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Peace Love Art and Activism, Today in history

November 6 Peace Love Activism

November 6, 2015 Woodstock Whisperer Leave a comment

November 6 Peace Love Activism

History fills every day. In 1917, suffragists finally got a foothold in New York when women there won the right to vote. Three years later, women voted nationally for the first time. The US government offered citizenship to Native American veterans.Few of us have heard of Rudolph Anderson, but he was the only US fatality during the Cuban Missile Crisis. And when the Symbionese Liberation Army first struck, we'd never heard that name, either.

Feminism

Voting Rights

November 6, 1917:  the woman suffrage referendum succeeded in New York. New York was the first eastern state to grant women the vote. (NYT sufferage article) (see Nov 10)

and exactly three years later…

November 6 Peace Love Activism — **Women vote for first time nationally**

November 6, 1920:  following the ratification of the 19th amendment on August 18, 1920, women across entire United States vote for first time. In Yoncalla, Oregon, woman won every council seat. (Women vote for first time) (Feminism, see Nov 23, 1921; VR, see Feb 27, 1922)

Nancy Pelosi

November 6, 2006: mid-term elections resulted in the Democrats gaining control of both houses of Congress; Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the House. (see Jan 4, 2007)

Native Americans

1919 American Indian Citizenship Act

Native Americans were not considered citizens of the United States despite the obvious fact that they were born and lived here for thousands of years before there even was a United States. Native Americans fought in support of US troops in every was. On November 6, 1919, Congress enacted the 1919 American Indian Citizenship Act, but it did not grant automatic citizenship to American Indian veterans who had received an honorable discharge. The Act merely authorized those American Indian veterans who wanted to become American citizens to apply for and be granted citizenship. Few Indians actually followed through on the process.

"BE IT ENACTED . . . that every American Indian who served in the Military or Naval Establishments of the United States during the war against the Imperial German Government, and who has received or who shall hereafter receive an honorable discharge, if not now a citizen and if he so desires, shall, on proof of such discharge and after proper identification before a court of competent jurisdiction, and without other examination except as prescribed by said court, be granted full citizenship with all the privileges pertaining thereto, without in any manner impairing or otherwise affecting the property rights, individuals or tribal, of any such Indian or his interest in tribal or other Indian property."

(click for a longer article on citizenship and Native Americans around this time >>> Daily Kos) (see June 2, 1924)

US Labor History

November 6, 1922: a coal mine explosion in Spangler, Pa., kills 79. The mine had been rated gaseous in 1918, but at the insistence of new operators it was rated as non-gaseous even though miners had been burned by gas on at least four occasions (see April 2, 1923)

Cold War

McCarthyism/the KKK/Kickbacks

November 6, 1946: the Republican Party won a majority in both the House and Senate, ushering in a major revival of institutional anticommunist activity, publicly spearheaded by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Joe McCarthy won election to the U.S. Senate from Wisconsin. 

In 1947,the House on Un-American Activities decided not to investigate the Ku Klux Klan’s violent actions. HUAC’s chief counsel, Ernest Adamson, announced: "The committee has decided that it lacks sufficient data on which to base a probe," HUAC member John Rankin added: "After all, the KKK is an old American institution.” 

It was reported that grom 1947 – 1949 Senator Joe McCarthy had accepted kickbacks from Pepsi Cola totaling $20,000 in exchange for helping Pepsi to circumvent the post-war sugar rationing.   He also received another $10,000 from entrepreneurs in the pre-fabricated housing industry.  Shortly thereafter, McCarthy joined the Senate Housing Committee and went on the road to speak out against public housing for veterans, extolling the benefits of the pre-fabricated home and offering it as an alternative. (FH, see May 3, 1948: RS, see Feb 17)

Rudolph Anderson

November 6, 1962: during the Cuban Missile Crisis on October 27, US Air Force pilot Rudolph Anderson took off in a U-2F (spy plane) from McCoy Air Force Base in Orlando Florida. A few hours into his mission, he was shot down by a Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missile near Banes, Cuba. Anderson was killed when shrapnel from the exploding proximity warhead punctured his pressure suit causing it to decompress at high altitude.

