Working Class History
Working Class History#OtD 6 Dec 1938 members of the Australian Aborigines’ League led by William Cooper marched to the German Consulate in Melbourne to deliver a letter condemning the "cruel persecution of the Jewish people by the Nazi government of Germany". Learn more: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/12652/aboriginal-solidarity-after-kristallnacht
Working Class History#OtD 5 (or 1) Dec 1903 Black Spanish civil war fighter Patrick Roosevelt was born in Long Island, NY. He joined the @iww@mastodon.social and Communist Party, and joined the fight against Franco in 1938, during which he lost his leg. He later worked as a machinist. https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e39-the-spanish-civil-war-an-introduction/
Working Class History#OtD 5 Dec 1896 Henry Poulaille was born into a poor working-class anarchist family. He became a novelist, anarchist, director of Éditions Grasset, the journal 'Le Nouvel Âge Littéraire' and founded a radical museum https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10498/henry-poulaille-born
Working Class History#OtD 4 Dec 1853 Errico Malatesta, mechanic and key anarchist theorist and organiser was born in Italy. Despite being repeatedly jailed, exiled and sentenced to death 3 times, he remained active and lived until the age of 78. Learn more in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/life-and-ideas-the-anarchist-writings-of-errico-malatesta
Working Class History#OtD 4 Dec 1974 philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre got permission from a German court to visit Andreas Baader, leader of the Red Army Faction, in Stammheim prison. Books and more about the RAF here in our online store: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/red-army-faction
Working Class History#OtD 3 Dec 1916 seven members of the revolutionary Industrial Workers of the World in Australia were sentenced to 15 years in prison for their anti-war efforts. Others were sentenced to 5 and 10 years. More about the Australian @iww@mastodon.social in our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/2019/01/28/e19-the-iww-in-australia/
Working Class History#OtD 1 Dec 1921 striking workers at Castleconnell fisheries in Ireland occupied their workplace and declared a soviet (workers' council). It ended on Dec 22 after the boss agreed to arbitration, which later ruled in favour of the workers. Learn more: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8057/castleconnell-soviet
Working Class History#OtD 30 Nov 1994 Guy Debord, cofounder and intellectual leader of the Situationist International, died by suicide. The SI were a Marxist group centred in France which became highly influential after the May 68 revolt. Learn more in these books: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/situationists
Working Class History#OtD 30 Nov 1930 legendary Irish-born dressmaker and worker-organiser, Mother Jones, died in Maryland, US. Co-founder of the @iww@mastodon.social, she organised for multiple unions and, in 1902, was called dubbed "the most dangerous woman in America" https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10324/mother-jones-dies
Working Class History#OtD 29 Nov 1864 the Sand Creek massacre occurred when US troops attacked a peaceful gathering of Cheyenne and Arapaho people. They killed ~170 unarmed people, torturing them then scalping and mutilating the victims. Learn more about Indigenous genocide: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/500-years-of-indigenous-resistance-gord-hill