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The Stolen Generations (start)
The stolen generations were a group of Indigenous children that were taken from their parents by force, from the agencies of the Australian government. They had been taken from their parents as the government thought that the Indigenous were lesser beings and that they should be taught how to live, act and talk like a white man. This later led to the sorry speech by Kevin Rudd therefore making it a significant event. -
Day of Mourning (Australia)
The Day of Mourning was a protest held by the Indigenous Australians, the sesquicentenary (150 year anniversary) of British colonisation of Australia. It was a protest of 150 years of terrible treatment, although this happens to be the same day that the Europeans celebrate Australia Day. There were many supporters, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous were marching through the streets of Sydney, and this event was one of the protests which lead towards the events which occurred later on. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education was a court case held by the Supreme Court. It was about segregation of African-American children in public schooling and on 17th May 1954, it was announced that African-American and white children would be taught together with equal rights. This event was one of the first few civil rights cases to be won by the African-Americans -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African American woman who worked as a seamstress, boarded a Montgomery City bus to head home from work. She refuses to give up her seat to a white person, resulting in a successful year-long African-American boycott of the bus system. After this boycott the bus companies simply gave in and the African-American people were allowed to sit wherever they pleased. This was one of the major events which began the civil rights movement in America. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was developed to support civil rights protests in South America. It was led by Martin Luther King, who also helped in its development. The construction of the SCLC important during the civil rights movement as it united all the civil rights organisations into one stronger organisation. -
Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI)
On this day, representatives gathered at Willard Hall in Adelaide to form a national organisation raising awareness for the rights of the Indigenous people. Many Indigenous activists and supporters were with the FCAATSI and this event lead towards the referendum held in 1967. -
Freedom Rides (America)
The freedom riders, a group of civil rights activists went on a freedom ride in two buses, travelling mainly in the Southern states of America. Their main goal was to stop segregation of African-American people in public transport. The reasons why this was a significant event was because it inspired African-American people in the south to join the civil rights movement as well as applying pressure on the federal government to take action on the violence the freedom riders were provoking. -
Arrest of the freedom riders
A group of the freedom riders who arrived in Jackson, Mississippi had been arrested for using the white-only facilities. This later attracted the attention of many other freedom riders and their supporters who were also arrested for similar reasons. As a result, President John F. Kennedy banned segregation in bus terminals and public transport. -
James Meredith
James was the first African-American to successfully attend the University of Mississippi. Ross Barnett, the governor of the state at the time refused his enrolment. This resulted in riots and violence throughout the city, being halted after President John F. Kennedy sent 5000 federal troops to stop them. This is a significant event as it allowed other African-Americans the opportunity to attend that University as well. -
I have a dream
The “I have a dream” speech was delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. In his speech, he said that he had a dream that white & black children would one day walk hand in hand and that they would agree to live together. This speech brought a lot of attention to the Civil Rights Movement and a set of laws were passed the following year, resulting in African-Americans having equal treatments/rights. -
Freedom Rides (Australia)
Looking back at the freedom rides in America, the Indigenous Australian people realised that they were being treated in a similar way so they decided to take action. It began in Sydney, where a group of University students had organised a bus trip throughout western New South Wales, hoping to make a change to the treatment of the indigenous people there. The leader of the freedom riders, Charles Perkins, was an important activist who had a large impact on the civil rights movement in Australia. -
March against fear
The march against fear consisted of only civil rights activist James Meredith where he was to walk from Memphis to Jackson, protesting against racial discrimination. On his second day of walking he was shot by a white man and was sent to hospital. After his recovery, James had re-joined the march on the 25th June. This event showed that racism and discrimination wasn’t tolerated by the African-Americans and that it encourages people to join in the fight for civil rights. -
Wave Hill Walk Off
This even began when a group of Indigenous workers for Vesteys’ cattle station at Wave Hill walked off and went on Strike, as a result of poor working conditions & treatment. It was later revealed that the workers wanted their rightful land back and that it was very special to them. This information spread throughout Australia and inspired other indigenous people to do the same, to have a chance of getting back what was rightfully theirs. -
Australian Referendum (1967)
The referendum posed the following question: Should the Indigenous be included as part of the population? The results were quite unexpected, 91% voting "for" and 9% voting "against". This meant that the Indigenous were granted their equal rights and this was a major event in the Indigenous rights movement. -
Sanitation workers strike
1300 African-American sanitation workers at Memphis had gone on a 64 day strike. This was also Martin Luther King’s last major involvement in the civil rights movement, where he gave a speech on behalf of the sanitation workers. This event was significant as it later resulted in the death of Martin Luther King and the end of the civil rights movement in America.This is also similar to the Wave hill walk off in Australia, in the sense that they wanted better treatment. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
Martin Luther King Jr. had been standing on the balcony in front of his room when he was sniped with a Remington model 760. The African-American people were in outrage after the incident and this event ended the Civil Rights Movement overall. The amount of damage caused had resulted in around 500 million dollars in repairs. -
Stolen Generations (end)
The Australian government had realised that the Indigenous had their own ways of raising their children, so they stopped stealing Aboriginal children. Although it had stopped, there was no apology from the Australian Government at the time. It was not until 2008 when Kevin Rudd himself apologised for the lack of respect and manners from the other governments. This event concluded one of the darkest chapters in Australian history and is therefore significant. -
Gurindji people achieving their land rights
After the Wave Hill walk off, the Gurindji people had settled near Wattie Creek living off the land like their ancestor once did. Approximately 9 years after the walk off began, the Prime Minister Gough Whitlam had decided to negotiate with the Gurindji people and return a portion of their land. This encouraged other indigenous groups to act as well in order to reclaim their land rights. -
Mabo land rights
This event was led by a Torres Strait Islander named Eddie Mabo (hence the name of the event “Mabo land rights”), who was born on the traditional islands of Murray Islands. He led a group of people called Meriams to the Surpreme Court to challenge the Queensland government for their land rights of the Islands. The Meriams eventually won their traditional land back and this is an important event as the British learnt that Australia wasn’t terra nullius (empty land) but in fact was owned by the In -
Kevin Rudd's sorry speech
The Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, apologises for the stolen generations of aboriginal children. There were mixed reactions from the millions of viewers across Australia, some arguing that it was too late to apologise and others saying that the speech did not cover what the stolen generations really were. This event was quite distinct and significant as Kevin Rudd was the first Prime minister to realise the mistake and apologise to the Indigenous people of Australia.
