Seeds of Fire: A People’s Chronology
Recalling events that happened on this day in history.
Memories of struggle, resistance and persistence.
Compiled by Ulli Diemer
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July 15, 1381
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John Ball, a radical English priest and a leader of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, is executed by the state.
Quote: “When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then the gentleman? From the beginning all men by nature were created alike, and our bondage or servitude came in by the unjust oppression of naughty men. For if God would have had any bondmen from the beginning, he would have appointed who should be bond, and who free. And therefore I exhort you to consider that now the time is come, appointed to us by God, in which ye may (if ye will) cast off the yoke of bondage, and recover liberty.”
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July 15, 1858
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Birth of Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928), a leader of the British suffragette movement which fought for the vote for women.
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July 15, 1892
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Birth of Walter Benjamin (1892-1940), German literary critic, philosopher, and Marxist.
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July 15, 1978
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The Longest Walk, a peaceful transcontinental trek for Native American justice, which had begun with a few hundred departing Alcatraz Island, California, ends this day when the walkers arrive in Washington, D.C. accompanied by 30,000 marchers. They are calling attention to the ongoing problems plaguing Indian communities throughout the Americas: lack of jobs, housing, health care, as well as dozens of pieces of legislation before Congress canceling treaty obligations of the U.S. government toward various Indian tribes. They submit petitions signed by one-and-a-half million Americans to President Jimmy Carter.
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