The Howard Beach racist attack kills Michael Griffith

The first federal observance followed years of organizing by Coretta Scott King, civil-rights groups, trade unionists and supporters. Making King's memory part of the national calendar challenged...

COSATU called a stay-away demanding recognition of May Day as a paid public holiday. Workers and community allies made the centenary of international May Day a major demonstration of collective power....

The apartheid government declared a nationwide state of emergency and detained opponents. Restrictions on political activity, funerals and reporting sought to disrupt community and labour...

Congress completed its override of President Ronald Reagan's veto, bringing sanctions against South Africa into law. The measure restricted important economic relationships sustaining apartheid. It...

Malik Oussekine died after police beat him in the early hours of 6 December, during repression surrounding student protests. His death became a focus of public opposition to police violence. A...

A conference running from 9 to 12 July brought an ANC delegation together with mainly Afrikaans-speaking South Africans. Organized through IDASA, the encounter challenged the apartheid state's...

The Māori Language Act came into force, recognizing te reo Māori as an official language, providing a right to use it in specified legal proceedings and establishing a language commission. Māori...

The National Union of Mineworkers began a strike on the night of 9 August over wages and working conditions. Hundreds of thousands participated during the dispute. The miners confronted a central...

Rivonia trialist Govan Mbeki was released from Robben Island. His imprisonment had removed a senior liberation organizer from public political life. The release was an important milestone in the...

Aboriginal people and supporters gathered in Sydney to protest amid celebrations of the First Fleet's bicentenary. Radio Redfern helped connect participants and circulate Indigenous voices. The...