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David Barsamian (1945 - )

Thu Jun 14, 1945

David Barsamian, born on this day in 1945, is an Armenian-American radio broadcaster, writer, and the founder of Alternative Radio, a Colorado-based syndicated weekly public affairs program heard on ~250 radio stations worldwide.

Barsamian has interviewed and edited the works of many important leftist thinkers, including Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Richard Wolff, Eqbal Ahmad, and Edward Said.

"I'm using dissonance in a musical sense...we're given this harmonic construction [by the media] 'The world is good; America is great.' I want to trouble that harmonic construction with some dissonant notes."

- David Barsamian

• Date: 1945-06-14
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.alternativeradio.org.
• Tags: #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Walter Rodney Assassinated (1980)

Fri Jun 13, 1980

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Walter Rodney was a Guyanese historian, educator, public intellectual, and Pan-African Marxist who was assassinated by the state on this day in 1980, at 38 years old.

Rodney attended the University College of the West Indies in 1960 and was awarded a first class honors degree in History in 1963. He later earned a PhD in African History in 1966 at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, England, at the age of 24.

Rodney traveled extensively and became well-known as an activist, scholar, and formidable orator. He taught at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania from 1966-67 and 1969-1974, and in 1968 at his alma mater University of the West Indies.

On October 15th, 1968, the government of Jamaica declared Rodney a "persona non grata" and banned him from the country. Following his dismissal by the University of the West Indies, students and poor people in West Kingston protested, leading to the "Rodney Riots", which caused six deaths and millions of dollars in damages.

On June 13th, 1980, Rodney was killed in Georgetown, Guyana via a bomb given to him by Gregory Smith, a sergeant in the Guyana Defence Force, one month after returning Zimbabwe. In 2015, a "Commission of Inquiry" in Guyana that the country's then president, Linden Forbes Burnham, was complicit in his murder.

"If there is to be any proving of our humanity it must be through revolutionary means."

- Walter Rodney

• Date: 1980-06-13
• Learn More: www.blackpast.org, www.marxists.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Marxism, #Assassinations.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Pentagon Papers Released (1971)

Sun Jun 13, 1971

Image: Daniel Ellsberg, co-defendant in the Pentagon Papers case, talks to media outside the Federal Building in Los Angeles on April 28th, 1973. Photo credit Wally Fong, AP [nbcnews.com]

On this day in 1971, the Pentagon Papers, leaked by Daniel Ellsberg, were published by the New York Times, detailing secret information about the history of and disinformation about U.S. involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. The Pentagon Papers were the result of a study conducted by the Department of Defense which Ellsberg had contributed to.

The study revealed that the U.S. had secretly enlarged the scope of its actions in the Vietnam War with coastal raids on North Vietnam and Marine Corps attacks, and that the Johnson administration had routinely lied to both Congress and the American public about involvement in Vietnam.

For his disclosure of the Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg was initially charged with conspiracy, espionage, and theft of government property. These charges were later dismissed after prosecutors investigating the Watergate scandal discovered that the staff members in the Nixon White House had ordered the so-called "White House Plumbers" to engage in unlawful efforts to discredit Ellsberg.

On January 3rd, 1973, Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 along with other charges of theft and conspiracy, carrying a total maximum sentence of 115 years. Due to governmental misconduct and illegal evidence-gathering, he was dismissed of all charges on May 11th, 1973.

The Pentagon Papers were only fully declassified in June 2011.

• Date: 1971-06-13
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.nytimes.com, www.washingtonpost.com.
• Tags: #Journalism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Medgar Evers Assassinated (1963)

Wed Jun 12, 1963

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Medgar Evers was an American civil rights leader who achieved national prominence for his efforts in fighting racial oppression in Mississippi, work for which he was assassinated by white supremacists on this day in 1963.

Evers led boycotts against businesses that discriminated against black people, worked to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi, and fought for fair enforcement of the right to vote. He also played a key role in securing the involvement of the NAACP in the murder of Emmett Till, helping publicize the events and secretly secure witnesses for the case.

