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Lynching, Music et al, Peace Love Art and Activism, Today in history

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

July 28, 2018 Woodstock Whisperer Leave a comment

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

Silent protest

July 28, 1917: up to 10,000 African Americans silently paraded down New York City’s Fifth Avenue to protest lynchings in the South and race Revolts in the North. The NAACP and Harlem leaders organized the protest as the U.S. was going to fight “for democracy” in World War I. One parade banner read: “Mr. President, why not make America safe for democracy?” (HuffPost article) (next BH, see Aug 23; next lynching, see “In April 1918″; silent protest, see June 17, 2012; for for expanded chronology, see American Lynching 2)

Albany Movement

July 28, 1962: Martin Luther King Jr and, twenty-seven were arrested and jailed during two prayer protests in fron of Albany City Hall. (BH, see July 28; see Albany for expanded story)

James H Meredith

July 28, 1962: the US Court of Appeals ordered the University of Mississippi officials to enroll Meredith, a 29-year-old African American and who served nine years in the Air Force. (see September 13, 1962)

George Whitmore, Jr

July 28, 1970: The Supreme Court’s Appellate Division unanimously affirmed George Whitmore, Jr.’s third conviction in the Elba Borrero case. (see Whitmore for expanded story)

Stop and Frisk Policy

July 28, 2007: New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the NYPD was not meeting its legal obligation to publicly release all its stop-and-frisk data. (see Nov 20)
July 28, 2015: NYPD officers conducted nearly 50 percent fewer stop-and-frisk encounters in the first quarter of 2015 year than they did in 2014, but the percentage of minorities stopped was still greater than 80 percent, close to the level reported in previous quarters, the latest statistics show. Keeping in line with Commissioner William Bratton’s policy of reducing the number of stops, the NYPD performed a total of 7,135 stop-and-frisks in the first quarter of 2015, down from 14,261 in the same period last year, a decline of 49.9 percent, police data showed. (see April 4, 2016)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

Feminism

Long Beach, LI

July 28, 1920: the police chief of Long Beach, New York, on Long Island, announced that women would be permitted to wear one-piece bathing suits, without either shoes or stockings. He added, however, that “there must be no immorality,” and that his officers “will see to that.” (see Aug 20)

Hillary Clinton

July 28, 2016: Hillary Clinton became the first woman to become a major party’s nominee for the presidency of the United States. [transcript of acceptance speech] (see Aug 18)

Salem Witchcraft Exoneration

July 28, 2022: Elizabeth Johnson Jr, who had confessed to practicing witchcraft during the 1693 Salem witch trials, was the only remaining person convicted during those trials whose name had not been cleared. Though she was sentenced to death, after she and more than 20 members of her extended family faced similar allegations, she was granted a reprieve and avoided the death sentence.

The exoneration came 329 years after her conviction, tucked inside a state budget signed by Gov. Charlie Baker. The exoneration was the product of a three-year lobbying effort by a civics teacher and her eighth-grade class, along with a state senator who helped champion the cause.

“I’m excited and relieved,” Carrie LaPierre, the teacher at North Andover Middle School, said in an interview on Saturday, “but also disappointed I didn’t get to talk to the kids about it,” as they are on summer vacation. “It’s been such a huge project,” Ms. LaPierre added. “We called her E.J.J., all the kids and I. She just became one of our world, in a sense.” [NYT article] (next Feminism, see July 21, 2023)

Feminism & Crime and Punishment

July 28, 2023: President Joe Biden signed an executive order giving decisions on the prosecution of serious military crimes, including sexual assault, to independent military attorneys, taking that power away from victims’ commanders.

