Don Palabraz

Subversive Historian – 12/21/09

{Striking Nitrate Miners in Iquique} The Santa Maria de Iquique Massacre Back in the day on December 21st, 1907, the bloody Santa Maria de Iquique Massacre took the lives of hundreds if not thousands of workers in Chile. Earlier that month, nitrate miners on strike descended on the northern port city of Iquique to demand better working [...]

Continue reading...

Subversive Historian – 10/27/09

The National Negro Labor Council Back in the day on October 27th, 1951, the National Negro Labor Council was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio. Delegates from across the country approved a program for the newly formed organization that set out to promote civil rights within the labor movement. Labor leader William Hood delivered a speech at the [...]

Continue reading...

Subversive Historian – 08/26/09

Fannie Sellins Back in the day on August 26th, 1919, labor organizer Fannie Sellins was brutally gunned down in West Pennsylvania. Dubbed ‘the angel of mercy’ for her unionizing efforts, Sellins had successfully organized workers in Missouri and West Virginia before United Mine Workers of America leader Philip Murray, impressed by her dedication, offered her a [...]

Continue reading...

Subversive Historian – 08/25/09

The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Back in the day on August 25th, 1925, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was formed in New York. A. Phillip Randolph, a socialist once dubbed as ‘the most dangerous black man in America’ was designated as its leader. The BSCP was extremely significant as a black union dedicated to [...]

Continue reading...

Subversive Historian – 08/03/09

The Wheatland Hop Riot Back in the day on August 3rd, 1913, the Wheatland Hop Riot took place in Northern California. Nearly two-thousand agricultural hop pickers toiled at Durst Ranch working long hours in the hot sun for low pay. Many of the workers slept a mile from the ranch in the open air without blankets [...]

Continue reading...