Evers was assassinated on June 12th, 1963 by Byron De La Beckwith, a member of the White Citizens' Council in Jackson, Mississippi. His murder and the resulting trials inspired a wave of civil rights protests; his life inspired numerous works of art, music, and film.

All-white juries failed to reach verdicts in the first two trials of Beckwith in the 1960s. He was convicted in 1994 in a state trial based on new evidence.

"I love my children and I love my wife with all my heart. And I would die, die gladly, if that would make a better life for them."

- Medgar Evers

• Date: 1963-06-12
• Learn More: www.blackpast.org, web.archive.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: [#Civil Rights](/search?q=%23Civil Rights&type=Posts&listingType=All&page=1&sort=New), #Assassinations.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Ratification of the Platt Amendment (1901)

Wed Jun 12, 1901

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On this day in 1901, under duress of occupation by the United States military, the newly independent Cuban government ratified the Platt Amendment, giving the U.S. legal control over the Cuban state and economy.

The occupying force had remained in Cuba following the conclusion of the Spanish-American War, and the U.S. government refused to withdraw occupying troops from Cuba until the seven conditions of the Platt Amendment were ratified in the new Cuban constitution.

These conditions defined the terms of Cuban-U.S. relations to be an unequal one of U.S. dominance over Cuba, both politically and economically. Among these provisions were the government of Cuba consenting to the right of the United States to "intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty".

Following acceptance of the amendment, the United States ratified a tariff that gave Cuban sugar preference in the U.S. market and protection to select U.S. products in the Cuban market. Over $200 million was spent by American companies on Cuban sugar between 1903 and 1913, and this investment into sugar led to land being concentrated into the hands of the largest sugar mills, with estimates that 20% of all Cuban land was owned by these mills.

• Date: 1901-06-12
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.historyisaweapon.com.
• Tags: #Imperialism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Davis Day (1925)

Thu Jun 11, 1925

Image: Davis Day Ceremony, Stellarton 2012. Photo from Adam MacInnis, New Glasgow News. [museumofindustry.novascotia.ca]

Davis Day, also known as Miners' Memorial Day, is a day of remembrance observed annually on this day in Nova Scotia coal mining communities, recognizing all miners killed in the province's coal mines.

Davis Day was initiated by the United Mine Workers of America in memory of William Davis, a coal miner who was killed when company police hired by the British Empire Steel Corporation fired on a crowd of protesting coal miners during a long strike near the town of New Waterford.

When the strike began in March 1925, the corporation cut off credit at the company stores. Coal miners were able to survive on relief payments and donations from supporters as far away as Boston and Winnipeg. After three months of a work stoppage, the corporation planned to resume operations without any settlement with workers.

To maintain the shutdown, coal miners seized and shut down the power plant that served both the company's mines and the city of New Waterford in early June. The shortage of water and power affected New Waterford citizens, but the miners drew on local wells and set up a volunteer service to deliver water to the hospital.

On June 11th, a force of company police recaptured the power plant. Hundreds of coal miners, possibly more than 2,000 in number, marched to Waterford Lake in protest. It was there that the company police fired on the crowd, killing 38 year old William Davis.

This annual commemoration to all miners killed in labor struggle and industrial accidents became official in Nova Scotia in 2008, officially recognized as William Davis Miners' Memorial Day.

• Date: 1925-06-11
• Learn More: museumofindustry.novascotia.ca, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Labor, #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Gerrit van der Veen Assassinated (1944)

Sat Jun 10, 1944

Image: Gerrit Jan van der Veen. Photo in a series with his family, 1942 [Wikipedia]

Gerrit van der Veen (1902 - 1944) was a Dutch anti-fascist sculptor who was assassinated by the Nazis on this day in 1944, following a failed attempt to free his comrades from prison. Van der Veen helped forge more than 80,000 ethnic identity papers.

Dutch historian Robert-Jan van Pelt has written the following about van der Veen:

"In 1940, after the German occupation, van der Veen was one of the few who refused to sign the so-called "Arierverklaring", the Declaration of Aryan Ancestry. In the years that followed, he tried to help Jews both in practical and symbolic ways.

