A history of Fourth of July protests in America – in pictures

‘This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn,’ Frederick Douglass lamented 13 years before Reconstruction. Since the 19th century, abolitionists, suffragists and civil rights activists have seized the Fourth of July as an occasion to protest injustices sustained by those omitted from the founding fathers’ vision. In the 20th century, the civil rights movement and Vietnam war brought to light legacies of slavery, imperialism and sexism that continue to challenge the narrative of ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’. Today, the potency of Black Lives Matter has established civil disobedience as an unwavering American tradition

Main image: Demonstrators overturn a truck trailer in the Reflecting Pool on the Mall facing the Washington Monument during the Honor America Day ‘smoke-in’ on 4 July 1970. Photograph: David Fenton/Getty

  • In 1963, hundreds of civil rights activists were arrested at Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in Baltimore after protesting the park’s refusal to admit Black patrons. The Fourth of July campaign was coordinated by a large community that included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Congress for Racial Equality (Core), and the National Council of Churches (NCC). On 28 August 1963, the culmination of nearly a decade of protest resulted in Gwynn Oak’s desegregation
    In 1963, hundreds of civil rights activists were arrested at Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in Baltimore after protesting the park’s refusal to admit Black patrons. The July 4th campaign was coordinated by a large community that included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE), and the National Council of Churches (NCC). On August 28, 1963, the culmination of nearly a decade of protest resulted in Gwynn Oak’s desegregation.

  • Four years before Stonewall, gay rights activists picketed outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia on 4 July 1965 to raise awareness of the civil rights denied to the LGBT community. The protest (called Annual Reminders) occurred for four consecutive Independence Days until the 1969 uprising that galvanized the gay liberation movement. Barbara Gittings, pictured, was a pioneer in the struggle for LGBT equality
    Four years before Stonewall, gay rights activists picketed outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 4th, 1965 to raise awareness of the civil rights denied to the LGBT community. The protest (called “Annual Reminders”) occurred for four consecutive Independence Days until the 1969 uprising that galvanized the gay liberation movement. Barbara Gittings, pictured, was a pioneer in the struggle for LGBT equality.

  • The Delano, California, grape strike and boycott was at its height when Time Magazine featured labor leader Cesar Chavez on the cover of its 4 July 1968 issue. The five-year grassroots campaign against farm worker exploitation culminated in victory when table grape growers signed contracts with the United Farm Workers in 1970.Pictured: Cesar Chavez speaks during a news conference on 24 May 1968
    The Delano, California grape strike and boycott was at its height when Time Magazine featured labor leader Cesar Chavez on the cover of its July 4th, 1968 issue. The five-year grassroots campaign against farm worker exploitation culminated in victory when table grape growers signed contracts with the United Farm Workers in 1970. Pictured: Cesar Chavez speaks during a news conference on May 24, 1968.

  • The Vietnam war sharply divided America in 1970, and supporters of Richard Nixon sought to counter the growing opposition by organizing a Fourth of July Honor America Day in Washington DC. The celebration was quickly crashed by thousands of its critics, with marijuana activists staging a ‘smoke-in’ to protest
    The Vietnam War sharply divided America in 1970, and supporters of President Nixon sought to counter the growing opposition by organizing a July 4th ‘Honor America Day’ in Washington, D.C. The celebration was quickly crashed by thousands of its critics, with marijuana activists staging a ‘smoke-in’ to protest.

  • Prisoners at the Marion, Illinois, federal penitentiary staged a hunger strike on 4 July 1976 to coincide with the US bicentennial. Its organizers, known as the Marion Brothers, demanded the prison hire more minority guards and cease its experimental behavior modification program that included longterm solitary confinement. Marion was built to replace the infamous Alcatraz federal penitentiary in 1963, becoming the first super-maximum security prison in the world. Pictured: Exterior of United States penitentiary in Marion, Illinois
    Prisoners at the Marion, Illinois federal penitentiary staged a hunger strike on July 4th, 1976 to coincide with the U.S. bicentennial. Its organizers, known as the Marion Brothers, demanded the prison hire more minority guards and cease its experimental behavior modification program that included long-term solitary confinement. Marion was built to replace the infamous Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1963, becoming the first super-maximum security prison in the world. Pictured: Exterior of United States Penitentiary: Marion, Illinois.

  • In June 1981, military veterans staged a hunger strike to protest planned budget cuts to veterans’ healthcare after the untimely death of a former Vietnam Marine, James Hopkins. Vowing to fast until 4 July, the demonstrators demanded an independent review of Veteran’s Administration (VA) hospitals, a study on the effects of Agent Orange, greater support for veterans’ mental health and a meeting with Ronald Reagan. Hopkins’ wife, Suzanne Hopkins, is pictured at the tent encampment outside the Wadsworth VA hospital in Los Angeles
    In June 1981, military veterans staged a hunger strike to protest planned budget cuts to veterans’ healthcare after the untimely death of a former Vietnam Marine, James Hopkins. Vowing to fast until 4 July, the demonstrators demanded an independent review of Veteran’s Administration (VA) hospitals, a study on the effects of Agent Orange, greater support for veterans’ mental health and a meeting with Ronald Reagan. Hopkins’ wife, Suzanne Hopkins, is pictured at the tent encampment outside the Wadsworth VA Hospital in Los Angeles.

  • In 1986, the US supreme court upheld a Georgia sodomy statute that largely criminalized homosexual activity. Gay activists protested the regressive ruling with a Greenwich Village rally to disrupt the ongoing patriotic celebrations in New York
    In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Georgia sodomy statute that largely criminalized homosexual activity. Gay activists protested the regressive ruling with a Greenwich Village rally to disrupt the ongoing patriotic celebrations in New York.

  • Demonstrators took to the streets in 2013 when mass surveillance programs were revealed by National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden. Restore the Fourth, a non-profit dedicated to strengthening the fourth amendment, organized local rallies in all 50 US states on Independence Day.Pictured: Protesters march to the new NSA Utah Data Center being built in Bluffdale, Utah on 4 July 2013
    Demonstrators took to the streets in 2013 when mass surveillance programs were revealed by National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden. Restore the Fourth, a non-profit dedicated to strengthening the fourth amendment, organized local rallies in all 50 US states on Independence Day.Pictured: protesters march to the new NSA Utah Data Center being built in Bluffdale, Utah on 4 July 2013.

  • On 4 July 2018, activist Patricia Okoumou scaled the Statue of Liberty to protest the separation of migrant families at the US-Mexico border. She was sentenced to five years of probation and 200 hours of community service
    On July 4th, 2018, activist Patricia Okoumou scaled the Statue of Liberty to protest the separation of migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border. She was sentenced to five years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
Topics