On October 31, Acting United Nations Secretary U Thant returned from a visit with Premier Fidel Castro and announced that Anderson was dead.

On this date, Rudolph Anderson's body interred in Greenville, South Carolina at Woodlawn Memorial Park. Cold War, see Dec 15 – March 8, 1963)

Turn! Turn! Turn!

In 1962, Pete Seeger used verses from the Bible’s Book of Ecclesiastes to write song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” which promoted peaceful aims. (see Dec 23)

Calvin Graham

November 6, 1950: Graham enlisted in the US Marine Corps. His "birth certificate" indicated he was 17. He was actually 12. (see Calvin Graham for full story)

Presidential Elections

Dwight D Eisenhower

November 6, 1956, Dwight D Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson and re-elected President.

Ronald Reagan

November 6, 1984: Ronald Reagan defeated Walter F. Mondale with 59% of the popular vote, the highest since Richard Nixon's 61% victory in 1972. Reagan carries 49 states in the electoral college; Mondale wins only his home state of Minnesota by a mere 3,761 vote margin and the District of Columbia.; Wilson Goode elected first African American mayor of Philadelphia.

Barak Obama

November 6, 2012, Barak Obama re-elected President. A protest at the University of Mississippi against his re-election grew into crowd of about 400 people with shouted racial slurs. Two people were arrested on minor charges. The university said that the gathering at the student union began late Tuesday night with about 30 to 40 students, but grew within 20 minutes as word spread. Some students chanted political slogans while others used derogatory racial statements and profanity, the statement said.

see November 6 Music et al for more

Big Bad John

November 6 – December 10, 1961: “Big Bad John” by Jimmy Dean #1 Billboard Hot 100.

Rock Venues

November 6, 1965:  promoter Bill Graham put on his first show, a benefit for the radical San Francisco Mime Troupe at the Calliope Warehouse in San Francisco. He did it to raise money for a legal defense fund for a member of the troupe who been arrested a few days earlier. The troupe's offices were in the warehouse and they figured they could hold about 400 - 500 people. The donation to get in was "at least $1.00". About 4000 people showed up.

For entertainment, Bill hired a band who also rehearsed in the same warehouse. The band was the Jefferson Airplane. They played 3 songs. Also on the bill were The Fugs and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. (see Dec 10)

Get Off My Cloud

November 6 – 19, 1965, “Get Off My Cloud” by the Rolling Stones #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

see Raccoon Creek Rock Festival for more

November 6 - 8, 1969: Livingston Gym, Denison University (Granville, OH). The Who. The Spirit and Johnny Winter. Supporting acts: Owen B, The Dust

Black History

South Africa, Apartheid

November 6, 1962: the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 1761, which condemned Apartheid in South Africa and called on member-nations to boycott the country. The Resolution also set up a Special Committee against Apartheid.(see July 11, 1963)

Dee/Moore Murders

November 6, 1964: after an extensive FBI investigation, state authorities arrested James Ford Seale and Charles Marcus Edwards for the kidnapping and murder of Henry Dee and Charles Moore. (Dee/Moore, see Jan 11, 1965; BH, see Nov 9)

Vietnam

Draft Card Burning

November 6, 1965: at a peace demonstration in Union Square, NYC, Thomas Cornell (teacher) Marc Edelman (cabinetmaker), Roy Lisker (novelist and teacher), and James Watson (on staff of Catholic Worker Pacifist Movenet) burn their draft cards, (Vietnam, see Nov 9; DCB, see Dec 21)

