| December 3, 1833 Oberlin College was founded in Ohio. It was the first college to enroll men and women on equal terms, and to accept African-American men and women on equal terms with white students. |
| December 3, 1965 An all-white jury in Alabama convicted three Ku Klux Klansmen for the murder of white civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo.  Viola Liuzzo The mother of five from Detroit was shot and killed while driving a young black activist, Leroy Moton, back to the town of Selma following a protest march to the state capital in Montgomery. It was later learned that another Klansmen in the car, Gary Thomas Rowe, was an FBI informant.  Klansmen Collie Wilkins, Eugene Thomas and William Eaton at their trial About Viola Liuzzo Detroit Historical Society Learn more Zinn Educational A serious blogger considers a book about the FBI’s involvement |
| December 3, 1969 Files were destroyed at eight New York City draft boards in protest of the Vietnam War. |
| December 3, 1984 In the early morning hours, one of the worst industrial disasters in history began when American-owned Union Carbide’s pesticide plant located near the densely populated city of Bhopal in central India leaked a highly toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate into the air. Estimates of the fatalities vary widely, but of the approximately one million people living in Bhopal at the time, 2,000 were killed immediately, at least another 8,000 within a short time, and hundreds of thousands were injured, many still suffering today. The U.S. blocked extradition of Union Carbide officials facing criminal prosecution in India. Union Carbide has since been purchased by Dow Chemical which continues to refuse responsibility for the incident or its victims, and has yet to clean up the site. Contemporary news report on the incident bhopal.org |
| December 3, since 1992 The International Day of Disabled Persons was declared by the United Nations. “The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons … aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities . . . .” 2020 Theme: Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World. more info |
December 3, 1997 An international treaty banning land mines was signed by 122 countries. It comprehensively prohibits the use, production, trade or stockpiling of antipersonnel mines. Buried landmines kill about 15,000 people every year worldwide. The dangerous and time-consuming process of removal would take centuries at the current rate of landmine clearance.The United States and approximately forty other countries have yet to sign the treaty, and fifteen countries continue to produce land mines. The Pentagon requested $1.3 billion for research on and production of two new landmine systems—Spider and Intelligent Munitions System—between fiscal years 2005 and 2011, but Congress has resisted funding the programs under pressure from nearly 500 U.S.-based organizations opposing the weapons. Comprehensive information from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines Recent U.S. policy on land mines: |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorydecember.htm#december3
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