The order formally implements legislation passed by Congress in 2022 aimed at strengthening protections for service members, who were often at the mercy of their commanders to decide whether to take their assault claims seriously. [AP article] (next Feminism, see January 11, 2024 ; next C & P, see Aug 24)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

Bonus March

July 28, 1932: President Herbert Hoover ordered the army, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, to forcibly evict the Bonus Marchers. MacArthur’s men set camps on fire and drove the veterans from the city. Public and press criticized Hoover, increasingly regarded as insensitive to the needs of the nation’s many poor, for the severity of his response. (Washington Post article) (see June 22, 1944)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

Religion and Public Education

July 28, 1948: a challenge was filed to a New York state law that permitted public school students to be released so that they could take religious instruction classes at religious institutions. The suit claimed that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. (R & PE, see Sept 27 ; release time, see April 28, 1952)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

McCarthyism

July 28, 1954: the film, On the Waterfront, directed by Elia Kazan, premiered in New York City. Kazan had been criticized for “naming names” to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), on April 10, 1952. The film was regarded as his statement on the importance of giving testimony to investigating committees, and a reply to his former theater colleague and friend Arthur Miller. Miller’s play, The Crucible (see, January 22, 1953). (RS see Aug 18; Kazan, see March 21, 1999)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

Sodomy laws repealed

July 28, 1961: Illinois repeals its sodomy laws, becoming the first U.S. state to decriminalize homosexuality. The repeal went into effect on January 1, 1962. (ACLU article on history of sodomy laws)(see September 11, 1961)

Virginia

July 28, 2014: Judge Henry F. Floyd ruled that Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional in the first such decision by a federal appellate court in the South.

“We recognize that same-sex marriage makes some people deeply uncomfortable. However, inertia and apprehension are not legitimate bases for denying same-sex couples due process and equal protection of the laws,” wrote Floyd.

The 2-1 ruling applied throughout the circuit that also includes West Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas. (Washington Post article) (see Aug 4)

Tennessee

July 28, 2015: Tennessee State Rep. Rick Womick announced that he had advised 95 county clerks in a letter to ignore the June 26 U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows gays to get married.

“I write to you today regarding the recent Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) opinion on the definition of marriage,” states the letter by Womick, a Republican from Rutherford County’s Rockvale community southwest of Murfreesboro. “It has come to my attention that most, if not all of you, have been contacted by AG (attorney general) Herbert Slatery and the (Gov. Bill) Haslam administration and have been told to uphold the SCOTUS opinion or face a discrimination lawsuit.”

Womick had suggested that the governor, also a Republican, should be impeached for failing to enforce the Tennessee Constitution that bans gay marriage due to an amendment approved in a voter referendum in 2006. (DNJ article) (see Aug 5)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

Troop increase

July 28, 1965: President Johnson announced his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000 and to double the number of men drafted per month from 17,000 to 35,000. (see Aug 3)

Operation Popeye

July 28, 1972: sponsored by Senators Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin and Clairborne Pell, the US Senate voted for an amendment to cut off Defense Department funds for any use of rainmaking or creation of forest fires as a weapon of war.

The US Dept of Defense continued to deny such operations and also refused to discuss the operational aspects in Vietnam (V, see Aug 11; see Popeye for expanded story)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

July 28 Music et al

Road to Bethel/July 28, 1969

a benefit was held at the Village Gate (NYC) to raise money for scholarship funds to enable young artists to exhibit at Woodstock. Performers at the benefit included Marian McPartland, Les McCann, and Robert Flack. (see July 28)
Bethel town meeting for presentation of the all-inclusive draft of festival to NY State Health Department lasted 8-hours as many residents challenged each part of presentation, but all questions were answered. The Bethel Businessman’s Association voted to support festival. (see Chronology for expanded story)

Cultural Milestone

July 28, 1973: “The Summer Jam” at Watkins Glen, NY held. The rock festival once received the Guinness Book of World Records entry for “Largest audience at a pop festival.” An estimated 600,000 rock fans came to the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Raceway outside of Watkins Glen, to see The Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead and The Band perform.

