Unions, community and faith groups, and small businesses are preparing for a day of “No Work, No School, and No Shopping” on Friday in the Twin Cities in protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) invasion and January 7 murder of Renee Good. Hundreds of businesses have pledged to close; hundreds more plan to remain open but donate the day’s proceeds to victims of the ICE assault and organizations seeking to protect them.

Lending moral backing for the day is the call by faith leaders to honor the memory of Good. Providing the organizational backbone is the somewhat ambiguous but official call for a general strike by the Minneapolis American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and its sister local federations throughout the state — the first such call in three-quarters of a century.

As events unfold, it may be helpful to remind ourselves of the history of citywide general strikes in America.