November 6 Peace Love Activism

Symbionese Liberation Army

November 6, 1973:  after several months of weapons training, the S.L.A. committed its first revolutionary act. They ambush and murder black Oakland school superintendent Marcus Foster and seriously wound his deputy, Robert Blackburn. (Marcus Foster article) (see Feb 4, 1974)

Medical Marijuana

November 6, 2012: Massachusetts became the 18^th state to approve medical marijuana. (see July 23, 2013)

Stop and Frisk Policy

November 6, 2013: Burt Neuborne, a law professor at New York University, filed a legal brief in the federal appeals court in Manhattan on behalf of Judge Scheindlin, asking that he and a team of four other prominent lawyers be allowed to challenge the order disqualifying her from the stop-and-frisk case. The motion called the order removing her from the case procedurally deficient, inaccurate and unwarranted, and asked that it be vacated or reviewed by the full appeals court. (see Nov 13)

LGBT

November 6, 2014: in a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed lower court rulings in Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky that struck down same-sex marriage bans, allowing four states to prohibit same-sex unions. (NYT article) (see Nov 12)

Sexual abuse of children

November 6, 2014:  the Archdiocese of Chicago released thousands of internal documents showing how it hid the sexual abuse of children by 36 priests, adding to similar disclosures made earlier this year and fulfilling a pledge by Cardinal Francis George to release the files before he retired.

"We cannot change the past but we hope we can rebuild trust through honest and open dialogue," George said in a statement. "Child abuse is a crime and a sin."

In January, the archdiocese had released 6,000 documents on 30 abusive priests as part of a legal settlement with victims, and on this day posted online 15,000 more records related to 36 others and involving abuse allegations dating to the early 1950s. The files only covered cases in which the archdiocese substantiated the abuse, and did not include those against priests who died before their accusers came forward or those who served in religious orders. (see April 21, 2015)

Stop and Frisk Policy

November 6, 2013: Burt Neuborne, a law professor at New York University, filed a legal brief in the federal appeals court in Manhattan on behalf of Judge Scheindlin, asking that he and a team of four other prominent lawyers be allowed to challenge the order disqualifying her from the stop-and-frisk case. The motion called the order removing her from the case procedurally deficient, inaccurate and unwarranted, and asked that it be vacated or reviewed by the full appeals court. (NYT article) (see Nov 13)

Environmental Issues

November 6, 2015: President Barack Obama rejected the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada in a victory for environmentalists who campaigned against the project for more than seven years.

"The pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy," Obama told a press conference. He said it would not reduce gasoline prices, and shipping "dirtier" crude from Canada would not increase U.S. energy security. (see Dec 12)

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Peace Love Art and Activism, Today in history

October 28 Peace Love Activism

October 28, 2015 Woodstock Whisperer Leave a comment

October 28 Peace Love Activism

Technological Milestones

Cotton gin

October 28, 1793: Eli Whitney applied for a patent for the cotton gin. It was granted in March 14, 1794. It will change the course of American history as it made the cotton crop a valuable commodity for which thousands of workers--black slaves--would be used.(see February 7, 1817)

Football game broadcast

October 28, 1922: hundreds of young men gathered around radios in Western Union offices, speakeasies and a Princeton University physics lab to hear the first-ever cross-country broadcast of a college football game between Princeton and the Chicago Maroons. Telephone lines carried a play-by-play of the match-up. (NYT article) (see April 15, 1923)

Feminism

Matilda Josyln Gage

October 28, 1886: Gage joined the New York City Woman Suffrage Association’s protest at the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty. Suffragists called it the greatest hypocrisy of the 19th century that liberty is represented as a woman in a land where not a single woman has liberty. (NYT article)

In 1890: Gage left National Women's Suffragist Association after its merger with the American Woman Suffrage Association and established the Woman’s National Liberal Union, dedicated to maintaining the separation of church and state. (Separation Churchand State, see May 5, 1925 Feminism; see May)

In 1893 Gage published her magnum opus, Woman, Church, and State. 