Similar to the 1969 Woodstock Festival, an enormous traffic jam created chaos for those who attempted to make it to the concert site. Long and narrow country roads forced fans to abandon their vehicles and walk 5–8 miles on a hot summer day. 150,000 tickets were sold for $10 each, but for all the other people it was a free concert. The crowd was so huge that a large part of the audience was not able to see the stage; however, twelve huge sound amplifiers, installed courtesy of legendary promoter Bill Graham, allowed the audience to at least hear. (next Cultural Milestone, see June 26, 1974; see Watkins for expanded story)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

Weather Underground

July 28 , 1970: Bank of America HQ in NYC is bombed around 3:50 AM. WUO claims responsibility. (see Weather for expanded story)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

US Labor History

July 28, 1998: the United Auto Workers union ended a 54-day strike against General Motors. The strike caused $2.8 billion in lost revenues. (World Socialist Web site article) (see Oct 13)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

CLINTON IMPEACHMENT

Immunity

July 28, 1998: in a dramatic breakthrough, lawyers for Lewinsky and Starr worked out a full immunity agreement covering both Lewinsky and her parents, Marcia Lewis and Dr. Bernard Lewinsky.

Filegate

July 28, 2000: the final report on the so-called “filegate” scandal unsealed by a federal appeals court, and Whitewater Independent Counsel Robert Ray said the report shows no evidence of misconduct by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton or former White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum. (see Clinton for expanded story)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

Irish Troubles

July 28, 2005: the Provisional IRA issued a statement formally ordering an end to the armed campaign it has pursued since 1969 and ordering all its units to dump their arms. (see Troubles for expanded story)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

Nuclear/Chemical News

July 28, 2012: Michael Walli, Sister Megan Rice and Greg Boertje-Obed cut through three fences and broke into a $548 million storage bunker for nuclear weapons. Inside the most secure part of complex they defaced a bunker holding bomb-grade uranium, hung banners, strung crime-scene tape, and hammered off a small chunk of the fortress-like Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. (NYT article) (Nuclear and Rice, see May 8, 2013)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

Women’s Health

Mississippi blocked

July 28, 2014: a federal appeals panel blocked a Mississippi law that would have shut the sole abortion clinic in the state by requiring its doctors to obtain admitting privileges at local hospitals, something they had been unable to do.

By a 2-to-1 vote, the panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that by imposing a law that would effectively end abortion in the state, Mississippi would illegally shift its constitutional obligations to neighboring states. The ruling was the latest at a time when states, particularly in the South, were increasingly setting new restrictions that supporters say address safety issues and that critics say are intended to shut clinics.

“A state cannot lean on its sovereign neighbors to provide protection of its citizens’ federal constitutional rights,” Judge E. Grady Jolly wrote. “Pre-viability, a woman has the constitutional right to end her pregnancy by abortion,” he continued. This law “effectively extinguishes that right within Mississippi’s borders.”

Mississippi officials had argued that women seeking abortions could always drive to neighboring states, such as Louisiana or Tennessee, to obtain the procedure, an argument the panel rejected.

The decision did not overturn the Mississippi law or explore whether the admitting-privilege requirement was justified on safety grounds. Rather, the panel said, the law could not be used to close the sole clinic in the state. (NYT article) (see Aug 4)

State of Washington

June 28, 2016: the Supreme Court allowed Washington state to require pharmacies to dispense Plan B or other emergency contraceptives, rejecting an appeal from pharmacists who said they had religious objections to providing the drugs.

The justices’ order left in place rules first adopted in 2007 following reports that some women had been denied access to emergency contraceptives that are effective when taken within a few days of unprotected sex. Pharmacies must fill lawful prescriptions, but individual pharmacists with moral objections can refer patients to another pharmacist at the same store. (Washington State AG article) (see Aug 18)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

Sexual Abuse of Children

Paul Shanley released

July 28, 2017: after 12 years behind bars, Paul Shanley, the former Roman Catholic priest who was convicted of child rape charges was released from prison according to Jay Dias of the Massachusetts Department Of Correction.

