Category: Gun Violence / Mass Shootings

Peace & Justice History for 2/1

February 1, 1960

Greensboro first day: Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond leave the Woolworth store after the first sit-in on February 1, 1960.

Four black college students sat down at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and were refused service because of their race. To protest the segregation of the eating facilities, they remained and sat-in at the lunch counter until the store closed.
Four students returned the next day, and the same thing happened. Similar protests subsequently took place all over the South and in some northern communities.
By September 1961, more than 70,000 students, both white and black, had participated, with many arrested, during sit-ins.

On the second day of the Greensboro sit-in, Joseph A. McNeil and Franklin E. McCain are joined by William Smith and Clarence Henderson at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.

“Segregation makes me feel that I’m unwanted,” Joseph McNeil, one of the four, said later in an interview, “I don’t want my children exposed to it.”

Listen to Franklin McCain’s account of what happened 
February 1, 1961
On the first anniversary of the Greensboro sit-in, there were demonstrations all across the south, including a Nashville movie theater desegregation campaign (which sparked similar tactics in 10 other cities). Nine students were arrested at a lunch counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and chose to take 30 days hard labor on a road gang. The next week, four other students repeated the sit-in, also chose jail.
February 1, 1968

General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executes Nguyen Van Lem a NLF officer.

Saigon police chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan summarily executed Nguyen Van Lem, suspected leader of a National Liberation Front (NLF aka Viet Cong) assassination platoon, with a pistol shot to the head on the street. AP photojournalist Eddie Adams’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of the incident became one of the most famous, ubiquitous and lasting images of the war in Vietnam, affecting international and American public opinion regarding the war.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryfebruary.htm#february1

Peace & Justice History for 1/30

Longest. January. Ever. But it’s also Fred Korematsu Day-Woot!

January 30, 1948
Mohandas K. Gandhi was killed in Delhi by an assassin, a fellow Hindu, who fired three shots from a pistol at a range of three feet.
An American reporter who saw it happen
January 30, 1956
As Martin Luther King, Jr. stood at the pulpit, leading a mass meeting during the Montgomery, Alab
ama, bus boycott, his home was bombed. King’s wife and 10-week-old baby escaped unharmed. Later in the evening, as thousands of angry African Americans assembled on King’s lawn, he appeared on his front porch, and told them:
“If you have weapons, take them home . . . We cannot solve this problem through retaliatory violence . . . We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. and wife Coretta Scott, 1960
January 30, 1968
The Tet (lunar new year) Offensive began as North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched surprise attacks against major cities, provincial and district capitals in South Vietnam.
Though an attack had been anticipated, half of the South’s ARVN troops (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) were on leave because of the holiday. There were attacks in Saigon (the South’s capital) on the Independence Palace (the residence of the president), the radio station, the ARVN’s joint General Staff Compound, Tan Son Nhut airfield, and the United States embassy, causing considerable damage and throwing the city into turmoil.
January 30, 1972
In Londonderry (aka Derry), Northern Ireland, unarmed civil rights demonstrators were shot dead by British Army paratroopers in an event that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” The protesters, all Catholics, had been marching in protest of the British policy of internment without trial of suspected Irish nationalists.
British authorities had ordered the march banned, and sent troops to confront the demonstrators when it went ahead. The soldiers fired indiscriminately into the crowd of protesters, ultimately killing 14 and wounding 17. By the end of the year 323 civilians and 144 military and paramilitary personnel would be dead.

Mural: Bloody Sunday martyrs
Eyewitness accounts 
January 30, 2010

Thousands of protesters from across Japan marched in central Tokyo to protest the U.S. military presence on Okinawa.
Some 47,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan, with more than half on the southern island of Okinawa. Residents have complained for years about noise, pollution and crime around the bases.
News about the protest (This link is to the 2016 protest; P&J’s link for the 2010 protest links to Not Found.)
January 30, since 2011 Fred Korematsu Day

Fred Korematsu
Fred Korematsu, was born in Oakland, California, to a Japanese-American family. When World War II broke out Japanese-American citizens were subject to curfews and, following an executive order from Pres. Roosevelt,
were sent to internment camps. Fred Korematsu refused to go and was convicted and sent to a camp.
He challenged the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066 all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1944 the Supreme court ruled against him. Finally in 1983, a Federal court in San Francisco overturned the original conviction. In 1988 Congress passed legislation apologizing for the internments and awarded each survivor $20,000.
The “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” is observed every January 30th and in an increasing number of states.
“Protest, but not with violence. Don’t be afraid to speak up. One person can make a difference, even if it takes 40 years…” – Fred Korematsu 
More about Fred Korematsu 

