In today’s blog post, the Center for Social Solutions takes a look back at the historic events that occurred during the month of April. While these occasions are now matters of the past, each one has had a significant impact on contemporary America. Events related to each of the center’s four initiatives—Diversity and Democracy; Slavery and Its Aftermath; Water, Equity and Security; and the Future of Work—are included.

 

April 4, 1802

Social reformer Dorothea Dix was born in Hampden, Maine. Dorothea Dix was a strong advocate for the rights of women and the mentally ill throughout her lifetime. During her teenage years she founded a school for girls in Boston to advance women’s education. She later went on to fight for humane treatment of mental health patients in prisons and asylums. During the Civil War she also worked as a superintendent of nurses and became a strong advocate for the recognition of female nurses.

 

April 5, 1856

Civil rights activist Booker T. Washington was born as a slave in Franklin County, Virginia. After his family attained freedom, Booker T. Washington was determined to get an education and learned how to read and write by himself at the age of nine. He eventually graduated from the Hampton Institute in Virginia and founded the Tuskegee Institute where he focused on the education of African Americans.

 

April 11, 1968

The Civils Rights Act of 1968 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johson on this day, one week after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The law prohibited housing discrimination based on race and protected civil rights workers. Because of its impacts on housing discrimination disputes in the years following, the act is often referred to as the Fair Housing Act as well. 

 

April 20, 1914

Striking coal miners and their families were attacked by the National Guard as well as by guards from J.D. Rockeffeler’s Colorado Fuel and Iron Company in a fatal fight that became known as the Ludlow Massacre. The miners had been on strike at the recommendation of the United Mine Workers of America to protest poor working conditions and low pay. The deaths of many workers and their children during the Ludlow Massacre changed national attitudes towards labor as people became more sympathetic towards unions, and labor rights were more strictly enforced as a result.

 

April 20, 2010

An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico led to the largest marine oil spill in American history. The oil spill was responsible for 11 deaths and has had long lasting impacts on wildlife and water quality in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill sparked public interest in marine conservation and raised awareness about the dangers of industrial pollution.