Shanley, 86, was convicted in 2005 of two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child and two counts of rape and abuse of a child, according to the sex offender registry. With his release, he would begin 10 years of supervised probation, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement.

Shanley was one of a number of priests convicted of abuse charges in the wake of reporting from The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team that revealed the Catholic Church’s pedophile priest scandal.

Shanley’s release sparked backlash from a group representing victims of the scandal. “Age, a change of title or location doesn’t change a pedophile,” said Barbara Dorris, managing director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). “For now, I just hope the officials who housed him, employed him, and protected him have an obligation to make sure this never happens again.” (Boston Globe story) (next SAC, see Nov 22)

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick charged

July 28, 2021: former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was defrocked after a Vatican investigation confirmed he had sexually molested adults as well as children, has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy during a wedding reception in 1974, court records show.

McCarrick was charged with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, according to documents filed in the Dedham District Court (MA).

He was the first cardinal in the U.S. to ever be criminally charged with a sexual crime against a minor, according to Mitchell Garabedian, a well-known lawyer for church sexual abuse victims who is representing the man alleging the abuse by McCarrick.

“It takes an enormous amount of courage for a sexual abuse victim to report having been sexually abused to investigators and proceed through the criminal process,” Garabedian said in an email. “Let the facts be presented, the law applied, and a fair verdict rendered.” [AP article] (next SAC, see Dec 13); next McCarrick, see August 30, 2023)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

Immigration History

July 28, 2020: the Trump administration continued its push to roll back DACA — the program that protects young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children — by refusing to accept new applicants.

“I have concluded that the DACA policy, at a minimum, presents serious policy concerns that may warrant its full rescission,” said Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf in a memo explaining the administration’s decision.

According to that memo, the administration will continue to renew DACA protections for the roughly 640,000 immigrants who already have them — but only for one year, not for two years, as was previously the policy. [NPR story] (next IH, see Aug 16; next DACA, see Nov 14)

July 28 Peace Love Art Activism

Music et al, Peace Love Art and Activism, Today in history

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

July 27, 2018 Woodstock Whisperer Leave a comment

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

Technological Milestone

July 27, 1866: the first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable was successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart’s Content, Newfoundland. (EDN dot com article) (see Dec 6)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

Race revolts

July 27, 1919: an African American teenager Eugene Williams was swimming in Lake Michigan with four friends when they drifted toward the unofficial “whites-only” section of Lake Michigan Beach in Chicago, Illinois. Enraged at the encroachment, a white man on the shore threw stones at the black teenagers and struck Eugene in the head. He lost consciousness and drowned. When police responded, Eugene’s friends identified the assailant but a white police officer refused to arrest him.

News of the racially-charged incident spread quickly. White crowds were misinformed that a black teenager had thrown a rock and caused a white man to drown, while black crowds were misinformed that the police had prevented swimmers from rescuing Eugene before he drowned. Both groups erupted in violence that left an African American man and a police officer shot and many more injured.

Racial tension spilled over onto the streets of the Black Belt, a predominantly African American neighborhood in Chicago, in one of the worst riots in American history. (Chicago Tribune article) (see July 31)

Albany Movement

July 27, 1962: ten demonstrators in front of Albany’s City Hall are arrested. After they are arrested a group of 17 demonstrators appear and they too are arrested. (see Albany for expanded story)

Kerner Commission

July 27, 1967: in the wake of urban rioting, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission to assess the causes of the violence. (full text of report) (see July 30)

Bush Extends VRA

July 27, 2006: Republican President George W. Bush signed legislation extending the Voting Rights Act for an additional 25 years, saying that “the right of ordinary men and women to determine their own political future lies at the heart of the American experiment.”

