A Brief History
On August 28, 1917, ten women who were picketing the White House demanding women’s suffrage were arrested. Civil rights are measures to protect individuals and groups against discrimination and to ensure that people are treated equally and that freedoms are not taken away. Such rights should be blatantly apparent and should not require people struggling to achieve them in the first place. Nonetheless, throughout history people have had to campaign and even fight for their rights.
Digging Deeper
August 28 has come up numerous times in the 20th century as a date that saw important pieces of the civil rights puzzle come together. This article lists some of those for you. Of course the issue of women getting the right to vote is a simple acknowledgement that women and men have equal rights under the law. As bizarre as it may be to people today, back in 1917 many men thought women should be denied such equal treatment.
1. August 28, 1955
On August 28, 1955, African-American teenager Emmett Till (age 14) was brutally murdered in Mississippi (beaten, eye gouged out, shot in the head) for having the “audacity” to speak to a white woman. people were outraged that a young man could be killed for such an “offense,” and that incident together with the fact that an all-white, male jury acquitted the 2 white men accused of the crime helped spark the Civil Rights Movement for African-Americans.
2. August 28, 1957
On August 28, 1957, Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, a senator well known for his racist beliefs and policies, conducted a 1-person filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 by speaking continuously for 24 hours and 18 minutes, a record for a single-person filibuster. A segregationist, Thurmond served 48 years in the Senate and opposed all sorts of civil rights legislation. In a twist of History and Headlines, after Thurmond’s death it was revealed that he had fathered a child with a black girl when he was 22 and she only 16. Thurmond knew of his illegitimate daughter and secretly supported her and her education.
3. August 28, 1963
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This speech ranks among the most famous in American history.
Also on August 28, 1963, two women, Emilie Hoffert and Janice Wylie, were murdered. The subsequent treatment of their supposed murderer, George Whitmore, and his forced confession led to implementation of the notorious Miranda warning (You have the right to remain silent…). History and Headlines Twist: Whitmore had been watching the above-mentioned Martin Luther King, Jr. speech when the crime took place.
4. August 28, 1964
On August 28, 1964, the Philadelphia race riots raged in North Philly, home to two-thirds of Philadelphia’s African-American population. Several cases of police brutality had sparked the unrests at a time when African-Americans were already agitated and upset over the slow pace of the Civil Rights Movement. Although no persons were killed, over 300 were injured, and almost 800 were arrested. The 1960s would see many more race riots in the U.S.
5. August 28, 1968
On August 28, 1968, demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago battled police in an incident that became known as the “Chicago Police Riot.” Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, both champions of civil rights, had recently been assassinated, and many Americans were upset over the war in Viet Nam. Mayor Daly amassed 23,000 police and National Guard troops to infringe upon the freedom of speech of the 10,000 protesters and on the freedom of the press of the reporters. The ill-supervised cops and troops basically went on a rampage against citizens while those citizens were still peacefully expressing their views. Convictions of the leaders of the protesters were later overturned on appeal. August 28 was quite a date in the 20th century in the long struggle for civil rights. Unfortunately, there are still many unresolved issues, so it would appear civil rights will continue to be a hot topic for a long time to come yet.
Question for students (and subscribers): Would you ever take part in a civil rights protest? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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For another interesting event that happened on August 28, please see the History and Headlines article: “10 U.S. Politicians Who Have Done or Said Racist Things.”
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Historical Evidence
To honor these women, hang the following poster on your wall:
The Gilder Lehrman Collection. Suffragist Movement 1917 Poster. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2009.