The UN declares colonial peoples’ right to independence

The former Belgian Congo became independent after nationalist struggle. Political sovereignty repudiated a colonial system built on coercion and racial hierarchy. In the DTM framework, replacing the...

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...

UNESCO adopted a convention addressing discriminatory exclusion, inferior educational provision and unequal treatment. It supplied an international framework for changing education laws and practices....

Black protesters sat at a segregated lunch counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Nine accepted imprisonment rather than paying fines after their convictions. Their choice challenged the financial...

Nationalists attacked detention facilities in Luanda in an attempt to release prisoners held under Portuguese rule. The confrontation became a major landmark in Angola’s liberation struggle. It...

The court acquitted the remaining defendants after a prosecution that had begun with mass arrests in 1956. Congress Alliance activists had endured years of proceedings over their challenge to...

An interracial group organized by CORE departed Washington by bus to test compliance with federal desegregation rulings. Riders challenged segregated seating and terminal facilities across the...