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

June 7, 1893
In his first act of civil disobedience, Mohandas Gandhi refuses to comply with racial segregation rules on a South African train and is forcibly ejected at Pietermaritzburg. Related Topics: Apartheid – Civil Disobedience – Gandhi, Mohandas – Segregation – South Africa
The St. Louis is refused permission to land its passengers in Canada
The St. Louis, a ship carrying 907 German-Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land its passengers in Canada. Already refused permission to land in Cuba and the United States, the ship is forced to return to Europe. An estimated 250 of the passengers go on to die in Nazi death camps. Related Topics: Anti-Semitism – Refugees
June 7, 1977
A Dade County, Florida referendum, initiated by Anita Bryant and other bigots, repeals a county ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. This is one of the first major battles – and defeats – in the struggle for gay rights in the U.S. It is the first successful use of “child molestation” smear tactics by anti-gay forces, setting the pattern of attack for the remainder of the Seventies and into the Eighties. Related Topics: Discrimination – Gay & Lesbian History – Gay & Lesbian Rights