February
Feb 1
1902

Langston Hughes, Noted African-American Poet, Social Critic, is Born

 
1928

Post Office Bans “Protest Against the Marines in Nicaragua” Stickers on Envelopes

 
1943

HUAC Chair Places Names of 39 Alleged Communists in Congressional Record

 
1943

Supreme Court Upholds Connecticut Anti-Birth Control Law

 
1960

Greensboro, NC Sit-In — Civil Rights Struggle Enters Historic New Phase

 
1972

New Jersey Girl Sues for Right to Join High School Tennis Team; Ruth Bader Ginsburg Handles the Case

 
1973

“Civil Liberties for Children:” NYCLU Sues NY State Over Detention of Children

Feb 2
1917

Margaret Sanger Refuses to Obey New York Birth Control Law, Is Sentenced to Jail

 
1922

James Joyce’s “Ulysses” Published, Faces Immediate Censorship

 
1931

First Mass Deportations of Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles

 
1939

Attorney General Frank Murphy Creates DOJ Civil Liberties Unit

 
1948

President Truman Delivers Civil Rights Message to Congress

 
1961

Civil Rights “Jail-in” in Rock Hill, South Carolina

 
1972

Willowbrook Hospital Abuses of Mentally Disabled Children Exposed

 
1991

Pentagon Bans Media Coverage of Military Casualties Returning to U.S.

 
2001

John Ashcroft, Hostile to Civil Liberties, Becomes Attorney General

Feb 3
1870

Fifteenth Amendment, Guaranteeing Right to Vote, is Ratified

 
1944

Winfred Lynn’s Challenge to Segregated Draft Rejected

 
1952

Famed African American Singer Josephine Baker Returns from Paris to Protest St. Louis School Segregation

 
1962

President Kennedy Imposes Embargo on Trade With Cuba

 
1983

President Reagan Proclaims “Year of the Bible”

 
1995

Pilloried by a List: Sheriff Posts List of Crime Suspects

 
2009

Eric Holder Becomes First African-American Attorney General

Feb 4
1913

Happy Birthday Rosa Parks!

 
1925

Congress Holds First-Ever Hearings on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) for Women’s Rights

 
1951

Protestant, Jewish Religious Leaders Protest Film Censorship

 
1973

“Women’s Lobby” Adjusts Lobbying Priorities in the Wake of “Roe”

 
1978

A.L. Wirin, Pioneering ACLU Lawyer, Dies at Age 77

Feb 5
1937

FDR Proposes Disastrous Court-Packing Plan

 
1949

President Truman Calls for a Program of Civil Liberties for “All People”

 
1953

President Eisenhower Speaks at First National Prayer Breakfast

 
1954

Harvard Law Dean Defends Fifth Amendment

 
1969

“Nude-In:” Grinnell College Students Protest Playboy Magazine

 
1990

“Fetal Harm” Issue in the Courts

 
1992

“Free Speech and the Right to Hate”

Feb 6
1939

Einstein, Other Academic Leaders Call for Freedom in Teaching

 
1942

Attorney General Biddle Urges Lawyers to Defend Civil Liberties in Wartime

 
1952

Members of Weavers, Folksinging Group, Named as Communists Before HUAC

 
1974

U.S. Bureau of Prisons Drops Repressive “Behavior Modification” Program

 
1975

Government Spying “Almost Beyond Control,” Charge Two ACLU Lawyers

 
1993

“God Pod:” Texas Jail Considers All-Christian Unit

Feb 7
1919

Society Women Oppose “Indecent” Evening Gowns

 
1926

“Negro History Week” First Celebrated

 
1935

Fingerprint Everyone! FBI Begins National Program

 
1956

Samuel Roth (“the Prometheus of the Unprintable”) is Convicted

 
1966

Univ. North Carolina Bans Communist Scholar Herbert Aptheker From Speaking

Feb 8
1915

“Birth of a Nation” Opens: A Century of Controversy Follows

 
1954

No Police Eavesdropping in Your Bedroom!

