Working Class History
Working Class History#OtD 12 Jan 1964 the Zanzibar revolution occurred when the Black African majority overthrew the ruling Sultan and 200 years of racist Arab minority rule, which had been preserved and strengthened during British occupation which ended in 1963 https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8398/zanzibar-revolution
Working Class History#OtD 12 Jan 1928 Clemente Chávez, a Mexican member of the @iww@mastodon.social union, was murdered during an attack by bosses' thugs in the Walsenburg, Colorado IWW union hall during a coal strike. A bystander, Salistino Martinez, was killed on the street outside https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8397/clemente-ch%C3%A1vez-murdered
Working Class History#OtD 12 Jan 1865 20 Black leaders met with Union Gen. William Sherman in Savannah, GA. "40 acres & a mule" plan was devised to seize 400k acres from Confederate landowners to freed Black families to help defeat the Confederacy. Pres Johnson reversed it https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8390/40-acres-and-a-mule-plan
Working Class History#OtD 12 Jan 1904 a rebellion began by Herero people in Namibia against German occupation. Eventually however, they were defeated by the Germans, who attempted to exterminate all Herero people in what is considered the 1st genocide of the 20th century https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8394/herero-revolt
Working Class History#OtD 10 Jan 1859 Catalan educator and anarchist, Francesc Ferrer was born. He developed the idea of the "Modern School": radical, secular education particularly for working-class children. He was later framed and executed by the state. Learn more: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/products/anarchist-education-and-the-modern-school-a-francisco-ferrer-reader
Working Class History#OtD 10 Jan 1934 disabled anti-fascist construction worker, Marinus van der Lubbe, was executed by the Nazis for setting fire to the Reichstag. He'd hoped to inspire resistance to fascism; instead, the Nazis used it as a pretext to repress dissent https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8195/marinus-van-der-lubbe-executed
Working Class History#OtD 8 Jan 1911 Italian anarchist, Pietro Gori, died. He wrote some of the most famous 19th century anarchist songs and lived in Argentina, where he helped build the revolutionary labour movement https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10794/pietro-gori-dies
Working Class History#OtD 8 Jan 2003 two train drivers from Motherwell, Scotland, refused to drive a train full of ammunition for UK forces in the Gulf to the Glen Douglas NATO military base. It was a protest against the threat of invading Iraq. More on the anti-war movt: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10799/anti-war-train-drivers
Working Class History#OtD 6 Jan 1971 the Militant Mothers of Raymur, 25 mothers from the Raymur Place housing project in Vancouver, Canada, blockaded railway tracks to get a pedestrian overpass to protect the 400 children who crossed the tracks to and from school https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10618/militant-mothers-blockade
Working Class History#OtD 6 Jan 2014 workers at a Goodyear plant in Amiens, France, took two bosses hostage demanding better severance pay. They occupied the plant and kept bosses inside until the company agreed to triple redundancy pay. More info, plus commemorative shirt: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/clothing/products/t-shirt-of-the-month-bossnapping