On this day, 7 August 1890, legendary US labour organiser, feminist and socialist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was born. She played a leading role in the revolutionary Industrial Workers of the World union, was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union and an active fighter for birth control and women's suffrage. As an organiser in the IWW, she helped organise campaigns and strikes amongst garment workers in the north-east, miners in Minnesota and much more; she was arrested 10 times, once during a union fight for free-speech in Spokane, Washington. She later joined the Communist Party, and was one of numerous CP activists to be jailed for advocating "violent overthrow" of the government, serving two years in the Alderson federal prison camp. You can learn more about women in the early IWW in our podcast episode 16, which features as its theme tune Joe Hill's song Rebel Girl, inspired by Flynn: https://workingclasshistory.com/2018/12/02/e16-women-in-the-early-iww/
On this day, 7 August 1970, the Marin County courthouse incident took place when 17-year-old Jonathan Jackson attempted to gain the freedom of the Soledad Brothers - three Black prisoners charged with the murder of a prison guard. George Jackson, Jonathan's brother, John Clutchette and Fleeta Drumgo were accused of killing a white guard in retaliation for the prior killing of three Black prisoners by another white guard. Jonathan Jackson brought three guns into the courtroom, armed the defendants, including Black Panther Ruchell Cinque Magee and took the judge, prosecutor and three jurors hostage. The aim was then to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. But as the group drove away, a firefight broke out in which four people were killed, including Jackson, all of the defendants except one, and the judge. The guns used by Jackson were registered to Angela Davis, who was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder, and was later acquitted of all charges. The only surviving defendant, Magee, was subsequently imprisoned for life, where he remained, only eventually being released in July 2023. In commemoration of this event, and others, like the August 1971 killing of George Jackson by prison guards, Black August is marked as a month to commemorate Black political prisoners, and Black resistance to state violence. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10690/marin-county-courthouse-incident Pictured, L-R: Jonathan Jackson, next, William Christmas, James McClain, DA Gary Thomas (rear), Judge Harold Haley and Russell Magee.
On this day, 7 August 1936, revolutionaries in Spain conducted a ceremonial "execution" of the huge Catholic Monument of the Sacred Heart near Madrid, in a location considered the exact centre of Spain. The statue was shot by a firing squad of working-class people who had risen up against a right-wing and fascist military rebellion, and launched a social revolution. The Catholic Church, which for many years had been a brutal and oppressive force in Spain, supported the fascists in their campaign of mass murder and terror against workers and peasants. Catholic officials described the fascist rebellion as a “crusade”, and supported mass executions of tens of thousands of people. Catholic officials like Cardinal Isidre Gomà even supported Franco’s mass executions of anti-fascist Catholic priests, for example in the Basque country. Learn more about the Spanish civil war and working-class anti-clericalism in our podcast episodes 39-40: https://workingclasshistory.com/2020/06/17/e39-the-spanish-civil-war-an-introduction/ * If you appreciate our work, please consider supporting us on patreon: https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory
New daily podcast: 7 August 1842: Chartist mass meeting http://dlvr.it/TTvDqK
On this day, 6 August 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, slaughtering tens of thousands of civilians, despite many military and government officials believing it was unnecessary. Numerous senior US military officers confirmed that the bombing was not needed to defeat Japan, and indeed that Japan was attempting to surrender. General Dwight D. Eisenhower explained: "Japan was at the moment seeking some way to surrender with minimum loss of 'face'. It wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing." Admiral William D. Leahy, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated "that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was taught not to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children." And the US Strategic Bombing Survey determined that "Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated." Elements within the Japanese government had been attempting to arrange a surrender, while maintaining the institution of the emperor, which possessed important religious significance. The US, meanwhile, was insisting on an unconditional surrender, but even though this was the only supposed barrier to peace, the US allowed Japan to maintain the emperor after the surrender anyway. Faced with criticism of the mass-killing of civilians, some US officials concocted a narrative that the bombs were used to avoid a land invasion of Japan, which would have cost more lives. However, this story was only fabricated in 1947, after the war had already ended. More likely was that the US wanted to send a strong message to Russia before the cold war began. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10593/u.s.-drops-atomic-bomb-on-hiroshima