Gage also spoke of organized religion: “The greatest evils to women in all ages have come through the bondage of the Church. Women must think for themselves and realize that the story of the creation with the pair in the garden and the speaking serpent standing on his tail was a myth.” (Feminism, see Nov 7)

in 1895 Gage contributed to Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s The Woman’s Bible, writing interpretations of three Biblical passages pertinent to women. The Woman’s Bible is a major criticism of standard biblical interpretation from a radical feminist point of view. (Gage, see March 18, 1898)

Voting rights

In 1897 New York State Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage founded. (see April 25, 1898)

Consumer Protection

October 28, 1974:  President Gerald Ford on this day signed into law the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which helped to reduce sex discrimination in access to credit. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Lindy Boggs (D–Louisiana) helped shape the law. She hand-wrote “sex or marital status” into the text and then passed out new copies of the bill with the phrase included. She suggested sweetly that the omission “must have been an oversight.” The amendment passed. President Gerald Ford signed further amendments to bar discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act Amendments of 1976 in March 1976. (Feminism, see January 8, 1975; CP, see February 12, 1976)

INDEPENDENCE DAY

October 28, 1918:  Czech Republic formed marking independence from Austria-Hungary. (see Nov 11)

Cultural Milestone/Volstead Act

October 28, 1919,  the day after President Wilson had vetoed the act, the House and Senate override his veto and the Volstead Act was passed, ushering in Prohibition. It went into effect in January 1920. (NYT article) (see January 17, 1920)

Cold War

McCarthyism

October 28, 1947: Dalton Trumbo, a successful Hollywood screenwriter, confronted the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) on this day. All of the “Hollywood Ten” were cited for contempt of Congress, convicted, sentenced to prison, and blacklisted by the film industry.

Contempt of Congress indictments became a heavy weapon against alleged subversives during the Cold War. While it had rarely been used before World War II, HUAC issued 21 contempt citations in 1946, 14 in 1947, and 56 in 1950. All other House Committees in those years issued a total of only 6 contempt citations. (Red Scare, see Oct 30; Hollywood Ten, see November 25, 1956; Trumbo, see March 27, 1957)

see Cuban Missile Crisis for more

 October 28, 1962:  after much deliberation between the Soviet Union and Kennedy's cabinet, Kennedy secretly agreed to remove all missiles set in southern Italy and in Turkey, the latter on the border of the Soviet Union, in exchange for Khrushchev removing all missiles in Cuba. Nikita Khrushchev announced that he had ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases in Cuba. (Cold War, see Oct 30)

October 28 Music et al

Beatles/My Bonnie

October 28, 1961, The Beatles before their US appearance: “My Bonnie” is a success in Germany and eventually heard and released in England. On the same day, according to Beatles legend,  a fan named Raymond Jones attempted to purchase the single "My Bonnie" from Brian Epstein's NEMS record store in Liverpool. Brian managed the record shop, which was part of a large department store owned by his father. The legend states that this was the first occasion on which Brian Epstein heard of the single or, indeed, of        The Beatles. "Mersey Beat" editor Bill Harry discounts this story as improbable. Harry claims to have discussed The Beatles and other local groups with Epstein well before this date, and he adds that Epstein was already writing record reviews for "Mersey Beat" and selling copies of the paper in his shop. Further, Epstein was selling tickets to Sam Leach's 'Operation Big Beat' concert, and The Beatles' name was at the top of the list of groups that were scheduled to appear at the November 10 event. (see Oct 30)

