1970 – Chicago Seven sentenced


February 19

READ MORE: 7 Reasons Why the Chicago 8 Trial Mattered

The Chicago Seven (formerly the Chicago Eight—one defendant, Bobby Seale, was being tried separately) are acquitted of riot conspiracy charges, but found guilty of inciting riot.

The eight antiwar activists were charged with the responsibility for the violent demonstrations at the August 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The defendants included David Dellinger of the National Mobilization Committee (NMC); Rennie Davis and Thomas Hayden of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, founders of the Youth International Party (“Yippies”); Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers; and two lesser known activists, Lee Weiner and John Froines.

The defendants were charged with conspiracy to cross state lines with intent to incite a riot. Attorneys William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass represented all but Seale. The trial, presided over by Judge Julius Hoffman, turned into a circus as the defendants and their attorneys used the court as a platform to attack Nixon, the Vietnam War, racism and oppression. Their tactics were so disruptive that at one point, Judge Hoffman ordered Seale gagged and strapped to his chair; eventually Seale was tried separately.

Citation Information

Article Title

Chicago Seven sentenced

AuthorHistory.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chicago-seven-sentenced

Access Date

February 19, 2023

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

February 16, 2022

Original Published Date

November 16, 2009

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1807 – Aaron Burr arrested for alledged treason


February 19

Aaron Burr, a former U.S. vice president, is arrested in Alabama on charges of plotting to annex Spanish territory in Louisiana and Mexico to be used toward the establishment of an independent republic. In November 1800, in an election conducted before the presidential and …read more

READ MORE: Aaron Burr’s Political Legacy Died in the Duel with Alexander Hamilton

Citation Information

Article Title

Aaron Burr arrested for alleged treason

AuthorHistory.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/aaron-burr-arrested-for-treason

Access Date

February 19, 2023

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

February 18, 2020

Original Published Date

February 9, 2010

AARON BURR

Chase: Don’t foreclose on Helen Bailey – In Memory – Black History


                                                              JPMorgan Chase launched a new website associating the company with Martin Luther King. But it’s planning to foreclose on Helen Bailey, a civil rights hero, in just weeks. Tell Chase to stop the foreclosure immediately.

A new Chase website honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and declares: “the values he espoused are the values that JPMorgan Chase also tries to stand for around the world.”

But as the bank wraps itself in the King brand, Chase planned to kick Helen Bailey (a 78-year-old grandmother who marched for civil rights and spent her life working with disabled children) out of her house on February 15th — right in the middle of Black History Month.

Occupy Nashville is fighting back. And they know that enough publicity on Chase’s hypocrisy will embarrass the bank into letting Ms. Bailey keep her home. Nearly 50,000 Change.org members have already spoken out, and Chase moved back Ms. Bailey’s foreclosure back one month in response — more people can speak out now and stop it completely.

Click here to sign the petition demanding that Chase stop foreclosing on civil rights activist Helen Bailey.

Helen and her attorney have struggled to find any solution that would stop Chase’s drive to foreclose. When Helen asked to modify her high-interest loan, Chase refused. When Helen found another lender who’d buy the home for just $9,000 less than what Chase said the home was worth, letting her live there for free, Chase refused. When Helen found someone else who’d buy her home and let Helen rent it, Chase refused again.

This isn’t an isolated incident. A former Chase banker — James Theckston — told Nick Kristof of the New York Times that his bank repeatedly pushed dangerous subprime mortgage loans on minority borrowers, then tried to cover up the racial disparity. Now, 25% of all minority borrowers are in foreclosure or deeply behind on payments. It’s a crisis.

But it’s one of our best opportunities to fight back. You can help Occupy Nashville keep Ms. Bailey in her home, and highlight the growing movement of communities standing up to foreclosures.

Click here to sign the petition.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

Jess and the Change.org team

P.S. Ms. Bailey isn’t alone in fighting for justice in a tough economy. Can you sign these other urgent petitions from Change.org members?