195. Seeking imprisonment
Women form peace camp to protest housing of cruise missiles at Greenham Common, 1981-1993
August, 1981 to 1993
Arielle Bernhardt and Olivia Ensign, 19/03/2010
Greenham Commons outside Newbury, England was purchased in 1939 by the Newbury District Council for the public use of Newbury inhabitants, including the collection of firewood. In 1941 this area was requisitioned by the Air Ministry for an airfield, which was later decommissioned. Despite the decommissioning of the airfield, public ownership of the land was not fully restored. Then in 1979 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization ) bought the land from the British government for the building of a military base that would house 96 Tomahawk Ground Launched Cruise Missiles (GLCMs).
African Americans campaign for voting rights in Selma, Alabama, USA, 1965
January, 1965 to April, 1965
Max Rennebohm, 28/9/2009
Even after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, most African Americans in the southern United States were still unable to vote because of registration requirements such as literacy tests and slow registration processes. In Selma, Alabama the registration office was open only two days a month and could only process 15 registrations for each of these days. This was not nearly enough to register the 15,000 black citizens of voting age in the county.
Freedom Riders end racial segregation in Southern U.S. public transit, 1961
4 May, 1961 to 1 November, 1961
Gavin Musynske 12/09, edited with additional material by George Lakey 9/9/11
In 1947, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) conducted a "Journey of Reconciliation" to direct attention toward racial segregation in public transportation in the Southern U.S.A. Although this initial freedom ride campaign was not regarded as a great success during its time, it inspired the 1961 Freedom Rides that fueled the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.
Greensboro, NC, students sit-in for U.S. Civil Rights, 1960
February 1, 1960 to July 25, 1960
Kelly Schoolmeester, 1/02/2010
In Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960, Jim Crow laws were in widespread effect. Though the African-American Civil Rights Movement had led to some successful desegregation (notably within the school system thanks to Brown v. Board and Swann v. Charlotte), "separate but equal" was still the norm with respect to the vast majority of businesses in Greensboro, and the rest of the South.
New Zealanders protest against Springbok rugby tour, 1981
July, 1981 to September, 1981
Kelly Schoolmeester, 14/02/2010
Halt All Racist Tours (HART) was organized in New Zealand in 1969 to protest rugby tours to and from South Africa. Their first protest, in 1970, was intended to prevent the All Blacks, New Zealand's flagship rugby squad, from playing in South Africa, unless the Apartheid regime would accept a mixed-race team. South Africa relented, and an integrated All Black team toured the country.
Rock Hill, South Carolina, students sit-in for U.S. civil rights, 1960
12 February, 1960 to March, 1961
Sophia Naylor, 31/1/2010
In 1955, before the sit-in campaign in Rock Hill, South Carolina even began, Rock Hill's St. Anne School desegregated in compliance with the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling. In 1957, Rev. Cecil Ivory (who would later become a leader in the sit-in campaign), led a bus boycott that put the Rock Hill bus company out of business. Sit-ins elsewhere, including in nearby Charlotte (see "University students campaign for racial integration in Charlotte, NC, 1960"), helped start Rock Hill's own sit-in campaign. Sit-in protests lasted throughout the entire year.
Mau opposition to New Zealand rule in Samoa, 1927-1933
March, 1927 to 1933
Zein Nakhoda, 03/04/2010
The Samoan archipelago, located in the southwest of the Pacific Ocean, is comprised of six main islands and several smaller ones. Prior to World War I, Germany and the United States occupied most of the Samoan Islands. During WWI, New Zealand, upon a request by Britain, captured German Samoa and established the British Military Occupation of Samoa. An influenza pandemic in November 1918 killed about 22% of the Samoan population. The administration's lack of response to the disaster became the foundation for Samoans grievances against the New Zealand administration.
Americans blockade Washington, DC, to protest the Vietnam War, 1971
1 May, 1971 to 6 May, 1971
"If the government won't stop the war, we'll stop the government."
That was the central slogan of the Mayday campaign.
The Anti-Vietnam War movement included striking examples of nonviolent direct action. Many of the protests against the Vietnam War took place in the mid-1960s, when the war was still in its early stages, but demonstrations grew in numbers toward the end of the decade. One of the more dramatic efforts to end the war took place in 1971, when the war was rapidly losing public support among American citizens.