Of the era’s political environment, author David Daley wrote for The New Republic in 2020 that “even though Republican presidents were still nominating judges who undermined ballot access, and members of both parties confirmed them to the bench, few respectable, elected voices on either side were willing to publicly countenance a frontal assault on American voting rights.” (next BH, see January 24, 2007)

Sean Bell

July 27, 2009: a settlement was reached in the Sean Bell civil lawsuit. NYC agreed to pay Sean Bell’s family $3.25 million. Joseph Guzman, 34, who uses a cane and a leg brace and has four bullets lodged in his body and Trent Benefield, 26, two passengers in Bell’s car who attended his bachelor party and were wounded in the shooting, received $3 million and $900,000 respectively in the settlement, for a total of $7.15 million. (B & S see October 17, 2010; Sean Bell, see March 24, 2012)

Muhammad Ali

July 27, 2012: Ali participated in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London, England. (BH, see Sept 26; Ali, see June 3, 2016)

Freddie Gray

July 27, 2016: in Maryland, the state’s attorney dropped all remaining charges against three city police officers awaiting trial in the death of Freddie Gray, closing the book on one of the most closely watched police prosecutions in the nation without a single conviction — and few answers about precisely how the young man died.

The announcement ended a sweeping, deeply polarizing prosecution that began last spring, as National Guard troops rumbled through the streets, with Baltimore under curfew and residents tense after looting and riots that broke out after Mr. Gray sustained a fatal spinal cord injury in police custody. [2017 Rolling Stone magazine article] (B & S, see Sept 16; Gray, see September 12, 2017)

John L Lewis

July 27, 2020: lawmakers and the American public paid their respects to the civil rights icon and late congressman, Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, as his body lies in state at the US Capitol in Washington, DC.

Lewis was the first Black lawmaker to lie in state at the US Capitol Rotunda, according to congressional historians.

Last year, the late Rep. Elijah Cummings made history as the first Black lawmaker to lie in state at the US Capitol when his body was lain in state in Statuary Hall. [CNN story] (next BH, see Aug 11)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

US Labor History

July 27, 1935: President Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act, known as the Wagner Act. The law safeguarded union organizing efforts and authorized the National Labor Relations Board to assure fairness in union elections and during collective bargaining with employers. (NLRB site) (see Nov 9)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

Red Scare

July 27, 1953: the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting. (RS, see Aug 12). The geographical division of Korea was seen as a potential model for Vietnam. (2010 CNN article) (Vietnam, see March 13, 1954; Red Scare, see Aug 12)

Increased troops

July 27, 1964: the U.S. announced that it would send 5,000 more military advisers to South Vietnam, bringing the total number of US forces in Vietnam to 21,000. (see July 30)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

July 27 Music et al

Herb Albert

July 27 – August 9, 1968: Herb Albert’s The Beat of the Brass the Billboard #1 album.

John Lennon

July 27, 1976: John Lennon was granted a green card for permanent residence in US. (NYT article) (see Sept 19)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

Watergate Scandal

July 27, 1974: House Judiciary Committee passed the first of three articles of impeachment, charging obstruction of justice. (see Watergate for expanded story)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

Iran hostage crisis

July 27, 1980: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, deposed Shah of Iran, died in Cairo. (Washington Post article) (see Dec 24)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

Women’s Health

July 27, 1996: Eric Rudolph detonated bomb at Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta during the 1996 Summer Olympics. The blast killed a spectator and wounded 111 others.(ATF article) (see Nov 29)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

CLINTON IMPEACHMENT

July 27, 1998: the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that attorney-client privilege does not protect presidential confidant Bruce Lindsey from answering all questions put to him before the Lewinsky grand jury. (see Clinton for expanded story)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

TERRORISM

July 27, 2008: anthrax attacks: prime suspect Bruce Ivins killed himself with an overdose of acetaminophen. (2009 CNN article) (see Aug 6)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

Cannabis & AIDS

July 27, 2010: medical marijuana became legal in the District after the Democrat-controlled Congress declined to overrule a D.C. Council bill that allowed the city to set up as many as eight dispensaries where chronically ill patients can purchase the drug. The law allows patients with cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and other chronic ailments can possess up to four ounces of the drug…

The law capped a years-long struggle to act on a 1998 referendum in which 69 percent of District residents voted for to allow medical marijuana. Until last year, Congress blocked the city from enacting the referendum. (next Cannabis, see Nov 2 or see CCC for expanded chronology; AIDS, see May 14, 2014 )

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

BSA

July 27, 2015: the Boy Scouts of America ended its ban on openly gay adult leaders but the new policy allowed church-sponsored units to choose local unit leaders who share their precepts, even if that means restricting such positions to heterosexual men.

