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THIS WEEK IN PEOPLE’S HISTORY, SEPT 18–24  
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_ The Sorrow and the Pity Rewrites History (1969), The Dawn of
Women’s Suffrage (1893), Millions Protest Global Warming (2019),
Thelonious Monk’s Musical Signature (1954), An All-Star Cast Says
‘No Nukes!’ (1979), The Chicago Eight on Trial (1969) _

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_THE SORROW AND THE PITY REWRITES HISTORY_

55 YEARS AGO, on Sept. 18, 1969, one of the greatest documentary films
ever made – The Sorrow and the Pity, by Marcel Opuls’ – was
released. It is a long, detail-filled examination of how the civilian
population of France behaved during the 4-year period during World War
2 when France was at peace with Germany. During that period Germany
ruled Paris and northern France directly and also ruled southern
France through a puppet government of Frenchmen. 

After World War 2 ended in 1945, thousands of surviving officials of
the French puppet government persuaded the world they had used passive
resistance to resist German programs and policies. For the next 25
years, most people believed the story that Vichy had been working, in
effect, against the Nazis in tandem with the French Resistance. “The
Sorrow and the Pity” exposed that Vichy’s passive resistance was a
myth. Just two years after the Sorrow and the Pity appeared, a
thoroughly documented book – _Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order,
1940-1944, _by Robert Paxton was published, which told the same story
as Opuls’ film, but in much greater detail. 

The revelations of first Ophuls and then Paxton were so damning that
the French legal system identified numerous French war criminals, some
of whom were even working for the French government in 1970.  The
result was a huge scandal that included a handful of successful French
prosecutions for crimes against humanity..

“The Sorrow and the Pity,” in French with subtitles, is available
for rent on YouTube.

_THE DAWN OF WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE_

131 YEARS AGO, on Sept. 19, 1893, New Zealand became the world’s
first democracy to make women and men electoral equals. The slogan
“One man, one vote” had to be replaced with “One person, one
vote.” For 15 years women’s organizations had been petitioning the
New Zealand parliament to make the change, regularly gaining more
support from male politicians. Finally, in 1893 when women presented
Parliament with 32,000 petition signatures, nearly a quarter of New
Zealand’s population of adult females, the law passed by a slim
majority. [link removed]
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_MILLIONS PROTEST GLOBAL WARMING_

FIVE YEARS AGO, Sept. 20, 2019, was the first day of the Global
Climate Strike, which took place during the United Nations Climate
Summit. As a demonstration of the depth and breadth of the public’s
concern over global warming, the Global Climate Strike was a major
event. On Sept. 20 an estimated four million people took to the
streets to demonstrate their support for immediate action to slow,
stop, and reverse the climate crisis. The largest showing was in
Germany, where 1.4 million participated, followed by more than half a
million in the U.S., 300,000 in Australia and 300,000 in the UK. The
representatives of the world’s governments at the UN showed little
evidence of being impressed by the protests. Some countries promised
to reduce carbon emissions (but not the U.S., China, or India), with
the result that the UN Secretary General said "Much more is needed to
reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and keep temperature rise to 1.5
degrees by the end of the century."
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_MONK’S MUSICAL SIGNATURE_

70 YEARS AGO, on Sept. 22, 1954, Thelonius Monk recorded “Blue
Monk” for the first time. “Blue Monk” could reasonably be called
Monk’s signature tune, as it is included in almost every live album
he recorded. Here’s why:  [link removed]
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_AN ALL-STAR CAST SAYS ‘NO NUKES!’ _

45 YEARS AGO, on Sept. 23, 1979, more than 200,000 people gathered in
Lower Manhattan to express their opposition to the construction and
operation of nuclear power plants. It was the largest gathering of its
kind ever to have occurred in the U.S. On the same day, a dozen
smaller antinuclear-power rallies took place throughout the U.S.

The Lower Manhattan event included anti-nuke speeches by Jane Fonda,
Tom Hayden, Ralph Nader, Barry Commoner and others interspersed with
musical performances produced by Musicians United for Safe Energy by
artists including Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Tom Paxton,
Bonnie Raitt, Gil Scott-Heron, Pete Seeger, Carly Simon and Sweet
Honey in the Rock.
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_THE CHICAGO 8 ON TRIAL_

55 YEARS GO, on Sept. 24, 1969, the trial of the Chicago Eight – who
were accused of conspiracy to cross state lines with intent to start a
riot and other charges – began in Chicago’s federal court. 

The eight defendants were essentially charged with having conspired to
cause the violence that had rocked Chicago during the 4-day National
Democratic Convention in August 1968 in which thousands of anti-war
demonstrators and thousands of Chicago police clashed. 

The prosecution was unusual from the start, because prosecutors
working for the Johnson administration, which did not end until
January 1969, had declined to bring any federal charges in connection
with the Chicago convention. But when Richard Nixon took office, he
encouraged his attorney general to obtain a federal indictment. 

The trial was unusual in the rancorous hostility of the presiding
judge to the accused and their lawyers. When one of the defendants,
Black Panther leader Bobby Seale (who was the only defendant of
color), repeatedly insisted on the right to defend himself, the judge
ordered him to be gagged and chained to a chair.

After a trial lasting five months, all the defendants were acquitted
of the conspiracy charge, but some were convicted of lesser offenses,
including many counts of contempt of court.  On appeal, all the
charges, except a few contempt-of-court charges, were dismissed.
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