Here are three moments in Black history you need to know about. And all of them happened in June.
Harriet Tubman's Raid
On June 2,1863, Harriet Tubman led the Combahee Ferry Raid, where, alongside 150 Black soldiers, she rescued more than 700 enslaved people. Tubman became the first woman to lead a major U.S. military operation and she did it all for our people.
Angela Davis Acquitted
On June 4, 1972, activist, philosopher, and educator Angela Davis was acquitted on charges of conspiracy, murder, and kidnapping in connection with a courthouse shootout during the controversial trial of the Soledad Brothers. She was one of the FBI’s “Most Wanted” but beat the case with thousands of supporters pushing back against her arrest and the FBI’s COINTELPRO operations.
Muhammad Ali
On June 20, 1967, Muhammad Ali was convicted of violating the Selective Service Act because he refused to be drafted into the Vietnam War. As a Muslim, he cited his religious beliefs as his reason. Ali stood on business, continuing, “No Vietnamese ever called me n**ger. “I’m not gonna help somebody get something that Negroes don’t have.
“If I’m going to die, I’ll die now right here fighting you. You’re [white people] my enemy… You’re my opposer when I want freedom. You’re my opposer when I want justice. You’re my opposer when I want equality…
This June, let these powerful moments in history be a reminder that freedom was never given to us. We took it every time.