Despite this compromise, the Mormon Church said it might leave the organization anyway. Its stance surprised many and raised questions about whether other conservative sponsors, including the Roman Catholic Church, might follow suit. (NYT article) (LGBTQ, see July 28; BSA, see January 30, 2017)

Transgender in military

July 27, 2017: Pentagon leaders, scrambling to clarify the confusion surrounding President Trump’s abrupt announcement, announced that transgender people can continue to serve in the military.

In a letter to the military service chiefs, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the policy on who is allowed to serve would not change until the White House sends the Defense Department new rules and the secretary of defense issues new guidelines.

“In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect,” General Dunford said in the letter. [NYT article] (LGBTQ & Transgender, see Aug 25)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

June 27, 2015: the Oklahoma Supreme Court again ordered the removal of a statue of the Ten Commandments from the state capitol grounds after denying an appeal. The nine justices turned down an appeal from the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission to rehear the case less than one month after the court originally ordered for the monument to be taken down.

The court said the Oklahoma Constitution — in Article 2, Section 5 — banned the use of public property “for the benefit of any religious purpose.” Even though the Ten Commandments monument was paid for with private funding, the court said it is on public property and benefits or supports a system of religion and is therefore unconstitutional. (Politico article) (see Dec 14)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

Nuclear/Chemical News

July 27, 2020: according to North Korean state media, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he believed his country will no longer need to fight wars because its nuclear arsenal guarantees its safety,.

“With our reliable and effective self-defensive nuclear deterrent, there will be no more war on this earth, and our country’s safety and future will be secured forever,” Kim said in a speech, North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Speaking to a group of veterans on the 67th anniversary of the armistice that effectively ended the Korean War, Kim said that nuclear weapons would allow North Korea to defend itself “against any high pressure and military threats of imperialists and hostile forces.” [CNN story] (next N/CN, see January 3, 2021)

July 27 Peace Love Art Activism

Music et al, Peace Love Art and Activism, Today in history

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

July 26, 2018 Woodstock Whisperer Leave a comment

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

Black History

Liberia

July 26, 1847: the settlers of Liberia issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a constitution, which, based on the political principles denoted in the United States Constitution, created the independent Republic of Liberia.

In 1820, the American Colonization Society (ACS) had begun sending Black volunteers to the Pepper Coast (west central coast of Africa) to establish a colony for freed American blacks. These free African Americans came to identify themselves as Americo-Liberian, developing a cultural tradition infused with American notions of racial supremacy, and political republicanism. The ACS, a private organization supported by prominent American politicians such as Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay, and James Monroe, believed repatriation was preferable to emancipation of slaves. Similar organizations established colonies in Mississippi-in-Africa and the Republic of Maryland, which were later annexed by Liberia. (PBS article) (BH, see January 31, 1848; ID, see May 20, 1902)

Race Revolts

July 26, 1918: after the U.S. entered World War I on April 6, 1917, the country was beset by mob violence against alleged “disloyal” people and also racial violence, especially the East St. Louis race riot that erupted on July 2, 1917. Despite pleas that he speak out, President Woodrow Wilson refused to publicly denounce mob violence. On this day, he finally he released a statement to the media condemning mob violence. Significantly, however, he did not make a public speech, which would have had far more impact on public attitudes. (Today in Civil Liberties article) (BH, see July 29; RR, see Aug 31)

Executive Order 9981

July 26, 1948: President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981. It abolished racial discrimination in the armed forces and eventually led to the end of segregation in the services. The last all-black unit wasn’t disbanded until 1954.