On this day, 6 August 1970, up to 300 Yippies — countercultural radical youth — invaded Disneyland, protesting against the Vietnam war and calling for the liberation of Minnie Mouse from patriarchal captivity. Disney brought in extra security, and 150 armed riot police in preparation for the event: a theatrical "convention" called by the Youth International Party, whose members were nicknamed Yippies. The youths initiated a few provocations, including commandeering a raft to invade Fort Wilderness, openly smoking pot, snake-dancing down Main Street USA and demonstrating outside the in-park Bank of America branch before they were either arrested or expelled from the park. Learn more about the Vietnam war and opposition to it in our podcast series: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/vietnam-war/ * If you appreciate our work, please consider supporting us on patreon: https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory
On this day, 6 August 2011, two days after London police killed Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old Black father of six, relatives and local residents marched on Tottenham Police Station. Police then assaulted a demonstrator which sparked a violent response from local residents. A multiracial crowd set fire to two unoccupied police cars, clashes with police took place, and people began to expropriate goods from shops and set fires. Later that night, looting spread to nearby chain stores and shopping centres. The following day, looting and attacks on police began breaking out across the capital, in areas such as Enfield, Islington, Walthamstow, Hackney, and the West End. By Monday, there was rioting and looting across London - mostly of chain stores, but also of some small businesses. Disturbances also began in other cities including Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, and Bristol, with numerous shops set on fire, until dying down on Tuesday. A BBC reporter asked women looters why they were targeting “your own people”. The women replied: “It's the rich people, it's the rich people, the people who have got businesses and this is why all of this has happened, because of the rich people. So we were just showing the rich people we can do what we want.” There was huge outrage at the rebellion from the media, which contributed to a severe crackdown by authorities. Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, arranged for courts to be opened 24-hours a day to process cases. And the rush trials resulted in sentences described as "grossly disproportionate" by a later report. 3000 people were prosecuted, and two thirds of defendants were sentenced to a period of imprisonment averaging over 17 months. People convicted of comparable crimes the previous year received average sentences of just 3.7 months. For example, one mother of two was jailed for five months for being given a pair of shorts looted by a friend, and two young men were jailed for four years each for posts on Facebook. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10596/mark-duggan-riots
New daily podcast: 6 August 1970: Yippies invade Disneyland http://dlvr.it/TTtJSW
New podcast: In 2019, a mass protest movement erupted in Chile against economic inequality, and the legacy of the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, which persists to this day. One of the most visible symbols of the uprising became a street dog named Negro Matapacos (“Black Cop-Killer”), who consistently joined demonstrators in confronting police. Listen to our episode, Riot Dogs, today, wherever you get your podcasts, like Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or go to our website: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e125-riot-dogs/
On this day, 5 August 1993, the Japanese government finally admitted that it forced women to work in military brothels from 1932-1945 (content note: this post contains mention of sexual violence and suicide). Up to 200,000 women and young girls, mostly from Korea and China, but with others from Japan, the Philippines and some European settlers in Dutch Indonesia were either abducted or tricked and sent to over 100 brothels, supposedly in an effort to prevent an occurrence of the mass rapes which took place during the Nanjing massacre. The United Nations estimates that 90% of the so-called "comfort women" died during World War II, but some survived and later were courageous enough to tell their stories, which was essential as Japanese officials destroyed much of their documentation. Others killed themselves due to the shame they felt. Despite admitting the sex slavery, many Japanese politicians and nationalists today try to deny that it ever took place. After Japan was defeated, Japanese authorities established domestic brothels for the use of US occupation troops. Some women were recruited to work in the brothels under false pretences after they applied for fake office jobs. The government and businessmen operated the new network brothels under the "Recreation and Amusement Association" (RAA) which was funded by the government. By the end of 1945 70,000 women were working for the RAA. US occupation forces were well aware that many of the women were coerced, with a military memo stating "the practice of enslaving girls, while much less prevalent than in the past, still exists", although it is unclear if they included enslaved women abducted from occupied areas. With complaints from military chaplains, sexually-transmitted diseases spreading, and fear of criticism back home, the US military eventually declared the brothels off-limits on 25 March 1946. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10496/japan-admits-sex-slavery
