1979
On November 3, 1979, members of the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party attacked a Communist Workers Party rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, killing five participants in broad daylight. The attack was filmed by news cameras. FBI and local police informants had prior knowledge; an all-white jury acquitted all defendants in 1980. The event became known as the Greensboro Massacre.
Houston residents filed Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management Corp. in 1979, challenging the siting of a solid waste facility in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Though the plaintiffs lost, the case — brought by environmental attorney Linda McKeever Bullard — is considered the first use of civil rights law to challenge environmental discrimination, founding the environmental justice movement.
Zoom in — months
Key events
- November 3, 1979Ku Klux Klan and Nazis Kill Five at Greensboro Communist Workers Party Rally
On November 3, 1979, members of the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party attacked a Communist Workers Party rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, killing five participants in broad daylight. The attack was filmed by news cameras. FBI and local police informants had prior knowledge; an all-white jury acquitted all defendants in 1980. The event became known as the Greensboro Massacre.
- November 3, 1979Ku Klux Klan and Nazis Kill Five at Greensboro Communist Workers Party Rally
KKK and American Nazi Party members attacked a Communist Workers Party rally in Greensboro, NC on November 3, 1979, killing five in broad daylight. The attack was filmed by news cameras. FBI and police informants had prior knowledge. An all-white jury acquitted all defendants in 1980.
- January 1979First Environmental Justice Lawsuit Filed Over Houston Garbage Dump
Houston residents filed Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management Corp. in 1979, challenging the siting of a solid waste facility in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Though the plaintiffs lost, the case — brought by environmental attorney Linda McKeever Bullard — is considered the first use of civil rights law to challenge environmental discrimination, founding the environmental justice movement.
- January 1979First Environmental Justice Lawsuit Filed Over Houston Garbage Dump
Houston residents filed Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management Corp. challenging a solid waste facility sited in a Black neighborhood. Brought by attorney Linda McKeever Bullard, it is considered the first use of civil rights law to challenge environmental discrimination, founding the environmental justice movement.