Garment Workers Stand Up to Police Repression (1910)
JULY 8 IS THE 116TH ANNIVERSARY of the first full day of a strike by some 45 thousand members of the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union in New York City, who were demanding a 50-hour week, improved safety and health conditions and recognition of the union.
The employers attempted to terrorize the strikers with mass arrests, but the strike remained solid, and after more than 10 weeks the employers agreed to accept the union’s demands. For a detailed account of the tactics of both the workers and the employers, visit https://ilgwu.ilr.cornell.edu/announcements/8.html
Taking the Declaration of Independence Seriously (1776)
JULY 9 IS THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY of Gen. George Washington ordering his troops to assemble in what was then the New York Common at 6 pm. By the time of the assembly, the Common was filled with thousands of troops and hundreds of curious civilians, all of whom stood with rapt attention when the 5-day-old Declaration of Independence was read aloud so the crowd could hear.
The Americans knew that thousands of British troops were on Staten Island, five miles across New York Bay. When the British attacked, it would be the first major battle of the Revolutionary War.
After listening to the Declaration’s final words, a mob of civilians marched down Broadway to a statue of George III on horseback, which stood in Bowling Green. They pulled the statue down and melted it down to provide the raw material for bullets. https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/new-york-city-and-the-declaration-of-independence
The System Was Blinking Red (2001)
JULY 10 IS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY of a Phoenix, Arizona, FBI agent sending a memo to FBI headquarters reporting his suspicion that would-be terrorists had enrolled in aviation schools to acquire the skills needed to pilot a large passenger jet into a building.
Special Agent Kenneth Williams wrote: “Advise the Bureau and New York of the possibility of a coordinated effort by Osama bin Laden to send students to the United States to attend civil aviation universities and colleges. Phoenix has observed an inordinate number of individuals of investigative interest who are attending or who have attended civil aviation universities and colleges in the State of Arizona,” and his suspicion “that a coordinated effort is underway to establish a cadre of individuals who will one day be working in the civil aviation community around the world. These individuals will be in a position in the future to conduct terror activity . . .”
Williams’ memo came to the attention of at least a dozen officials in FBI Headquarters, but no action was taken in response.
The ignored memo was, as was later discovered, one of at least 23 opportunities the FBI and CIA had, previous to 9/11, to disrupt the attacks that took place two months later. https://dokumen.pub/spying-blind-the-cia-the-fbi-and-the-origins-of-9-11-course-booknbsped-9781400830275.html
Surf and Sand Aren’t Private Property! (1896)
JULY 12 IS THE 130TH ANNIVERSARY of the opening day of the first public beach in the U.S., the 4-mile-long Revere Beach, outside Boston, Massachusetts
More than 45,000 people joined in the fun that day. To read the inspiring story of the battle to ensure public access to scenic, natural recreation sites, visit https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/revere-beach-opens.html
Hunger Marchers Won’t Take ‘No’ for an Answer (1936)
JULY 13 IS THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY of two thousand unemployed activists occupying the Pennsylvania state capitol building to back up their demand that the state legislature agree to a $100 million appropriation to pay the cost of relief for the victims of the Great Depression.
Most of the demonstrators had come to the state capitol in Harrisburg from Philadelphia, which was 90 miles away, Both the Communist Party U.S.A. and the Socialist Party of America played major roles in organizing and supporting the protest.
The Republican-run Pennsylvania Senate refused the demonstrators’ demand, and the occupation continued for 18 days, until the Senate agreed to support a proposal by the governor and the House to spend $45 million on emergency relief.
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