DECEMBER 18 — OSSIE DAVIS
American actor, civil rights activist, political radical.
Broadway production of Davis’ 1961 play, Purlie Victorious.
DECEMBER 18, 2009 HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS
HIJRA, Islamic New Year. Oaxaca, Mexico: FIESTA OF THE VIRGIN OF THE LONELY. Apache dancers, amusement park rides, gambling, plenty of fireworks.
ALSO ON DECEMBER 18 IN HISTORY…
1830 — Trial of Swing Rioters, peasants & workers who fought for minimum wage.
1865 — Chattel slavery abolished in U.S. (Wage slavery continues to thrive.)
1879 — Artist Paul Klee born, Bern, Switzerland.
1917 — Black American actor, civil rights activist Ossie Davis born, Cogdell, Georgia.
1946 — South African black-rights activist Steve Biko born, King Williamstown.
1969 — Great Britain abolishes capital punishment.
Excerpted from The 2009 Autonomedia Calendar of Jubilee Saints: Radical Heroes for the New Millennium by James Koehnline and the Autonomedia Collective. The 2010 Autonomedia Calender is now available on the Autonomedia site.