surprise to supporters, he said on Friday that he would let HB 1 and HB 2 go into effect—albeit without his active support.

That meant Delaware, which is nicknamed “The First State,” will become the 22nd state in the U.S. to legalize recreational cannabis. [MM article] (next Cannabis, see May 1, or see CAC for expanded chronology)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

Feminism

Voting Rights

April 19, 1929: after years of lobbying by National Women’s Party and other groups, Puerto Rican women granted suffrage subject to literacy testing. (Puerto Rican  Women’s History book text) (Feminism, see November 20, 1930; Voting Rights, see September 9, 1957)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

Black History

Scottsboro 9

April 19, 1933: Judge Horton postponed the trials of the other Scottsboro defendants because of dangerously high local tensions. The judge feared that local tensions were too strained to result in a “just and impartial verdict.” (see Scottsboro for expanded story)

FREE SPEECH

April 19, 1960: the City of Montgomery filed a $500,000 libel suit against The New York Times in the wake of an advertisement that was critical of Alabama. (see May 30)

Z. Alexander Looby

April 19, 1960: KKK terrorists bomb the home of Z. Alexander Looby, a Nashville civil rights lawyer who defended students arrested in Nashville, TN sit-ins.  He and his wife survive. (Black Past dot org article on Looby) (see  Greensboro Four for expanded story)

George Whitmore, Jr

April 19, 1965: in view of the “the antipathy and antagonism” Justice Dominic Rinaldi had shown Whitmore’s attorney, Stanley Reiben, Reiben asked to withdraw from the case, saying he can no longer effectively represent his client. Rinaldi denied the request. (see Whitmore for expanded story)

James Earl Ray

April 19, 1968: the FBI announced that  James Earl Ray was being sought under the alias of Eric Starvo Galt for the murder of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (see Apr 25; Ray see June 8)

Afro American Society

April 19, 1969: more than 80 members of the Afro American Society took over Willard Straight Hall, Cornell University’s student union.

The takeover had been prompted by a reprimand of three Black students for an incident the previous December and a cross burning (both incidents occurred the previous day) in front of the Black women’s cooperative and other cases of alleged racism. Protesters and administrators reached an agreement and the students left the building a day later. (Cornell U article) (see Apr 25)

Jill E Brown

April 19, 1978: Jill E Brown of Baltimore got her flight wings from Texas International Airlines, which made her the first black woman who was known to have qualified as a pilot for a major US airline. Brown, 27, began flying as a teenager and later became a pilot for a local airline in North Carolina before becoming a first officer on TIA.  (Black Past dot org article) (BH, see June 8; next Feminism, see Apr 25)

Confederate battle flag

April 19, 1983:  about 100 African-American students at the University of Mississippi protested against the use of the Confederate battle flag as a symbol of the university. The night before, white students had waved the flag,  sung “Dixie,” and shouted racial slurs. The next day, the university chancellor announced the flag would no longer be used as a university symbol. (see June 2)

Rodney King

April 19, 1994: The U.S. District Court in Los Angeles awarded King $3.8 million in compensatory damages in a civil lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles. King had demanded $56 million, or $1 million for every blow struck by the officers. (Black History, see May 10; King, see June 1, 1994)

Freddie Gray

April 19, 2015: Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died of a spinal cord injury after police arrested  handcuffed, and placed him in a police wagon without a seat-belt. (B & S and Gray, see Apr 27)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

April 19 Music et al

Bicycle Day

April 19, 1943: Albert Hofmann intentionally took LSD (250 ug) for the first time. This was the first intentional use of LSD. He asked Susi Ramstein, a  laboratory assistant, to escort him home and, as use of motor vehicles was prohibited because of wartime restrictions, they had to make the journey on a bicycle. On the way, Hofmann’s condition rapidly deteriorated as he struggled with feelings of anxiety, alternating in his beliefs that the next-door neighbor was a malevolent witch, that he was going insane, and that the LSD had poisoned him.

When the house doctor arrived, however, he could detect no physical abnormalities, save for a pair of incredibly dilated pupils. Hofmann was reassured, and soon his terror began to give way to a sense of good fortune and enjoyment, as he later wrote:“… little by little I could begin to enjoy the unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind my closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged in on me, alternating, variegated, opening and then closing themselves in circles and spirals, exploding in colored fountains, rearranging and hybridizing themselves in constant flux …” (see Hofman for more; next LSD, see Apr 22)

Cultural Milestone

April 19, 1961: the Federal Communications Commission authorized regular FM stereo broadcasting starting on June 1, 1961. (see FCC delivers rock for expanded story)

The Beatles & Co

April 19, 1967: in order to control their various business interests, The Beatles’ tax advisors suggested they form an umbrella company. It was named The Beatles & Co.

At the time the group had large amounts of capital, which they were in danger of losing to the Inland Revenue. To avoid this occurring they chose to invest in a business venture.

The Beatles & Co. was essentially a new version of Beatles Ltd, their original partnership. Under the new terms, each Beatle took ownership of 5% of the company, and a new corporation – which eventually became Apple Corps – would be collectively owned and would control 80% of The Beatles & Co. (from Beatles & Co) (see May)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

April 19, 1971: Vietnam Veterans Against the War began a five-day demonstration in Washington, D.C. Called Dewey Canyon III in honor of the operation of the same name conducted in Laos, about 1,000 veterans participated some throwing their combat ribbons, helmets, and uniforms on the Capitol steps, along with toy weapons.  (VVAW article) (next Vietnam, see April 24)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

DEATH PENALTY

Charles Manson

April 19, 1971: Charles Manson was sentenced to death for ordering the murders of Sharon Tate and others. The sentence was then commuted to life after the Supreme Court of California overturned the death penalty in 1972. (see February 18, 1972)

Walter Leroy

April 19, 2018: Alabama executed Walter Leroy Moody Jr., who used mail bombs to assassinate a federal appeals court judge and a civil rights lawyer in 1989, at the Alabama prison where he spent decades denying his guilt.

