The Defiance Campaign begins organized violations of apartheid laws

General Assembly resolution 395(V) stated that apartheid policy was based on doctrines of racial discrimination. The resolution strengthened international criticism of South Africa’s treatment of...

Barbara Johns led students out of Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia, to protest inferior conditions in segregated education. Their organizing helped produce a lawsuit later...

The Civil Rights Congress presented We Charge Genocide to United Nations representatives. The petition alleged that killings and systemic abuses against Black Americans violated the Genocide...

Students and other protesters demanded recognition of Bangla in what was then East Pakistan. Police killed demonstrators during the language movement. This was a conflict within a postcolonial...

Activists held mass demonstrations as the government celebrated the tercentenary of Jan van Riebeeck’s arrival. The protests prepared resistance to unjust laws and challenged the public celebration of...

The General Assembly expanded its consideration of discrimination in South Africa to the wider apartheid question. International attention moved beyond the treatment of one community toward the...

Governor Evelyn Baring declared a state of emergency in Kenya during the struggle against colonial rule associated with Mau Mau. Emergency powers enabled intensified repression. The confrontation...

Black residents of Baton Rouge began a bus boycott against discriminatory seating arrangements. The United Defense League and T. J. Jemison helped organize collective pressure and alternative...

The Federation of South African Women was launched in Johannesburg as a broad organization bringing women together across racial divisions. Its organizing connected opposition to apartheid with...

Vietnamese forces defeated the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu after a sustained siege. Military organization and civilian support helped confront an imperial army. The victory demonstrated the...