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale. (full text) (see Oct 1)

Ernest Thomas Killed

Thomas not pictured, but from left the other three of the Groveland Four: jailer Reuben Hatcher, Charles Greenlee, Samuel Shepherd, Walter Irvin, and Sheriff Willis McCall, in August 1949. (via Gary Corsair)

July 26, 1949: a mob of hundreds of white men tracked down and shot Ernest Thomas over 400 times while he was asleep under a tree in Madison County, Florida. Two days after being killed bythe mob, a coroner’s jury ruled that Mr. Thomas’s death was “justifiable homicide.”

Thomas was one of the so-called Groveland Four, three young Black men and one 16-year-old Black boy, who in 1949 were falsely accused of raping 17-year-old Norma Padgett and assaulting her husband in Groveland, Florida (see June 16). [EJI story] (next BH, see Aug 27; next Groveland, see November 22, 2021; next Lynching, see April 28, 1951 or see AL4 for expanded late 20th century lynching chronology)

Greensboro Four

July 26, 1960: F.W. Woolworth desegregated. By August 1961, more than 70,000 people had participated in sit-ins, which resulted in more than 3,000 arrests. Sit-ins at “whites only” lunch counters inspired subsequent kneel-ins at segregated churches, sleep-ins at segregated motel lobbies, swim-ins at segregated pools, wade-ins at segregated beaches, read-ins at segregated libraries, play-ins at segregated parks and watch-ins at segregated movies. (BH, see July 31; see Greensboro for expanded story)

Albany Movement

July 26, 1962: WG Anderson, president of the Albany Movement, warned that the group would give a “lesson” to white officials who had spurned repeated requests for negotiations over demands for desegregation of public facilities. (see Albany for expanded story)

Emmett Till

July 26, 2018: 35 days after its replacement, vandals again shot at the historic sign indicating the place where Emmett Till’s body was found. (BH, see Nov 9 ; see Till for expanded chronology)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

Emma Goldman

July 26, 1892: the New York Times reports that “Emma Goldman who is reported to have been in this city [Pittsburg] Saturday Night, and with whom Berkmann lived at one time, could not be found yesterday. It is believed by many that she knew of Berkmann’s trip to Pittsburgh, and furnished him money to go with.” (see Goldman for expanded story)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

Separation of Church and State

July 26, 1925: five days after the Scopes trial ends, William Jennings Bryan died in his sleep in Dayton. [Peenie Wallie dot com article on WJB] (see Scopes for expanded story)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

Feminism

National Women’s Party

July 26, 1937,: after five years, NWP successfully attains repeal of Section 213 of Legislative Appropriations Act of 1932 (Economy Act), prohibiting spouses of federal employees from also working for federal government. (NWP site)(see October 9, 1938)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

Cold War

National Security Act

July 26, 1947: President Truman signed the National Security Act, creating the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (text) (see Oct 20)

Fidel Castro

July 26, 1953: Fidel Castro began his revolt against Fulgencio Batista with an unsuccessful attack on an army barracks in eastern Cuba. (2016 Atlantic article on Castro) (see July 27)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

July 26, 1950: United States provided $15 million to French forces in Vietnam. Aid increased rapidly as the war progressed. (see Sept 3)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

July 26 Music et al

1963 Newport Folk Festival

July 26 – 28, 1963: festival included Phil Ochs, Pete Seeger, and Joan Baez who introduced Bob Dylan as her guest. (see Aug 3)

Road to Bethel

July 26, 1969: a committee of Bethel residents began circulating petition that opposed festival. (see Chronology for expanded story)

Blood, Sweat and Tears

July 26 – August 22 , 1969: Blood, Sweat, and Tears’ Blood, Sweat, & Tears again the Billboard #1 album.

