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- #ResistanceRoots George Carlin was born on this day in 1937 in New York, N.Y. Called the “dean of counterculture comedians,” Carlin was known for dark humor that reflected on American society, consumerism, politics and many taboo topics. His sharp observations spoke for many of us. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Today in history, 1972: Cesar Chavez begins a 24-day hunger strike to oppose an Arizona law that severely restricted the ability of farm workers to organize. He called it “a fast of sacrifice” representing the daily suffering of farm workers. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Today in history, 1893: Workers for Pullman Palace Car Co. go on strike, protesting 25% wage cuts without decreases in rents and costs at the Pullman company town. It led to a large-scale strike and boycott that disrupted rail traffic for months. /1
- #ResistanceRoots “Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.” — Timothy Snyder
- #ResistanceRoots Today in history, 1933: German students burn 20,000 books deemed “un-German” while giving the Nazi salute. Among the volumes tossed into the fire were works by Einstein, Freud, Hemingway, Helen Keller, Jack London, Thomas Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, H.G. Wells and Émile Zola. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Today in history, 1869: The presidents of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads drive a ceremonial spike into a rail line connecting their railroads at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. The Transcontinental Railroad was a great achievement but came at dark costs. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Sophie Scholl was born on this day in 1921 in Forchtenberg, Weimar Republic. As a university student, she was active in the White Rose non-violent resistance group. Scholl was executed in 1943 for distributing leaflets calling for active opposition to the Nazi regime. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Today in history, 1960: The FDA approves Enovid-10, the first commercially produced birth control pill. Developed by G.D. Searle Co., it was based on the work of biochemist Gregory Pincus and gynecologist John Rock. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Today in history, 1980: The WHO announces that smallpox has been eradicated worldwide. It is considered the greatest achievement in public health. The CDC in Atlanta and the VECTOR Institute in Russia are the only two labs that officially store and handle variola virus. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Dorothy Sunrise Lorentino was born on this day in 1909 on the Comanche Reservation, near Cache, Okla. When she was just nine years old, she and her family won a landmark court case mandating that Native American children be allowed to attend Oklahoma public schools. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Today in history, 1940: John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath. The novel follows the fictional Joad family as they lose their farm in Oklahoma and travel to California in search of work and a better life. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Today in History, 1882: President Arthur signs into law the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning immigration by Chinese laborers and denying Chinese residents in the U.S. the ability to become citizens. The law was to last for 10 years but was later renewed and expanded. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Today in history, 2023: Eight beautiful lives were lost in the Allen Premium Outlets mall shooting. Seven others were injured. The gunman was a white supremacist who targeted people of color. But Repubs also have blood on their hands for blocking sensible gun reform.
- #ResistanceRoots Today in history, 1877: Sitting Bull leads his followers into Canada to evade the U.S. Army. Sitting Bull’s warriors had helped defeat Custer at Little Big Horn, and he believed that as victor he should be dictating the terms of peace. The Army had other ideas. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Today in history, 1970: Four dead in Ohio. Members of the Ohio National Guard open fire on more than 300 anti-Vietnam War demonstrators at Kent State University, killing four students, wounding eight and paralyzing another. /1
- #ResistanceRoots Septima Poinsette Clark was born on this day in 1898 in Charleston, S.C. The educator and civil rights activist developed citizenship and literacy workshops that helped African Americans register to vote. MLK referred to Clark as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” /1
- #ResistanceRoots Dr. Benjamin Spock was born on this day in 1903 in New Haven, Conn. Best known for his book Baby and Child Care, he also was an activist in the New Left and anti-Vietnam War movements and advocated a guaranteed minimum income and legalizing abortion, cannabis and homosexuality.
- #ResistanceRoots Tim Walz was born on this day in 1964 in West Point, Neb. Governor Walz believes in radical, woke things like feeding schoolchildren, ensuring tax fairness, developing infrastructure, requiring universal gun background checks and protecting women’s rights.
- #ResistanceRoots #Voices4Victory Today in history, 1629: King Charles I dissolves the English Parliament, declaring that he has a divine right to rule as absolute monarch. Thus began an autocratic regime known as the Personal Rule, ultimately leading to his execution for treason on Jan. 30, 1649.
- #ResistanceRoots #Voices4Victory Elisabeth Abegg was born on this day in 1882 in Straßberg, Alsace-Lorraine in the German Empire. An anti-Nazi resistance fighter, she is credited with sheltering about 80 Jews between 1942 and 1945 and is recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. /1
- #ResistanceRoots #Voices4Victory #BlackHistoryMonth Today in history, 1859: The Arkansas legislature passes a law banning the residency of free African American or mixed-race people. The law required them to leave the state by Jan. 1, 1860, or face one year of slavery to finance relocation. /1
