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Stanleyville Riots (1959)

Fri Oct 30, 1959

On this day in 1959, Congolese residents of Stanleyville rebelled against Belgian colonizers, demanding independence after a speech by Patrice Lumumba. Police suppressed the riot, killing ~70, imposing martial law, and arresting Lumumba.

The day prior, Lumumba called for a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience in a speech to the MNC congress, also ordering Congolese people to not collaborate with the Belgian colonial government and announcing that the party would not take part in the upcoming December elections.

The rebellion began on October 30th when the police arrived at the suburb of Mangoba to arrest Lumumba. The uprising was suppressed with military force, including two companies of infantry.

In total, approximately 70 people were killed in the fighting, and up to 200 were wounded. Lumumba himself was arrested by police as the government imposed martial law and banned gatherings of more than five people.

Congo would achieve independence from Belgium on June 30th, 1960, with Lumumba serving as its first Prime Minister. He was assassinated by Belgian forces and their collaborators on January 17th, 1961.

• Date: 1959-10-30
• Learn More: www.theguardian.com, cdnc.ucr.edu, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Labor, #Assassinations, #Colonialism, #Riots, #Independence.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Louis Blanc (1811 - 1882)

Tue Oct 29, 1811

Louis Blanc, born on this day in 1811, was a socialist French politician, historian, and advocate of worker co-operatives. A socialist who favored reforms, he called for the creation of cooperatives in order to guarantee employment for the urban poor. Although Blanc's ideas of the workers' cooperatives were never realized, his political and social ideas greatly contributed to the development of socialism in France.

Blanc was a government official in the French Second Republic and key in the formation of its National Workshops, which used land taxes to fund employment services for unemployed workers.

Blanc is sometimes credited as being the first person to use the word capitalism in its modern form, defining the term in 1851 as "the appropriation of capital by some to the exclusion of others".

• Date: 1811-10-29
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.britannica.com.
• Tags: #Socialism, #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Leon Czolgosz Executed (1901)

Tue Oct 29, 1901

Leon Czolgosz was an anarchist steelworker executed by the U.S. government on this day in 1901 after assassinating President William McKinley. The murder led to a widespread crackdown on left wing movements across the country.

Czolgosz (1873 - 1901) was a socialist from a young age, working in factories and mills as a teenager and witnessing labor strife firsthand. He was greatly inspired by Emma Goldman, and met her briefly after a lecture she gave in Cleveland. Czolgosz's direct inspiration to assassinate a national leader possibly came from the assassination of King Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Gaetano Bresci in 1900.

On September 6th, 1901, Czolgosz shot President William McKinley on the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley died eight days later of gangrene caused by the wounds and was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt in office.

Czolgosz was tried and found guilty just over a month later. Before his execution, Czolgosz explained "I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people - the good working people...I am not sorry for my crime".

In the aftermath of the assassination, there was a series of strong reprisals against the anarchist movement. Several anarchists, including Emma Goldman, were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack, and vigilantes attacked anarchist colonies and newspapers.

Fear of the movement also led to government creating anarchist surveillance programs, which were eventually consolidated on a federal level when the Bureau of Investigation (BOI, later to become the FBI) was formed in 1908.

• Date: 1901-10-29
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.britannica.com, jwa.org.
• Tags: #Assassinations, #Anarchism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Luisa Capetillo (1879 - 1922)

Tue Oct 28, 1879

Luisa Capetillo, born on this day in 1879, was a Puerto Rican labor organizer, feminist, and Christian anarchist. Capetillo advocated for women's suffrage, was arrested for wearing pants in public, and helped raise the minimum wage.

As a labor activist, Capetillo organized workers throughout the United States, worked as a reporter for the FLT (American Federation of Labor), and traveled throughout Puerto Rico, educating and organizing women. Her hometown, Arecibo, became the most unionized area of the country.

Capetillo is considered to be one of Puerto Rico's first suffragists. In 1908, during the FLT convention, Capetillo asked the union to approve a policy for women's suffrage, insisting that all women should have the same right to vote as men. Along with other labor activists, she also helped pass a minimum wage law in the Puerto Rican Legislature.

Today, Capetillo is perhaps best known for being arrested for wearing pants in public, although the charges against her were later dropped.

In 2014, the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico honored Capetillo, along with eleven other women, with plaques in the "La Plaza en Honor a la Mujer Puertorriqueña" (Plaza in Honor of Puerto Rican Women).

• Date: 1879-10-28
• Learn More: documents.alexanderstreet.com, en.wikipedia.org, libcom.org.
• Tags: #Labor, #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Emilienne Morin (1901 - 1991)

Mon Oct 28, 1901

Emilienne Morin, born on this day in 1901, was a French anarchist and writer who was active in the Spanish Civil War and anti-fascist resistance against Francisco Franco.