Pastors and students lead campaign to desegregate Danville, VA, 1963
May 31, 1963 to August, 1963
Jennifer Trinh, 30/01/2011 and George Lakey, 8/21/14
The Civil Rights Movement in the United States gained momentum in the 1960's with campaigns and demonstrations taking place throughout the country. Following the success of the 1963 campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, and the strong leadership of that struggle by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), ministers and other activists in Danville, Virginia, decided to start their own campaign. They formed the Danville Christian Progressive Association (DCPA).
Pakistanis in Sindhi struggle for democracy, 1981-1984
July, 1983 to December, 1984
Elowyn Corby, 24/04/2011
In July 1977 Z.A Bhutto, the democratically elected president of Pakistan, was removed from power by the Pakistani military, which was at that point under the control of General Muhammad Zia-ul Haq. General Zia promised to hold an election within ninety days of seizing power, yet upon taking office he suspended the constitution and dissolved many of the country's legislative bodies. Over the next years, Zia repeatedly postponed the promised national elections, leaving the country in the hands of a de-facto military dictatorship.
Indians in South Africa wage Satyagraha for their rights, 1906-1914
August, 1906 to January, 1914
Zein Nakhoda 14/5/2011
Before the start of the 20th century, there were about 62,000 Indians living in South Africa, including the British colonies of Natal and the Cape, and the Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State (OFS). Most Indians were indentured laborers or newly freed laborers.
Indian peasants in Champaran campaign for rights, 1917
Jeewon Kim, 09/10/2010
During the time of British occupation of India, peasants of Champaran district of the Bihar state were highly exploited by the indigo cultivation. The lessees of Indigo and agricultural areas had been Indians until 1793, but as the British Empire began its rule in India, European planters began to take over and gained total control of the indigo and sugar cane cultivation.
Montague, Massachusetts, citizens stop nuclear power plant construction, United States, 1974
February 22, 1974 to September, 1974
Carmen Smith-Estrada, 18/09/2011
In 1973, the Northeast Utilities (NU) company began developing plans to build a nuclear power plant in the small town of Montague, Massachussets. The company's investment in the plant totaled $1.52 billion, roughly thirty times the assessed value of the whole town. The project's only vocal adversaries were a group of organic farmers who called themselves the Nuclear Objectors for a Pure Environment (NOPE). One of the group's most active participants was Samuel Lovejoy, an organic farmer and longtime resident of Montague.
Clamshell Alliance campaigns against Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, New Hampshire, 1976-1989
30 June, 1976 to June, 1989
Matt Turner, 26/09/2011
In July 1976, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the construction permit for the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. Leading up to this point, local activists in the small New Hampshire town had attempted to prevent the establishment of a nuclear plant via legal methods such as regulation agencies, the court systems, and a town meeting vote in opposition of the project.
Pennsylvanians campaign against nuclear-related Delaware River pump (Dump the Pump), USA, 1982-1988
Kate Aronoff, 25/09/2011
In February of 1981, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) unanimously approved the construction of a $42 million dollar water pump. The proposal claimed the pipeline would bring much-needed water to Montgomery County and areas of Bucks County. Its other purpose would be to funnel half of the 95-million-gallon-a-day flow to cooling the Pennsylvania Electric Company's new nuclear plant in nearby Limerick. The announcement sparked off a wave of complaints and organization among local citizens.
Montgomery, Alabama students sit-in for U.S. Civil Rights, 1960
February, 1960 to Fall, 1960
Matthew Turner, 11/09/2011
The Montgomery, Alabama sit-ins took place during the era of Jim Crow laws in the southern United States. The first of the Supreme Court rulings against these laws – which are symbolized by the phrase "Separate but Equal" – took place in 1954, in the form of Brown v. Board of Education; in this ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that separate education facilities based on race were inherently discriminatory, putting minorities at a disadvantage compared to their white counterparts.
