Uganda becomes independent from Britain

The Commonwealth Electoral Act received assent, extending the option of federal electoral enrolment to Indigenous Australians previously excluded. Some Indigenous people already held voting rights, so...

Algeria marked its independence on 5 July following a referendum and French recognition on 3 July. The victory ended French colonial sovereignty after a prolonged liberation struggle. It changed...

Jamaica became independent following decades of labour mobilization, nationalist politics and constitutional change. Sovereignty shifted authority from colonial government to Jamaican institutions....

Trinidad and Tobago gained independence under Prime Minister Eric Williams. In his independence address, Williams rejected second-class citizenship based on race, colour or creed. Independence gave...

Meredith registered after a legal struggle and violent resistance to his admission. Federal intervention was required to overcome obstruction of desegregation. His entry challenged racial exclusion at...

Resolution 1761 requested diplomatic and economic measures against South Africa, including a boycott of its goods, and established a special committee to review apartheid. It strengthened...

The General Assembly adopted Resolution 1803 on permanent sovereignty over natural resources. It linked control of resources to national development and peoples’ well-being. For movements...

Local activists and SCLC began coordinated protests against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. Sit-ins and economic pressure built on years of organizing by the Alabama Christian Movement for Human...

Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested while participating in Birmingham demonstrations despite a court injunction. The arrest placed the conflict between court-enforced restrictions and nonviolent...

Writing from jail, King defended nonviolent direct action against criticism by white clergy. He explained why people suffering segregation could not indefinitely postpone their claims to justice....