Pete

Today in 1865, black Jamaicans rose up against white supremacy.George William Gordon at Morant Bay (Wikimedia Commons)After decades of courageous activism by characters like Olaudah Equiano and William Wilberforce, the British slave trade was abolished by an act of parliament in 1807.Slavery itself was outlawed two decades later, in 1833.These were immense legislative victories for the cause of emancipation, but the exploitation of black lives was hardly ended by them.In Britain’s Caribbean colonies, nominally freed slaves were forced to continue working for their former masters for several years by a system of ‘apprenticeship’.

Born today in 1888, the progressive Henry Wallace – who came tantalisingly close to succeeding FDR – was one of the best presidents the US never had.There have been few truly good presidents.

Today in 1813, the Shawnee leader Tecumseh was killed in battle while fighting to save his people’s land.

Frances Harper, the unofficial poet laureate of abolition, was born today in 1825.

This month in 1934, the biggest strikes in US history swept through the American textile industry. It’s an enduring example of how collective action against exploitation is the pathway to a better world.

Nelson Mandela was not the only radical to fight for African liberation during the late-20 th century. Born today in 1924, Amílcar Cabral led the fight to overthrow Portuguese colonialism in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.

On this day in 1828, Leo Tolstoy was born into the Russian aristocracy – but he wouldn’t stay there. Tolstoy renounced his privilege to become an anarchist (Picture: F. W.

Born today in 1795, Frances 'Fanny' Wright is one of the most remarkable yet least known revolutionaries we’ve ever heard of. Frances 'Fanny' Wright was just as remarkable as famous radicals like Tom Paine and Francisco da Miranda.

Today in 1944, after four, brutal years of Nazi occupation, Paris was liberated by a motley coalition of left-wing Partisans, Spanish Republicans, and Allied soldiers.

Today marks the centenary of the 19th Amendment, the culmination of a struggle which had contested the limits of what it means to be human in the United States.Source: Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America (ca.