In 1931, Morin and her partner, fellow anarchist Buenaventura Durruti, moved to Spain. There, Emilienne was active writing for the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) press and took part in anarchist meetings and demonstrations.

With the outbreak of the Spanish Revolution and Civil War, Emilienne joined the Durruti Column on the Aragon Front and worked as secretary at its HQ, where she was in charge of its press department. After the death of Durruti, Morin returned to France to take part in solidarity campaigns for the Spanish anarchists, writing articles and addressing meetings.

• Date: 1901-10-28
• Learn More: libcom.org.
• Tags: #Birthdays, #Anarchism, #Fascism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Oliver Tambo (1917 - 1993)

Sat Oct 27, 1917

Oliver Tambo, born on this day in 1917, was a South African anti-apartheid politician and revolutionary who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991.

In 1943, Tambo, along with Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu, founded the ANC Youth League, with Tambo becoming its first National Secretary and a member of the National Executive in 1948. The Youth League proposed a change in the tactics of the anti-apartheid movement, advocating boycotts, civil disobedience, strikes, and non-collaboration.

In 1960, Tambo fled South Africa due to political persecution, living in exile in north London for thirty years. From London, he supported and helped organize the ANC in the fight against apartheid from a distance. On December 13th, 1990, Tambo returned to South Africa and was elected National Chairperson of the ANC.

• Date: 1917-10-27
• Learn More: www.sahistory.org.za, en.wikipedia.org, www.britannica.com, web.archive.org.
• Tags: #Civil Rights, #Birthdays.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

French Riots Begin (2005)

Thu Oct 27, 2005

Image: Marching protesters with a banner reading "PAS DE JUSTICE PAS DE PAIX" [socialistproject.ca]

On this day in 2005, weeks of riots erupted throughout France after two youths died from electrocution while hiding from the police in a power substation. President Chirac declared a state of emergency, giving sweeping powers to police.

According to a youth that survived the substation incident, they hid "to avoid the lengthy questioning that youths in the housing projects say they often face from the police. [He said] they are required to present identity papers and can be held as long as four hours at the police station, and sometimes their parents must come before the police will release them."

The deaths ignited pre-existing tensions in immigrant communities, particularly those of African and Arab origin, and protesters took to the street en masse. Initially confined to the Paris area, the protests and riots quickly spread throughout the country. By November 4th, thousands of vehicles had been burned, three people had been killed, and more than 2800 rioters were arrested.

On November 8th, President Jacques Chirac declared a state of emergency, which was granted a three month extension a week later. Local authorities were allowed to impose curfews, conduct house-to-house searches, and ban public gatherings to quell the riots.

• Date: 2005-10-27
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, libcom.org, socialistproject.ca.
• Tags: #Riots, #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Dolores Cacuango (1881 - 1971)

Wed Oct 26, 1881

Dolores Cacuango, also known as Mamá Doloreyuk, was a leader in the fight for indigenous rights in Ecuador born on this day in 1881. She was active in the Glorious May Revolution of 1944 and co-founded the Indigenous Federation of Ecuador (FEI).

Cacuango was born to enslaved people in San Pablourco who worked the Pesillo Hacienda near Cayambe without being paid. She had no access to education due to her lack of resources, and learned Spanish while working as a housemaid.

In 1930, Cacuango was among the leaders of the historic workers' strike at the Pesillo hacienda in Cayambe, which was a milestone for indigenous and peasant rights. During the Glorious May Revolution in Ecuador, Cacuango personally led an assault on a government military base.

The same year, with the help of Ecuador's Communist Party, Cacuango co-founded the Indigenous Federation of Ecuador (FEI), an early group in the fight for indigenous rights. She also helped establish some of the first bilingual indigenous schools.

• Date: 1881-10-26
• Learn More: elpais.com, en.wikipedia.org, www.womensactivism.nyc.
• Tags: #Birthdays, #Indigenous.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

José Ester Borrás (1913 - 1980)

Sun Oct 26, 1913

José Ester Borrás, born on this day in 1913 in Barcelona, Spain, was an anarchist active in the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and the Spanish Civil War.

In 1938, Borrás was arrested by the communists for allegedly shooting a political commissar and held in prison until Francisco Franco won the war. He fled to France, where he took part in the escape and evasion network led by anarcho-syndicalist Francisco Ponzán Vidal. While in France, Borrás was arrested and deported to the concentration camp Mauthausen, where he was part of the committee that planned prisoner revolts that successfully self-liberated the camp.