 
1957

Free Speech Scholar Zechariah Chafee, Jr. Dies

 
1964

House Debates Adding Sex Discrimination to Title VII of 1964 Civil Rights Act

 
1968

“Planet of the Un-Americans:” Film Parodies HUAC

 
1980

President Carter Recommends Women Register for Draft

 
1996

President Clinton Signs Communications Decency Act; ACLU Immediately Sues

Feb 9
1919

Suffragists Burn Effigy of President Wilson in Front of White House

 
1950

“McCarthyism” is Born

 
1961

Sit-in Arrestees Refuse Bail in Georgia, Choose “Jail-In”

 
1962

Police Chiefs Hold 5-day Closed Meeting on Desegregation; Agree that Federal Law is Supreme

 
1966

NYC Police Commissioner Opposes Civilian Review of the Police in Letter to Mayor

 
1974

Chicago Bans “Impeach Nixon” Signs From Buses, Trains; ACLU Sues

Feb 10
1917

Columbia University Bans Tolstoy’s Son as “Persona Non Grata”

 
1924

Police in Wilkes-Barre, PA Block Radicals’ Meeting

 
1927

ACLU Loses Suit Over Right to Speak in NYC Schools

 
1947

The “Wall of Separation” Between Church and State is Born

 
1953

Theodore Schroeder, Early Free Speech Advocate, Dies

 
1965

Man Convicted for Distributing Anonymous Political Leaflet; NYCLU to Challenge NY Law

 
1969

Federal Judge Finds City of Chicago Guilty of Discrimination in Public Housing

Feb 11
1916

Emma Goldman Arrested for Birth Control Speech in New York City

 
1922

“Indecency Flaunting as Art:” Censor Condemns Photograph

 
1952

Oklahoma City Burns Books for “Socialism and Sex”

 
1978

Survey: Workplace Privacy “A Matter of Considerable Importance”

 
1987

California Debates AIDS Privacy Issues

Feb 12
1909

NAACP Founded – Civil Rights Crusade Begins

 
1941

Duke Ellington: “We, Too, Sing America”

 
1946

Isaac Woodard, African-American Veteran, Beaten, Blinded in South Carolina; Incident Provokes National Outrage

 
1949

Pickets Protest White Male-Only American Bowling Congress

 
1963

President Kennedy Tries Lavish PR Move on Civil Rights – Fails

 
1972

Dorothy Kenyon, Feminist and Civil Libertarian, Dies

 
1997

Thomas Stoddard, Pioneering Gay Rights Lawyer, Dies

Feb 13
1923

Univ. Wisconsin Threatens Editors of “Unauthorized” Student Paper

 
1959

Holyoke, Mass. Allows Rent-Free Catholic School Classes in its Public Schools

 
1960

Nashville Students Begin Sit-ins

 
1967

No Loyalty Oath for Medicare

 
1982

ACLU Report: Voting Discrimination Continues in South

Feb 14
1920

League of Women Voters Founded

 
1921

Obscenity Charges for Publishing “Ulysses”

 
1924

New Jersey Health Official Opposes Marriages of People With “Below Average Intelligence”

 
1969

NARAL, Abortion Rights Group, Founded

 
1978

Celebrate National Condom Week!

 
2007

European Parliament Condemns CIA Extraordinary Renditions

Feb 15
1921

Detroit Jewish Groups Protest Anti-Semitism in Henry Ford’s Newspaper

 
1923

Chicago Judge Lifts Ban on KKK Newspaper; But Plans to “Review” Future Articles

 
1933

U.S. Customs Bars Vatican Art – Including Michelangelo Illustrations

 
1965

ACLU Criticizes Planned HUAC Investigation of KKK

 
1967

“Ramparts” Magazine Exposes Secret CIA Funding of U.S. Student Group

 
1970

Chicago Seven Lawyers Cited for Contempt

Feb 16
1956

“Powell Amendment” Blocks Federal Education Bill Over Segregation Issue

 
1976

“The CIA Report the President Doesn’t Want You to Read”