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

Independence Day

July 26, 1965: Maldives independent from United Kingdom. [2015 article] (see ID for expanded list of 1960 Independence days)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

Space Race

July 26 – August 7, 1971: Apollo 15 lands on the moon with a four-wheel drive lunar rover. Crew: David R Scott, Commander; James B Irwin, Lunar Module Pilot; and Alfred M Worden, Command Module Pilot. [NASA article] (see April 16 – 27, 1972)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

DEATH PENALTY

July 26, 1983: in a 6-3 vote the Supreme Court upheld in Barefoot v. Estelle expedited federal review procedures in death penalty appeals and also upheld the prosecution’s right to present psychiatric evidence regarding a defendant’s future dangerousness during the penalty phase of a capital trial. (Oyez article) (see June 26, 1986)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

AIDS

July 26, 1990: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a young woman – later identified as Kimberly Bergalis of Florida – had been infected with the AIDS virus, apparently by her dentist. (NYT obiturary) (see Aug 18)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

ADA

Act signed

July 26, 1990: with Justin Dart, its “founding father,” alongside, President George H W Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA is considered the most important civil rights law since Title 504 and has cross-disability support, bringing disability-specific organizations, advocates, and supporters all together for the same cause. (ADA article)

Paul Hearne

In 1995: Paul Hearne, a longtime leader in the disability community, achieved his dream of creating a national association to give people with disabilities more consumer power and a stronger public voice, with the creation of the American Association of People with Disabilities. (AAPD site) (see October 17, 1995)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

John Kerry

July 26 – 29, 2004: Democratic National Convention in Boston, nominated John Kerry and John Edwards for President and Vice President. Barack Obama, candidate for the US Senate from Illinois, makes keynote speech. (Center for Presidential History article)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

July 26, 2017: President Trump announced that the United States will not “accept or allow” transgender people in the United States military, saying American forces “must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory” and could not afford to accommodate them.

Trump made the surprise declaration in a series of posts on Twitter, saying he had come to the decision after talking to generals and military experts, whom he did not name.

“After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” (Guardian article) (LGBTQ & Transgender, see July 27)

Immigration History

Reuniting children

July 26, 2018: at the court-ordered deadline for the federal government to reunite the more than 2,600 migrant children (age 0 – 17) with their parents, more than 1,600 children remained separated. (see Aug 3)

Trump’s Wall

July 26, 2019: the Supreme Court gave President Trump a victory in his fight for a wall along the Mexican border by allowing the administration to begin using $2.5 billion in Pentagon money for the construction.

In a 5-to-4 ruling, the court overturned an appellate decision and said that the administration could tap the money while litigation over the matter proceeds. But that will most likely take many months or longer, allowing Mr. Trump to move ahead before the case returns to the Supreme Court after further proceedings in the appeals court. (next Wall, see Oct 15)

Limiting asylum

July 26, 2019: President Trump again sought to block migrants from Central America from seeking asylum, announcing an agreement with Guatemala to require people who travel through that country to seek refuge from persecution there instead of in the United States.

American officials said the deal could go into effect within weeks, though critics vowed to challenge it in court, saying that Guatemala is itself one of the most dangerous countries in the world — hardly a refuge for those fleeing gangs and government violence. (see Aug 7)

July 26 Peace Love Art Activism

Environmental Issues

July 26, 2021: the Environmental Protection Agency announced it intended to set more stringent standards on water pollution from coal power plants, reinstating regulations that the Trump administration had rolled back.

It was a stark reversal from the position of the former President’s administration, which rolled back dozens of Obama-era environmental regulations. The new rule would affect around 100 coal-fired power plants, according to an EPA official.

The EPA announced it would begin the rule-making process to reduce coal-fired power plant pollution — including toxic metals like mercury, arsenic and selenium — but the change would likely take years to go into effect, leaving the weaker wastewater regulations in place during that time.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said that the “EPA is committed to science-based policy decisions to protect our natural resources and public health.” [CNN article] (next EI, see Aug 9)