On this day, 5 August 1939, 56 people including 13 women and girls, known as the 13 Roses, were executed en masse by the right-wing regime of general Francisco Franco. They were lined up against the walls of the Eastern cemetery in Madrid and shot. 15 of them were legally minors, which was under 21 at that time. Most of those killed were members of the Unified Socialist Youth, trying to rebuild the organisation underground following the defeat of the democratically elected Republic in the Spanish civil war. They were just some of some tens of thousands of people executed in an orgy of violent revenge by the right after Franco's victory. The 13 Roses' names were Ana López Gallego, Victoria Muñoz García, Martina Barroso García, Virtudes González García, Luisa Rodríguez de la Fuente, Elena Gil Olaya, Dionisia Manzanero Sala, Joaquina López Laffite, Carmen Barrero Aguado, Pilar Bueno Ibáñez, Blanca Brisac Vázquez, Adelina García Casillas and Julia Conesa Conesa. Conesa wrote a final letter to her family: "Mother, dear mother, I'm going to join my sister and father in the other world, but keep in mind that I'm dying as an honest person. Goodbye, beloved mother, goodbye forever. Your daughter who will never be able to kiss you or hug you anymore. Don't cry for me. May my name not be erased from history." The 13 Roses are commemorated by our August T-shirt of the Month, made by a workers' cooperative and supporting grassroots unions in South Asia: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/search?q=13+roses
New daily podcast: 5 August 1981: Air-traffic controllers fired http://dlvr.it/TTsNCD
On this day, 4 August 1990, the term "Two-Spirit", for Indigenous people "who embody diverse (or non-normative) sexualities, genders, gender roles, and/or gender expressions", was adopted at the 3rd Annual Gathering of Native American Gays and Lesbians being held in Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada. First Nations Cree, counsellor, administrator, mentor and elder, Dr Myra Laramee brought the term to a sharing circle of 80 Indigenous LGBT+ people from across North America at the 1990 Gathering, and it was quickly adopted. Another attendee, Albert McLeod, a Two-Spirit elder with Nisichawayasihk Cree and Metis ancestry, commented that: “It is important to note that with the assertion of this new term, it was an act of sovereignty of body and land.” As Harlan Pruden, the managing editor of the Two-Spirit Journal, put it: "[Two-Spirit evokes] the time before the harshness of colonisation where many, not all, First Peoples had traditions and ways that were non-binary, where some Nations had 3, 4, 5, 6, or even 7+ different genders and these genders were not only accepted and honoured but also had distinct roles within their respective Nations. Today, we would generally refer to these individuals as Two-Spirit.” Learn more about this in our new book, Be Gay, Do Crime: Everyday Acts of Queer Resistance and Rebellion, available for preorder with global shipping: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/be-gay-do-crime-everyday-acts-of-queer-resistance-and-rebellion Pictured: We'wha, c1886. We'wha was a Zuni lhamana, who are people with typically male bodies who take on at least some social and ceremonial roles of women, and sometimes wear women's clothes. Some lhamana today identify as Two-Spirit.
On this day, 4 August 2011, violent clashes erupted between protesters and security forces in a significant escalation of a popular movement demanding education reform in Chile. Protests began in May primarily demanding better state support for education to improve schools, enable more poorer Chileans to access higher education and meet the needs of Indigenous Mapuche students. On August 4, striking school students attempted to march on the presidential palace in the capital, Santiago, when they were attacked by riot police. Rioting then broke out around the city with widespread vandalism, road blockades, and a retail outlet, La Polar, which charged excessive interest rates, was set on fire. By the end of the day, 874 people had been arrested. In its aftermath, protests escalated significantly over the coming months, and while the government did offer to make certain concessions, like bringing in low interest student loans, discontent continued. Learn more about protest movements in Chile in our latest podcast episode, about riot dogs, available now on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/workingclasshistory/posts/e125-riot-dogs-164538761
On this day, 4 August 1792, radical Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was born near Horsham in Sussex. He was expelled from Oxford University in 1811 for contributing to an atheist pamphlet, and soon married Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, author of Frankenstein. He had a tragic life and died young, but wrote some of the greatest English Romantic poetry, including The Masque of Anarchy, which he penned in the wake of the Peterloo massacre of working-class protesters demanding voting rights. The poem ends with a fiery appeal to workers: "Rise like Lions after slumber In unvanquishable number! Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on you: Ye are many—they are few!" Our podcast episode 15 is about the Peterloo massacre, with film director Mike Leigh, which includes a clip of actor Maxine Peake reading Shelley's poem: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e15-the-peterloo-massacre-with-mike-leigh/ * If you appreciate our work, please consider supporting us on patreon: https://patreon.com/workingclasshistory
New daily podcast: 4 August 1941: Moengo miners strike http://dlvr.it/TTrRFs
On this day, 3 August 1945, a homeless ex-soldier in Sydney, Australia squatted an empty home on Marion Street, Auburn. He told the communist newspaper the Tribune: "Forcible possession of homes will not solve the housing problem. Only new houses will do that. But what other avenue is open to a man in desperate circumstances like me?" In Melbourne on that same day, a number of veterans also took over an empty home, mimicking actions which had taken place in Brighton, England in the weeks prior. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10161/sydney-veteran-squat Pic: Headline about Australian squatters around this time