 
1995

U.S. Signs – But Does Not Ratify – UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

 
2014

“Snowden Document” Reporters Win Prestigious Polk Award

Feb 17
1917

Senators Denounce Proposed Espionage Bill as War Is Imminent

 
1939

NYC Mayor La Guardia Allows Huge German-American Bund Rally

 
1956

Willie Morris Pushes Freedom of the Press for Univ. Texas Student Paper

 
1994

Randy Shilts, Journalist and AIDS Activist, Dies

 
2006

Tule Lake WW II Internment Center Designated a National Historic Landmark

 
2015

New Report Finds More African-Americans Lynched in U.S. Than Previously Believed

Feb 18
1903

“In Dahomey,” First All-African-American Musical, Opens on Broadway

 
1915

President Wilson Enjoys His First Movie: “Birth of a Nation”

 
1954

Cover-up: CIA Not Required to Report Criminal Conduct

 
1970

The Chicago Eight (Seven): 1968 Chicago Protesters Convicted of Inciting to Riot

 
1976

Cover-up Ends: CIA Required to Report Criminal Actions By Agents to DOJ

 
1976

President Ford Bans Assassinations by CIA

 
2012

Don’t Eat the Thin Mints! Congressman Warns Girl Scouts Are Dangerous!

Feb 19
1930

Early Hollywood Censorship Code Adopted

 
1942

Tragedy: FDR Authorizes Japanese-American Evacuation

 
1948

Virginia Senator Byrd Compares President Truman’s Civil Rights Plan to Hitler and Stalin

 
1966

National Planning Conference of Homophile Organizations Held

 
1975

House Creates Pike Committee to Investigate Abuses by the CIA, other Agencies

 
1976

Daniel Schorr Faces Charges for Leaking Pike Committee Report

 
1976

President Ford Officially Rescinds Japanese-American Evacuation Order

Feb 20
1919

“As If I Were Being Tried for Witchcraft” – Louise Bryant, Radical and Wife of Radical and Author John Reed, Grilled by Senate

 
1923

Minister: Obey Sunday Closing Law or Leave the Country

 
1926

“Blasphemer” Bimba to Speak Despite Bans

 
1937

National Lawyers Guild, Alternative to ABA, is Organized

 
1942

Linda Brown, Student in Landmark Brown v. Board of Education Case, Born on This Day

 
1943

Saturday Evening Post Publishes Iconic Norman Rockwell Illustration: “Freedom of Speech”

 
1950

Senator Joe McCarthy Claims List of 81 Communists in Government

Feb 21
1925

Lord’s Day Alliance Seeks NY Sunday “Blue” Law

 
1940

Civil Rights Leader and U.S. Representative John Lewis is Born in Troy, Alabama

 
1947

College Students Protest “Jim Crow” Barber

 
1950

Rep. FDR, Jr., Attacks State Department Over Visa Denials

 
1965

Malcolm X Assassinated in New York City

 
1967

FBI Intensifies Use of Informants on College Campuses

 
1975

AG Mitchell, Nixon Aides Haldeman, Ehrlichman Sentenced to Prison for Watergate Crimes

 
1976

ACLU Launches Anti-Government Spying Campaign

 
2012

Censorship Foe Barney Rosset Dies

Feb 22
1922

National Bail Fund for Civil Liberties Cases Established

 
1930

Principal Refuses to Hire Catholic as Teacher; Faces Charges

 
1933

ACLU Urges President-elect Roosevelt to Protect Civil Liberties

 
1960

Groups Criticize President Eisenhower’s New Security Order for Defense Workers

 
1962

Mississippi Editor Wins Civil Liberties Award

 
1964

California Teacher Fights Attacks by American Legion

Feb 23
1915

Supreme Court: Movies Not Protected by First Amendment

 
1930

ACLU Calls for End to Private, Anti-Union Police in Pennsylvania

 
1947

ACLU Urges NY Governor to Veto Film Censorship Bill

 
1961

National Council of Churches Endorses Birth Control

 
1967

“The Responsibility of Intellectuals:” Noam Chomsky Criticizes Pro-Vietnam War Intellectuals

