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

May 28, 1871
The final defeat of the Paris Commune (see March 18 and May 21). An estimated 50,000 people are slaughtered by government troops restoring ‘order’. Further Reading: Manifesto of the Paris Commune Karl Marx: The Civil War in France Friedrich Engels: On the 20th Anniversary of the Paris Commune Maurice Brinton and Philippe Guillaume: The Commune, Paris 1871 Neil Faulkner: The Paris Commune: the face of proletarian revolution Keith Mann: Remembering the Paris Commune The Paris Commune of 1871: The View from the Left Related Topics: French History – Mass Murder – Massacres – Paris Commune
May 28, 1917
Birth of Barry Commoner, (1917-2012), biologist, environmentalist, socialist, humanist, and activist. He is particularly remembered for the ‘Four Laws of Ecology’ laid out in his book The Closing Circle: (1) Everything is connected to everything else. (2) Everything must go somewhere. (3) Nature knows best. (4) There is no such thing as a free lunch. Further Reading: The Closing Circle The Poverty of Power
May 28, 1961
Founding of Amnesty International, an organisation committed to campaigning for the release of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners, and against torture and human rights abuses. Related Topics: Human Rights – Political Prisoners/Prisoners of Conscience – Torture
May 28, 1963
Black and white civil rights advocates are attacked as they sit in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Jackson, Mississippi. They are defying state laws against serving ‘colored’ citizens at ‘whites-only’ public facilities. Related Topics: Civil Rights Movement (U.S.) – Jim Crow – Segregation – Sitdowns/Sit-ins