Jackson, Tennessee students campaign for U.S. civil rights, 1960-1961
13 October, 1960 to 1961
In the United States of America, the 1950s saw the emergence of key individuals in the building of the civil rights movement. The struggle for African Americans against their country's institutionalized racism was highlighted by moments like Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. A preacher by the name of Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke of nonviolence in his people's fight for equality. But at the turn of the decade, the civil rights movement trended a different way.
U.S. groups campaign to oppose abortion, 1987-1991
Jesse Laird, 11/10/2011
Led by the nonviolent action organization Operation Rescue, thousands of mostly working and middle class Christians from Evangelical and Catholic denominations waged a massive sit-in campaign between 1987 and 1990 to promote pro-life values. The campaign culminated in a nationally organized multi-year wave of nonviolent blockades of medical clinics. Legal action by women's organizations and new federal laws put a stop to the campaign.
Baltimore students demonstrate to integrate Northwood Theater, 1963
15 February, 1963 to 22 February, 1963
Anjali Cadambi, 13/09/2011
On Friday, February 15, 1963, the student-led Civic Interest Group (CIG) began a demonstration against Northwood Theater in Baltimore, Maryland. The ultimately successful demonstration took place in the context of a longer history of protests against the cinema's white-only policy. Students, mostly from Morgan State College, had picketed the Theater many times over the course of the previous eight years. Student demonstrations organized by student council occurred annually.
Industrial Workers of the World campaigns for free speech in Spokane, Washington, U.S.A., 1908-1910
March, 1909 to March, 1911
Around the turn of the 20th century, employment agencies, or, as they were known to many workers, "job sharks" had a monopoly on casual laborer in the American West. Industries such as mining and agriculture would contract labor out to an agency, which would "buy out" job applicants and take a sizable cut of what would otherwise have been workers' wages.
Animal protection activists end annual pigeon shoots in Hegins, Pennsylvania, 1989 - 1998
Matthew Burns, 29/02/12
In 1989 The Fund for Animals, an organization of activists committed to protecting animals, focused their attention on the Hegins Shoot held annually in Hegins, Pennsylvania. The Hegins Shoot, also known as The Fred Coleman Memorial Shoot, was a Labour Day tradition that dated back to the 1930s. During the event, participants tried to shoot as many pigeons as possible; who ever could shoot the most won the event. Instead of naturally hunting for pigeons, the birds were held in cages and released in front of a firing squad. The event killed roughly 5,000 pigeons per year.
Hawaiians strike against the sugar industry in Hawai'i' (Hawaii), 1946
1 September, 1946 to 17 November, 1946
Alexis Dziedziech, 03/03/2013
The Great Hawai'i' Sugar Strike was launched against the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association and the "Big Five" companies in 1946. The "Big Five" were made up of a handful of corporate elite companies: Alexander & Baldwin, American Factors, Castle & Cooke, C. Brewer, and Theo. Davies. They exercised complete control over Hawai'i's sugar plantation workers and the majority of the island's multi-ethnic workforces.
Poor People's Campaign demands federal intervention to end poverty, 1968
April, 1968 to July, 1968
Ryan Zacharias 04/08/2013
By spring 1967 some of the legal barriers to racial equality in the U.S. had been struck down. The federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities and women, in workplaces and in facilities that serve the general public. The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited discrimination in voting.
Hawaiian longshoremen win 177-day strike in Hawai'i', 1949
1 May, 1949 to 23 October, 1949
By 26 January 1949, negotiations between the International Longshoreman's Worker Union (ILWU) and the longshoreman employers had reached a standstill. Leaders Jack Hall, Harry Bridges, and Louis Goldblatt negotiated for pay raises for the Hawaii longshoremen. Workers were aware that longshoremen on the west coast of the U.S., who were employed by the same company and loading/unloading the same cargo, were being paid $1.82/hour whereas the Hawaii longshoremen were only being paid $1.40.
United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) launches double-pronged attack to defend benefits, 2012-2013
September, 2012 to August, 2013
Rachel Vogel, 22/09/2013
Peabody Energy Corporation is an international coal company based in St. Louis, Missouri (MO). In 2007, they created a spinoff company Patriot Coal Corp., also based in St. Louis, MO. Following the spinoff, Peabody Energy has gradually transferred responsibilities for many of its retirees over to the new company.
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