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january30

Peace & Justice History for 1/25

January 25, 1930
Mohandas Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders of the anti-colonial movement in India pledged to achieve complete independence, or Purna Swaraj, from Great Britain.
Nehru said:
“The British Government in India has not only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has based itself on the exploitation of the masses, and has ruined India economically, politically, culturally and spiritually . . . We hold it to be a crime against men and God to submit any longer to a rule that has caused this fourfold disaster to our country.”
January 25, 2002

Israeli Refuseniks
A group of Israeli reservists issued a declaration saying they would not serve the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) if assigned to the occupied West Bank or Gaza Strip. It was called the Combatants’ Letter, and the organization Courage to Refuse grew out of their resistance.
Captain David Zonshein and Lieutenant Yaniv Itzkovits, officers in an elite unit, realized the missions assigned to them as commanders in the IDF had in fact nothing to do with the defense of the State of Israel, but were rather intended to maintain control of the occupied territories at the price of oppressing the local Palestinian population.
Within three months, 69 such refuseniks had been jailed. 629 Israeli soldiers ultimately signed the pledge. Over 280 members of Courage to Refuse were court-martialed and jailed for periods of up to 35 days as a result of their refusal.

The Israeli refusnik movement today 

Some The Majority Report from this last week. You should check out their YouTube channel and if you want to see the fun half free I can explain how. Hugs

Jon Stewart DISMANTLES Right Wing Grifter On His Show | Hasanabi reacts

Peace & Justice History for 1/15

January 15, 1929
 

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. The son of a Baptist pastor, he followed in his father’s footsteps, then went on to lead the American civil rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s, and to speak out against the Vietnam war.
In 1955 Dr. King organized the first major protest of the civil rights movement: the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. Influenced by Mohandas Gandhi, he advocated nonviolent civil disobedience to end racial segregation. The peaceful protests he led throughout the American South were often met with violence and arrest, but King and his followers persisted.
His inspiration, leadership and eloquence helped tens of millions claim the fundamental rights of citizenship, and changed the face of a nation.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. biographical sketch
Since 1986, the third Monday in January has been designated a federal holiday honoring the greatness and sacrifice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A chronology:
April 4, 1968 Dr. King was assassinated. Shortly thereafter, U.S. Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan) introduced legislation to create a federal holiday to commemorate Dr. King’s life and work.
January, 1973 Illinois became the first state to adopt MLK Day as a state holiday.
January, 1983 Rep. Conyers’s law was passed after 15 years
January, 1986 The United States first officially observed the federal King Day holiday.
January, 1987 Arizona Governor Evan Mecham rescinded state recognition of MLK Day as his first act in office, setting off a national boycott of the state.
January, 1993 Martin Luther King Day holiday was observed in all 50 states for the first time.
Brief biography of Dr. King  
The greatest MLK speeches you may have never heard 
January 15, 1968
The Jeanette Rankin Brigade marched on Washington to protest the war in Vietnam.It was led by 87-year-old Rankin herself, the first U.S. Congresswoman (R-Montana), and the only member of Congress to vote against U.S. entry to both world wars. After the march’s arrival in Washington, D.C. the New York Radical Women staged a “Burial of Traditional Womanhood.”

Jeanette Rankin
More on Jeanette Rankin 
Documents from the New York Radical Women including Funeral Oration for the Burial of Traditional Womanhood by Kathy Amatniek (who coined “Sisterhood is Powerful”) (a .pdf)
January 15, 1969

Janet McCloud
Janet McCloud, her husband Don and four others from the Tulalip Indian tribe were tried for one of their “fish-ins” on the Nisqually River in Washington state. The Nisqually empties into Puget sound on the Tulalip reservation. Despite century-old treaties granting them half the salmon catch in their ancestral waters, state game officials harassed and arrested Indian fishermen. However, all were found not guilty.
In a decision not reached for five years, U.S. District Judge George Boldt ruled in favor of 14 treaty tribes, including the Tulalip, upholding the language
of their treaties.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january15

Yesterday’s asshat news headlines.

Hi Everyone.  I woke at 12:22 last night.  But I got up at 1 am and started making posts and doing things.   So I just finished the asshat yesterday news posts.  So now before I answer the comments … and I love comments everyone sends to me, I have to make a red sauce.   Ron promised to make me a grand lasagna if I make the sauce.   So with ear buds in, off I go to make the sauce.   Hugs and loves to everyone.  Remember that I really care for everyone.  Add any questions or comments in the comments and I will reply there.   Hugs.  