Together with the musician Jan van Gilse and the (openly homosexual) artist, art historian, and critic Willem Arondeus, van der Veen established the underground organization De Vrije Kunstenaar (The Free Artist).

Van der Veen and the other artists published a newsletter calling for resistance against the occupation. When the Germans introduced identity documents (Persoonsbewijzen) that distinguished between Jews and non-Jews, van der Veen, Arondeus and the printer Frans Duwaer produced some 80,000 false identity papers."

Van der Veen tried to escape his comrades from prison in May 1944, but the attempt failed and van der Veen was paralyzed after being shot. He was arrested a few weeks later and then executed on June 10th, 1944. In May 1946, he was awarded the Dutch Cross of Resistance.

• Date: 1944-06-10
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, gerritvdveen.nl.
• Tags: #Assassinations, #Fascism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Giacomo Matteotti Assassinated (1924)

Tue Jun 10, 1924

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Giacomo Matteotti was an anti-fascist Italian socialist politician. After publicly denouncing Mussolini in 1924, he said "now start composing your oration for my funeral" and was assassinated by fascists on this day in 1924.

As a young adult, Matteotti was active in the socialist movement and the Italian Socialist Party. He was imprisoned in Sicily for opposing Italy's entry into World War I (and was interned in Sicily during the conflict for this reason).

Matteotti spoke openly against Italian Fascism and Benito Mussolini, and for a time was leader of the opposition to the National Fascist Party (NFP). In 1921, he denounced fascist violence in a pamphlet titled "Inchiesta socialista sulle gesta dei fascisti in Italia" ("Socialist enquiry on the deeds of the fascists in Italy").

On May 30th, 1924, speaking in the Italian Parliament, he alleged that the Fascists committed fraud in the recently held elections and denounced the violence that they used to gain votes. On this day that year, Matteotti was kidnapped and killed by fascists.

After Matteotti's body was discovered, Mussolini took full responsibility for the murder as head of the Fascist party (although whether he gave a direct order for the murder remains uncertain) and dared his critics to prosecute him for the crime. This challenge went unaccepted.

After the Second World War ended, Italian fascists Amerigo Dumini, Giuseppe Viola, and Amleto Poveromo were sentenced to thirty years in prison for their involvement in Matteotti's murder.

• Date: 1924-06-10
• Learn More: primolevicenter.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.britannica.com.
• Tags: #Socialism, #Assassinations, #Fascism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Johanna Kirchner Assassinated (1944)

Fri Jun 09, 1944

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Johanna Kirchner was a German anti-fascist and Social Democrat who was executed by the Nazis on this day in 1944 for having "treasonably rooted herself in the evilest Marxist high-treason propaganda".

Kirchner was born into a family with social-democratic traditions, and Kirchner herself joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) at the age of eighteen.

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Kirchner, a known anti-fascist and opponent of the Nazis, fled to France. While there, she collaborated with Eleonore Wolf, organizing the emigration of many officials of the workers' movement out of the Third Reich.

In 1942, Kirchner was arrested by the Vichy Régime and handed over to the Gestapo. Although she was initially sentenced to ten years' hard labor for treason, her case was brought back before the Volksgerichtshof in 1944, and she was sentenced to death for "treasonably rooted herself in the evilest Marxist high-treason propaganda" and "treasonably gathering cultural, economic, political, and military intelligence and communicating" Marxism.

On the day of her death, she wrote to her children in her diary: "Keep Goethe's words in mind, 'Die and become'. Don't cry for me. I believe in a better future for you."

• Date: 1944-06-09
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.gdw-berlin.de.
• Tags: #Labor, #Marxism, #Assassinations, #Fascism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Battle of Menstad (1931)

Mon Jun 08, 1931

Image: Picture from Aftenposten on June 9th, 1931. Shown top right is a jet from one of the water hoses that the police used against protesters. [snl.no]

On this day in 1931, the Battle of Menstad began near Skien, Norway when 2,000 striking workers fought and overwhelmed a group of police officers protecting scabs at Norsk Hydro's Menstad plant. The battle took place in the context of drastic pay cuts during the Great Depression.