With his execution by lethal injection, Mr. Moody, 83, became the oldest prisoner put to death in the modern era of American capital punishment, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a research group. (see Aug 2)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

Oklahoma City Explosion

April 19, 1995: car bomb exploded outside federal office building in Oklahoma City collapsing wall and floors. 168 people were killed, including 19 children and 1 person who died in rescue effort. Over 220 buildings sustained damage. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols later convicted in the anti government plot to avenge the Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Tex., exactly 2 years earlier. (see Apr 21)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

BSA

April 19, 2013: officials of the Boy Scouts of America proposed ending their ban on openly gay scouts but continuing to bar gay adults from serving as leaders. The decision, which follows years of heated controversy within the organization and growing outside criticism, must be approved by the roughly 1,400 voting members of the Scouts’ National Council at a meeting in Texas the week of May 20. (next BSA & LGBTQ, see Apr 27)

Transgender students

April 19, 2016: the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va., ruled in favor of a transgender student who was born female and wishes to use the boys’ restroom at his rural Virginia high school.

As a result of the ruling, advocates said, that portion of the North Carolina law that applied to public schools clearly violated Title IX — the federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in schools. (see May 6)

Title IX/Transgender

April 19, 2024: the Biden administration issued new rules cementing protections for L.G.B.T.Q. students under federal law and updating the procedure schools must follow when investigating and adjudicating cases of alleged sexual misconduct on campus.

The new rules, which would take effect on Aug. 1, effectively broadened the scope of Title IX, the 1972 law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding. They extend the law’s reach to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“These regulations make it crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights,” Miguel A. Cardona, the education secretary, said. [NYT article] (next LGBTQ+, see Apr 29)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

Cannabis

April 19, 2016: the Marijuana Decriminalization Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 made permanent the former temporary ban on use of marijuana in private clubs or public places in Washington DC. (next Cannabis, see June 8 or see CCC for expanded chronology)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

The Cold War

April 19, 2018: Raúl Castro, who had taken over from his brother Fidel 12 years ago, stepped down and handed power to  Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, 57, a Communist Party loyalist who was born a year after Fidel Castro claimed power in Cuba. (next CW, see Oct 16; next Cuba/CW, see June 5, 2019)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

Environmental Issues

Coal Ban/Public Lands

April 19, 2019: Judge Brian Morris of the United States District Court of the District of Montana delivered a significant setback to the Trump administration’s policy of promoting coal, ruling that the Interior Department acted illegally when it sought to lift an Obama-era moratorium on coal mining on public lands.

Morris’s  decision did not reinstate President Barack Obama’s 2016 freeze on new coal mining leases on public lands. That policy was part of an effort by the Obama administration to curtail the burning of coal, a major producer of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change.

But the court ruling did say that the 2017 Trump administration policy, enacted by former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, to overturn Mr. Obama’s coal mining ban did not include adequate studies of the environmental effects of the mining, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970, or NEPA, one of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws.

“Federal Defendants’ decision not to initiate the NEPA process proves arbitrary and capricious,” Judge Morris wrote. [NYT article](next EI, see Apr 25)

Forever Chemicals

April 19, 2024: the Biden administration designated two “forever chemicals,” man-made compounds that were linked to serious health risks, as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, shifting responsibility for their cleanup to polluters from taxpayers.

The new rule announced empowered the government to force the many companies that manufacture or use perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, known as PFOS, to monitor any releases into the environment and be responsible for cleaning them up. Those companies could face billions of dollars in liabilities.

The pair of compounds are part of a larger family of chemical substances known collectively as PFAS. [NYT article] (next EI, see Apr 25)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

Space

April 19. 2021: 117 years after the Wright Brothers’ historic flight on this planet, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter made the first-ever powered flight on another planet,

The flight itself was modest. The 4-pound helicopter rose 10 feet in the air, hovered briefly, and returned to the Martian surface. An images taken from the craft showed Ingenuity’s shadow on the surface and another taken from the Perseverance rover showed an airborne Ingenuity.

“We can now say that human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet,” project manager MiMi Aung announced to her team. [NPR article] (next Space, see Dec 14); Ingenuity, see January 25, 2024)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

Sexual Abuse of Children

April 19,2022: the Diocese of Camden, N.J., said that it had agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims made by hundreds of people who accused clergy members of sexually abusing them, one of the largest such settlements involving the Catholic Church in the United States.

In what may have been a first for such litigation, the ultimate payout to the plaintiffs could be substantially higher, lawyers representing them said, because the settlement allowed for further litigation against insurance companies for the diocese and related entities like parishes and schools.

“This is a triumph of courage, with all credit to the survivors for staying unified and strong,” Jeff Anderson, a lawyer for about a quarter of the roughly 300 plaintiffs, said.

In a statement announcing the settlement, Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, the leader of the diocese, said, “I want to express my sincere apology to all those who have been affected by sexual abuse in our diocese.”  [NYT article] (next SaoC, see Sept 8)

April 19 Peace Love Art Activism

US Labor History

April 19, 2024: in a landmark victory for organized labor, workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee voted overwhelmingly to join the United Automobile Workers union, becoming the first nonunion auto plant in a Southern state to do so.

The company said in a statement that the union had won 2,628 votes, with 985 opposed, in a three-day election. Two earlier bids by the U.A.W. to organize the Chattanooga factory over the last 10 years were narrowly defeated. [NYT article] (next LH, see June 13)