Kirk Host: Denmark Has No Legal Right To Greenland
House Passes Anti-Migrant Act As First Bill Of 2025
Watters: My “Imperialist Thirst” Says “Invade Canada”
Trump Bible Gets New “Inauguration Day Edition”
Hannity: Don’t “Soak The Rich,” They’re Good Tippers
Giuliani Barks At Sketch Artist: “I Look Like My Dog!”
Trump Seeks To Block Release Of Final Smith Report
Trump Vows To Replace National Records Archivist
Trump Dispatches Junior To Visit “MAGA Greenland”
Meta To End Fact-Checking, Launch “Community Notes”


JoeMyGodModa day ago

Two months ago Fat Hitler vowed to imprison Zuckerberg.

This is the result.

Fox Claims New Jersey Now Hires Illiterate Teachers
Graham: Canada Will Be Part Of “Next” Electoral Count
NOM: Trump Says Eastman Was Right, Send Him Money
EU May Sanction Musk For German Election Meddling

If you criticize the dear leader of the maga cult then you are forever an enemy.  Death to the nonbelievers.   This is why the current republicans and maga is very much a cult.  Hugs. 

Georgia GOP Expels Trump Critic Former Lt Governor
Felon-Elect: “We Are Going To Be Changing The Name Of The Gulf Of Mexico To The Gulf Of America” [VIDEO]
Judge Blocks Release Of Jack Smith’s Final Report
Trump: We May Take Greenland And Panama By Force
Trump Claims Hezbollah Took Part In January 6 Riot
Beetleboob Introduces Bill To Abolish The ATF [VIDEO]

This is great.  The tRump world crowed about this citizen of Greenland who praised tRump’s plan to take over Greenland.  Yet the truth did come out … He was a tRump  loving fanboy violent felon drug dealer prison escapee.   Hugs.

Trump’s Greenland Fan Boy Turns Out To Be Violent Drug-Dealing Multiple Felon, Prison Escapee [VIDEO]
Zuck Wore $1M Watch To Unveil End To Fact-Checking

Peace & Justice History for 1/8

The 2003 entry is one of my very favorite things!

January 8, 1912
=
The African National Congress was founded in South Africa. The ANC (now multi-racial) was the first black political organization in South Africa. It was formed to combat the racially separatist system known in the Afrikaans language as apartheid. The ANC is now the majority party in the South African government.
African National Congress history 
==================================
January 8, 1961
The people of France voted to grant Algeria its independence in a referendum. This followed more than 130 years of French colonial control of the north African country. The result was a clear majority for self-determination, with 75% voting in favor.
Read more 
===================================
January 8, 1973
U.S. National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho resumed secret peace negotiations near Paris.
After the South Vietnamese had blunted the massive North Vietnamese invasion launched in the spring of 1972, Kissinger and the North Vietnamese had finally made some progress on reaching a negotiated end to the war. However, a recalcitrant South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu had inserted several demands into the negotiations that caused the North Vietnamese negotiators to walk out of the talks a month earlier.

Le Duc Tho and Henry Kissinger
==================================
January 8, 2003

Three activists, including Kate Berrigan (daughter of Phil) and Liz McAlister, rappelled down a 32-story skyscraper near the Los Angeles Auto Show and unfurled a banner reading “Ford: Holding America Hostage To Oil.” They had chosen Ford due to its having the lowest average fuel economy of any auto manufacturer, and that it was not living up to the reputation it put forth as being an environmental car company.
Frida Berrigan tells the story 

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january8

Israeli Strikes Yemen’s Civilian International Airport | HasanAbi reacts

Poetry for An Election

You know what to do to find out more.

Morning After The Election by Regie Cabico

I can’t control
the vanishing
       of bees

       but I can control
the honey I swallow
to soothe
       the vocal cords

I can’t control boys
       bully-tumbling
another boy

in the classroom
       like they’re
in a mosh pit

but I can remember
       rolling on hills
with boys being the bully

I can’t change my major
from drama to global peace

but I can write
similes of serenity

& poetic sermons
in temples
of matrimonial fanfare

I know the bombs, the explosives,
and Molotovs are overhead

and I can’t control 
       the lottery, the multiverses,
and tomorrow’s astrology

but whatever tarot card I pick
       or whatever
   gets thrown
       at my face: 

Hangman
       or Fallen Towers

I can express
my weathering emotions

to sing while hoarse
to control air placement
to find the chakra

the right amount of air
to pass through my throat

oh sing with me
the octave between

blade & nectar
rubble & clouds 
ash & mountain

Copyright © 2024 by Regie Cabico. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on December 30, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.