Beatles/Empire Theatre, Liverpool

October 28, 1962:  The Beatles performed at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool. This is a major performance for The Beatles, their first at Liverpool's top theatre. They are part of an eight-act, big-name program that plays to two separate "houses" (two performances for two different audiences, one at 5:40 pm and the other at 8:00 pm). Heading the bill is Little Richard; also appearing is Craig Douglas (for whom The Beatles provide musical backing in addition to their own, separate performance), Jet Harris (ex-Shadows bass player), and Kenny Lynch & Sounds Incorporated. In Liverpudlian terms, The Beatles have hit the big time. (see Nov 23)

see Teenage Awards Music International for more

October 28 – 29, 1964 filmed over two days at the Santa Monica (Calif.) Civic Auditorium, "The T.A.M.I. Show" (short for  Teenage Awards Music International or Teen Age Music International) featured some of the biggest stars in rock and pop music, including The Rolling Stones, James Brown and the Flames, The Supremes, The Beach Boys and Lesley Gore. It was released in theaters in December 1964.  (see June 24, 1966)

Supremes

October 28 – December 1, 1967: Diana Ross and the Supremes Greatest Hits is the Billboard #1 album.

FREE SPEECH

October 28, 1989: a group burned a United States flag belonging to the United States Postal Service. The flag-burning occurred during a political demonstration convened in front of a post office in Seattle, Washington to protest the enactment of the Flag Protection Act of 1989, 18 U.S.C. § 700. That statute, which prohibits flagburning, had taken effect only minutes before defendants' actions against the flag.

Participants were charged with committing two misdemeanors: one count of wilful injury to federal property and one count of knowingly burning a United States flag in violation of the Flag Protection Act. (see March 21, 1990)

Fair Housing

1992 Act

October 28, 1992: The Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 signed. The Act established the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It also mandated that HUD set specific goals for the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with regard to low income and underserved housing areas.

Home ownership

In 1996 home ownership totaled 66.3 million American households, the largest number ever. Except for a few historic buildings, Techwood Homes (see August 15, 1936) was demolished in 1996 before the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Enforcement Center

in 1998 HUD opens Enforcement Center to take action against HUD-assisted multifamily property owners and other HUD fund recipients who violate laws and regulations. Congress approves Public Housing reforms to reduce segregation by race and income, encourage and reward work, bring more working families into public housing, and increase the availability of subsidized housing for very poor families.

Home ownership

In 2000 America's homeownership rate reached a new record-high of 67.7 percent in the third quarter of 2000. A total of 71.6 million American families own their homes - more than at any time in American history. (see July 19, 2013)

BLACK HISTORY

Slave Revolts

October 28, 2002: the City Council in Richmond, the former capital of the Confederacy, …unanimously voted to honor a slave who plotted a revolt. A resolution calling the slave, Gabriel Prosser, an ''American patriot and freedom fighter'' commemorates the 202nd anniversary of his hanging on Oct. 10, 1800, in Richmond. Dozens of conspirators were also executed after two slaves told their masters of the plot. ''This resolution seeks to correct an error in history whereby Gabriel has been seen by many as a criminal,'' Councilman Sa'ad El-Amin told the Council. (BH, see Dec 4; SR, see June 17, 2015)

The Matthew Shepard Act

October 28, 2009: President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, as a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010. Conceived as a response to the murders of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., the measure expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. (Black History, see Nov 15, 2010; Shepard: see September 21, 2011 and April 12, 2012; LGBTQ, see Nov 3)

October 28 Peace Love Activism

Women’s Health

October 28, 2013: federal Judge Lee Yeakel of the US District Court in Austin blocked an important part of the state’s restrictive new abortion law, which would have required doctors performing the procedure to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The decision, one day before the provision was to take effect, prevented a major disruption of the abortion clinics in Texas. It was a victory for abortion rights groups and clinics that said the measure served no medical purpose and could force as many as one-third of the state’s 36 abortion clinics to close.

But the court did not strike down a second measure, requiring doctors to use a particular drug protocol in nonsurgical, medication-induced abortions that doctors called outdated and too restrictive.