 
2011

Obama Administration Stops Defending Defense of Marriage Act

Feb 24
1914

Exclusionary Rule Applied to Federal Criminal Cases

 
1921

“Release Them All,” Says ACLU About WW I Political Prisoners

 
1957

Academy Awards Votes to Bar HUAC Witnesses

 
1963

A. Philip Randolph Announces Plan for “Pilgrimage” to Washington

 
1969

Mary Beth Tinker Wins Landmark Case on Students’ First Amendment Rights

 
1971

Christopher Pyle Delivers 76-Page Report on Military Spying on Americans

 
1988

Hustler Magazine Hits the Supreme Court, Wins

Feb 25
1917

“Modesty” Ordered for Atlantic City Cabarets

 
1939

Once-Banned Film Opens; “Near-Adolescent Riot” Ensues

 
1940

Prominent Liberals Ask HUAC to Change Procedures, and to Investigate Right-Wing Group

 
1953

President Eisenhower Warns: Communist Math Teachers May Sneak Marxism Into Math Problems

 
1960

“The Negroes Are Here!” First-Ever Sit-in in Alabama

 
1968

Pete Seeger Performs “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” on Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

 
1985

Ed Meese Becomes Attorney General; Leads Assault on Civil Liberties

Feb 26
1928

Civil Liberties Have “Lost Ground” in U.S., Says ACLU Official

 
1930

Communists, Police Clash on Wall Street

 
1957

Supreme Court Nominee William Brennan Gives Surprising Answers at Confirmation Hearings

 
1965

Stewardesses Demand End to Forced Retirement at Age 35

 
1970

Army to End Monitoring Peaceful Protests

 
2009

Defense Department Ends Ban on Coverage of Returning U.S. War Dead

Feb 27
1922

Supreme Court Upholds 19th Amendment Granting Women the Right to Vote

 
1946

Judge Urges System of Public Defenders

 
1956

Loyalty Oaths Cannot Be Required for Federal Housing

 
1960

GOP Leader Senator Dirksen Supports “Good” Civil Rights Bill

 
1963

Madalyn Murray Sues to Ban Bible Reading, Lord’s Prayer, in Baltimore Schools

Feb 28
1927

Britain Denies Visa to ACLU Leader Roger Baldwin

 
1934

“The Nudist” Magazine Banned by NYC License Commissioner

 
1950

Gov. Earl Warren Opposes University of California Loyalty Oath

 
1972

NYC School Principals Oppose Release of Student Files to Parents

Feb 29
1920

Fiorello La Guardia, NYC Alderman, Sharply Criticizes “Red Scare”

 
1940

Hattie McDaniel First African-American to Win Oscar – Forced to Sit at Segregated Table

 
1956

Mississippi Votes for “Interposition” to Fight Civil Rights

 
1964

Chicago Loyola University Cancels George Wallace Speech; ACLU Protests

 
1968

Kerner Commission Report on 1960s Riots Warns: “Two Societies, One Black, One White”

 
1968

Police Fingerprint New Jersey Students in High School Shop Class

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Abortion Rights ACLU african-americans Alice Paul anti-communism Anti-Communist Hysteria Birth Control Brown v. Board of Education Censorship CIA Civil Rights Civil Rights Act of 1964 Cold War Espionage Act FBI First Amendment Fourteenth Amendment freedom of speech Free Speech Gay Rights Hate Speech homosexuality Hoover, J. Edgar HUAC Japanese American Internment King, Dr. Martin Luther Ku Klux Klan Labor Unions Lesbian and Gay Rights Loyalty Oaths McCarthy, Sen. Joe New York Times Obscenity Police Misconduct Same-Sex Marriage Separation of Church and State Sex Discrimination Smith Act Spying Spying on Americans Vietnam War Voting Rights Voting Rights Act of 1965 War on Terror Watergate White House Women's Rights Women's Suffrage World War I World War II Relocation Camps

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