Congolese independence ends formal Belgian colonial sovereignty

Togo became independent after a period of French administration as a United Nations trust territory. Nationalist campaigning challenged outside authority and demanded sovereignty. The transfer of...

A new federal law required preservation of election records and provided procedures for addressing discriminatory denial of voting rights. It strengthened tools available against exclusion, amid...

Following months of sit-ins, local pressure and negotiations, several downtown Nashville lunch counters began serving Black customers on a nonsegregated basis. Student organization helped change...

Police broke up a gathering at Ngquza Hill and killed at least eleven participants. The meeting belonged to the Mpondo resistance against imposed Bantu Authorities and coercive rural rule. The...

Madagascar became fully independent following negotiations, after decades of anticolonial struggle and severe repression of the 1947 uprising. Sovereignty ended formal French rule. The outcome...

The former Italian-administered trust territory joined the recently independent former British Somaliland to form the Somali Republic. Nationalist demands challenged imperial division and outside...

The Woolworth lunch counter began serving Black customers after months of sit-ins and economic pressure. A local change in business practice resulted from sustained collective action. The campaign’s...

Nigeria became independent after nationalist campaigning and constitutional negotiations. The end of British political sovereignty challenged foreign control over one of Africa’s largest...

Six-year-old Ruby Bridges entered William Frantz Elementary School with federal marshals protecting her from racist hostility. Her family and supporters challenged exclusion in public education. The...

The General Assembly adopted resolution 1514(XV), calling for an end to colonialism and affirming self-determination. Newly independent states helped strengthen anticolonial demands internationally....