The decision is widely expected to be appealed to higher courts. Yeakel declared that “the act’s admitting-privileges provision is without a rational basis and places a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus.” (BC, see Oct 31; Texas, see June 27, 2016)  (NYT article)

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Peace Love Art and Activism, Today in history

October 27 Peace Love Activism

October 27, 2015 Woodstock Whisperer Leave a comment

October 27 Peace Love Activism

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

October 27, 1659: during the late 1650s, the government of colonial Massachusetts felt deeply threatened by the Quaker religion. Puritan leaders thought it could destabilize society by undermining their culture and religion. Laws were passed that outlawed Quakerism. Being a Quaker, meeting with or aiding a Quaker, or publishing Quaker material was punished by banishment from the territory, on pain of death.

The first Quakers to break the laws were Marmaduke Stevenson, William Robinson, Mary Dyar, and Nicholas Davis. On September 12, 1659, they were banished from Massachusetts, and told that if any of them returned, they would be put to death. Dyar and Davis left Massachusetts. Stevenson and Robinson ignored the ruling, and went to Salem, MA to spread their gospel. The pair were quickly apprehended and imprisoned in Boston. Dyar left Massachusetts but was compelled to return, and she was also locked up.

On October 27, 1659, Stevenson, Robinson, and Dyar were paraded by 200 armed men through the town of Boston to the place of execution at Boston Neck. They tenderly hugged each other, and each cheerfully climbed the gallows-ladder while praising the Lord. Stevenson and Robinson were executed, but Dyar received a reprieve. She demanded to be hanged like her brethren, but was not executed. Dyar was banished once again, and was eventually hanged in 1660 for returning to the colony. (see May 27, 1668)

Technological Milestone & US Labor History

October 27, 1904: New York City Mayor George McClellan took the controls on the inaugural run of the city's innovative new rapid transit system: the subway. While London boasts the world's oldest underground train network (opened in 1863) and Boston built the first subway in the United States in 1897, the New York City subway soon became the largest American system. More than 100 workers died during the construction of the first 13 miles of tunnels and track (TM, see December 24, 1906; Labor, see January 2, 1905) (NYT subway)

The Red Scare

October 27, 1947: the famous confrontations between the “Hollywood Ten” and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began on this day. The first “hostile witness” was the screenwriter John Howard Lawson, who like the other members of the Hollywood Ten who followed, was aggressively confrontational with the committee, refusing to answer questions and challenging the committee’s legitimacy.

HUAC had launched an investigation into alleged Communist influence in Hollywood that is probably the most famous event in the entire history of the committee. The hearings had begun on October 20, 1947, with a series of “friendly” witnesses who testified that there was Communist influence in Hollywood. Beginning on this day, a group of so-called “unfriendly” witnesses who refused to testify about their beliefs and associations resulted in stormy confrontational hearings. This group of directors and screenwriters became known as the “Hollywood Ten.” In retrospect (and for many people, almost immediately), it was apparent that the aggressive, confrontational tactics of the Hollywood Ten only alienated potential support across the country.

The hearings ended on October 30, but HUAC conducted another set of hearings in 1951, which resulted in more blacklisting. (see Nov 24, 1947) (NYT article)

BLACK HISTORY

US Labor History

October 27, 1951: the National Labor Council was formed in Cincinnati to unite Black workers in the struggle for full economic, political and social equality. The group was to function for five years before disbanding, having forced many AFL and CIO unions to adopt non-discrimination policies. (BH, see Dec 25; Labor, see Dec 21)

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR

October 27, 1960: King released from jail. Word about President Kennedy’s call circulated widely in the African-American community. Some political commentators believed the publicity gained Kennedy enough African-American votes to give him victory in the November presidential election, but others dispute this interpretation.. (BH, see Oct 29; MLK, see Nov 26)

Ruby Bates

October 27, 1976: Ruby Bates died at age sixty-three. (see Scottsboro Travesty for whole story)