Historian Knut Dørum has written that Norway's biggest industrial disputes ever took place that year, beginning with a six month lock-out in the iron industry, involving up to 86,000 workers and causing a loss of 13 million working days.

At Menstad, Norsk Hydro and Union & Co hired strike-breakers to replace the striking workers. The workers responded by chasing away the strike-breakers in the days before the battle. The strikers returned on June 8th with police protection that was quickly overwhelmed by protesting workers. In response to the violence, the government deployed troops and ships from to the area.

Afterward, 28 strikers were arrested and put on trial, 20 of whom were sentenced to prison. Most of those arrested were members of the Norwegian Communist Party and the Norwegian Labour Party. Worker organization did not prevent mass unemployment during the Great Depression; in the winter of 1932–1933, up to 40% of the trade unionists were unemployed.

• Date: 1931-06-08
• Learn More: snl.no, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Labor, #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Freedom Riders Arrested (1961)

Thu Jun 08, 1961

Image: Kwame Ture (formerly known as Stokely Carmichael), Gwendolyn Green, and Joan Trumpauer Mulholland. Source: "Breach of Peace" by Eric Etheridge. [zinnedproject.org]

On this day in 1961, Freedom Riders protesting segregation, including Kwame Ture, Gwendolyn Green, and Joan Trumpauer Mulholland (shown), were arrested in Jackson, Mississippi and taken to Parchman Prison. Others arrested included Jan Triggs, Rev. Robert Wesby, Helen Wilson, Teri Perlman, Jane Rosett, and Travis Britt.

The Freedom Rides were a series of protests in response to Boynton vs. Virginia, a Supreme Court ruling that declared that busses and trains should be desegregated. Despite segregation being illegal, many southern states still maintained segregated public transit systems. Protesters challenged this by joining together in multi-racial groups and traveling on the busses.

• Date: 1961-06-08
• Learn More: www.zinnedproject.org, snccdigital.org.
• Tags: #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Israeli West Bank Occupation Begins (1967)

Wed Jun 07, 1967

Image: A map showing the expansion of Israel's borders from 1967 to 2016 (marked "Today" in the photo) [rac.org]

On this day in 1967, the Israeli Army occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip, claiming emergency powers with a military decree that greatly restricts the rights of the occupied. The ongoing occupation is the longest in the modern era.

The Israeli Army action took place in the context of the Six Day War, fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states. The status of the West Bank as a militarily occupied territory has been affirmed by the International Court of Justice and, with the exception of East Jerusalem, by the Israeli Supreme Court.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the military proclamation issued by the Israeli Army on June 7th, 1967 permitted the application of the Defense (Emergency) Regulations of 1945.

These regulations empowered, and continue to empower, authorities to declare as an "unlawful association" groups that advocate for "bringing into hatred or contempt, or the exciting of disaffection against" the authorities, and criminalize membership in or possession of material belonging to or affiliated, even indirectly, with these groups.

HRW goes on to state that these and other broad restrictions on the occupied population violate international law: "The Israeli army has for over 50 years used broadly worded military orders to arrest Palestinian journalists, activists and others for their speech and activities - much of it non-violent - protesting, criticizing or opposing Israeli policies. These orders are written so broadly that they violate the obligation of states under international human rights law to clearly spell out conduct that could result in criminal sanction."

Following the military occupation of the West Bank, Israel began expropriating the land and facilitating Israeli settlements in the area, broadly considered a violation of international law. While Israelis in the West Bank are subject to Israeli law and given representation in the Israeli Knesset, Palestinian civilians, mostly confined to scattered enclaves, are subject to martial law and are not permitted to vote in Israel's national elections.

This two-tiered system has inspired comparisons to apartheid, likening the dense disconnected pockets that Palestinians are relegated to with the segregated Bantustans that previously existed in South Africa when the country was still under white supremacist rule.

• Date: 1967-06-07
• Learn More: www.hrw.org, en.wikipedia.org, rac.org.
• Tags: #Colonialism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org