Working Class History
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
Working Class History#OtD 29 Nov 1947 the UN passed resolution 181 recommending partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. Approved by the US, USSR and others, it gave 56% of land to the Jewish state despite Jews being only 32% of the population. More in our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e86-87-class-struggle-in-palestine/
Working Class History#OtD 28 Nov 1971 Jewish anti-fascists of the 62 Group shut down a fascist meeting at the Royal Pavillion Hotel in Brighton, UK. Present were National Front members and former Nazi SS officers, some of whom were hospitalised. More on Jewish anti-fascism: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e35-37-the-43-group/
Working Class HistoryToday is Thanksgiving in the US, or National Day of Mourning/"Unthanksgiving Day" for some Native Americans. Wampanoag people shared food with pilgrims in 1621 but were repaid with centuries of genocide. More on Indigenous resistance: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/books/products/500-years-of-indigenous-resistance-gord-hill
Working Class History#OtD 27 Nov 1835 James Pratt and John Smith, a groom and labourer, respectively, were executed in London for having sex. They were the last men executed in Britain for homosexuality, although executions continued in British colonies. Learn more: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9949/last-uk-men-executed-for-homosexuality
Working Class History#OtD 25 Nov 1941 three Schlurfs were arrested by Gestapo in Austria for destroying a Hitler Youth noticeboard. Schlurfs were working-class youth who rejected Nazism, militarism and the work ethic, and listened to jazz music. More on WWII anti-Nazi youth: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/72-edelweiss-pirates-swing-kids/
Working Class History#OtD 23 Nov 1912 anarcho-syndicalist union, Unione Sindacale Italiana, was founded in Modena mainly by radical metal workers, builders, farm workers and miners. It played a key role in both the factory occupation movement and anti-fascist resistance https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9595/unione-sindacale-italiana-founded
Working Class History#OtD 19 Nov 1900 German communist and anti-Nazi activist Anna Seghers was born in Mainz. She wrote a novel in 1932 warning of the dangers of fascism, Die Gefährten, which led her to be arrested by the Gestapo, but she survived https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9133/anna-seghers