After achieving his freedom, Borrás returned to France in 1945 and founded FEDIP (Federación Española de Deportados e Internados Políticos), which campaigned for the release of both political prisoners in Franco's Spain and anti-fascists who were deported to labor camps in the Soviet Union.

• Date: 1913-10-26
• Learn More: libcom.org, translate.google.com.
• Tags: #Labor, #Birthdays, #Anarchism, #Fascism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Million Woman March (1997)

Sat Oct 25, 1997

The Million Woman March was a protest march held on this day in 1997, involving approximately 500,000 people on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A major theme of the march was family unity and what it means to be a black woman in America. The women of the march called for three things: repentance for the pain of black women caused by one another, and the restoration and resurrection of black family and community bonds.

The march, which was organized by two Philadelphia grass roots activists, Phile Chionesu and Asia Coney, enjoyed substantial turnout despite short notice and bypassing traditional leaders and organizations that had played an important role in organizing the Million Man March in 1995, such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Notable speakers at the event included Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Sista Souljah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Attallah and Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughters of Malcolm X, and Dr. Dorothy Height. A message from Assata Shakur, living in exile in Cuba, was also read.

• Date: 1997-10-25
• Learn More: www.blackpast.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

U.S. Invades Grenada (1983)

Tue Oct 25, 1983

Image: U.S. soldiers intervening in Grenada

On this day in 1983, the U.S. and six Caribbean nations invaded Grenada following the assassination of Maurice Bishop, overthrowing the left-wing government and killing dozens of civilians, an act with drew international condemnation.

The invasion, officially codenamed "Operation Urgent Fury", was made up of a coalition of forces from the United States and six Caribbean nations, including Jamaica and Barbados.

Operation Urgent Fury and the subsequent military occupation led to the dissolution of the military government established after the assassination of Maurice Bishop, ousting the New Jewel Movement from power. The operation also caused the deaths of at least twenty-four civilians, eighteen of whom were killed when the U.S. Navy bombed a mental hospital.

President Reagan justified the invasion by claiming to be acting in the interests of 600 U.S. medical students on the island. Historian Howard Zinn has noted that there was no evidence these students were in danger and that, in the same period, Reagan's administration was actively supporting the government of El Salvador, which had already killed American citizens.

The invasion drew widespread condemnation. The United Nations General Assembly voted 108 to 9 in condemning the act as "a flagrant violation of international law". Margaret Thatcher publicly supported the action, but opposed it in private, telling President Reagan directly:

"This action will be seen as intervention by a Western country in the internal affairs of a small independent nation, however unattractive its regime. I ask you to consider this in the context of our wider East/West relations and of the fact that we will be having in the next few days to present to our Parliament and people the siting of Cruise missiles in this country...You asked for my advice. I have set it out and hope that even at this late stage you will take it into account before events are irrevocable."

• Date: 1983-10-25
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, libcom.org.
• Tags: #Assassinations.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Iceland Women's Strike (1975)

Fri Oct 24, 1975

Image: "VIÐ ERUM MARGAR": WE ARE MANY The largest mass demonstration in Icelandic history: More than 10% of the total population of Iceland participated in the women's rally in downtown Reykjavík. Photo by Ólafur K Magnússon

On this day in 1975, approximately 90% of Icelandic women struck for equality, not attending jobs or doing any domestic work. Iceland passed an equal pay law the following year, but the strike has been repeated on its anniversary several times since, such as in the years 2005, 2010, and 2016.

The strike was planned by "The Women's Congress", which had met on June 20th and 21st earlier that year. Among the reasons given for going on strike were pay inequality, lack of women in union leadership, and a general lack of recognition for the value and skill of domestic labor.

During the work stoppage, also known as "Women's Day Off", 25,000 people gathered in Reykjavik, Iceland's capital city, for a rally. There, women listened to speakers, sang, and talked to each other about what could be done to achieve gender equality in Iceland.

Women from many different backgrounds spoke, including a housewife, two members of parliament, and a worker. The last speech of the day was by Aðalheiður Bjarnfreðsdóttir, who "represented Sókn, the trade union for the lowest paid women in Iceland", according to The Guardian.

In 1976, the Icelandic government passed an equal pay law, and the country elected its first female President, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, five years later in 1980.

The 1975 Women's Strike also helped inspire the 2016 "Black Monday" anti-abortion ban protests in Poland, as well as the "International Women's Strike", single day work stoppages on March 8th, 2017 and 2018.

• Date: 1975-10-24
• Learn More: www.theguardian.com, kvennasogusafn.is.
• Tags: #Labor, #Feminism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org