Cuban Missile Crisis

October 27, 1962: Radio Moscow began broadcasting a message from Khrushchev. The message offered a new trade, that the missiles on Cuba would be removed in exchange for the removal of the Jupiter missiles from Italy and Turkey.  Cuba shot down a US U2 plane with surface to air missile killing the pilot, Rudolph Anderson. U.S. Army anti-aircraft rockets sat, mounted on launchers and pointed out over the Florida Straits in Key West, Florida. (see Cuban missile crisis; Anderson, see Nov 6)

October 26 Music et al

Love Me Do

October 27, 1962, The Beatles before their US appearance:  “Love Me Do/PS I Love You” #48 on UK Melody Maker hit parade. (see November 26)

Future Woodstock Performers

October 27, 1967: Ten Years After released its first album, Ten Years After. Alvin Lee, age 22.

In 1968 these artists will release their first albums:

Johnny Winter (age 22) released The Progressive Blues Experiment
Sweetwater released Sweetwater
Bert Sommer (age 18) released , The Road to Travel. It was produced by Artie Kornfeld. Sommer was a schoolmate of Leslie West. (see Feb 21)

LSD

October 27, 1970: The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act  passed. Part II of this is the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) which defined a scheduling system for drugs. It placed most of the known hallucinogens (LSD, psilocybin, psilocin, mescaline, peyote, cannabis, & MDA) in Schedule I. It placed coca, cocaine, and injectable methamphetamine in Schedule II. Other amphetamines and stimulants, including non-injectable methamphetamine were placed in Schedule III. (see September 3, 1971)

October 27 Peace Love Activism

Vietnam

October 27, 1968: in London, 50,000 protest the Vietnam war. (NYT article)(see Oct 30)

INDEPENDENCE DAYS

October 27, 1979: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines independent of the United Kingdom. (see April 18, 1980)

October 27, 1991, Dissolution of the USSR: Turkmenistan declared its independence from the Soviet Union. (see Dec 16)

Crime and Punishment

October 27, 1986: President Ronald Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. The law created a significant disparity in the sentences imposed in federal courts for crimes involving powdered cocaine versus the sentences imposed for crimes involving crack cocaine. The law imposed certain mandatory minimum sentences for crimes involving certain quantities of powdered cocaine, but those mandatory sentences could also be triggered by crimes involving only one percent of that quantity in cases of crack cocaine. For instance, a drug crime involving five grams of crack cocaine resulted in a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison, but crimes involving less than 500 grams of powdered cocaine would not trigger the five year minimum sentence.

This one hundred-to-one sentencing disparity, which was not based on credible scientific evidence about differing biological impacts between cocaine in powder form versus crack form, has had a significant impact on the mass incarceration of African Americans. In the years following the enactment of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, admissions of African Americans to federal prison spiked from approximately 50 admissions per 100,000 adults to nearly 250 admissions per 100,000 adults, while there was almost no change among whites. Disparities in sentence lengths also increased. In 1986, African Americans received drug sentences that were 11% longer than sentences received by whites, on average, but that disparity increased to 49% in the years following the law's enactment. This law, and similar laws, had a significant role in increasing the incarcerated population from approximately 500,000 in 1980 to nearly 2.3 million in 2013. (see May 26, 1987)

Jack Kevorkian

October 27,  1997: the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, which was approved by referendum on November 8, 1994, and which allows voluntary end of life, took effect on this day. The law allows individuals to voluntarily end their own lives by ingesting a life-ending drug that is prescribed by a licensed physician. The law has survived two challenges. Oregon voters rejected a repeal measure by a margin of 60 percent in 1997. And in 2006, the Supreme Court upheld the law, in Gonzales v. Oregon. (see March 14, 1998)

LGBTQ

October 27, 2014: the Judicial Council of the nation's second-largest Protestant denomination ruled that a Pennsylvania church jury was wrong to defrock Frank Schaefer last year after he would not promise never to perform another same-sex wedding.

 The council ruled on technical grounds and did not express support for gay marriage in general. Its decision was final. (see Nov 6)

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