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Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking a year-long protest during which activists, black and white alike, boycott the buses in order to send a message to the city council that this discrimination was unacceptable. It is this action that sparks the rise of Martin Luther King Jr, and is seen as one of if not the most significant moments of the civil rights' movement. -
Freedom Rides end in disaster
On this day the first of the Greyhound buses carrying black and white anti-segregation protesters arrived in Anniston, Alabama. The groups entered Souther states still ruled by Jim Crow laws, using white restrooms and bus terminals. Over 100 white protesters, some part of the KKK, slashed the bus' tyres, blew up the bus with a bomb, and beat the protesters once they had managed to escape the wreckage. This managed to attract world attention, so it can be considered a success in that regard. -
The Civil Rights' Act is passed
Following the death of JFK, new president Lyndon B Johnson pushed hard to implement anti-segregation laws, having conversed with Martin Luther King Jr many times. This new bill outlawed "discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex or national origin." By doing so President Johnson effectively abolished the Jim Crow laws that were so prevalent in the South, and brought about a new age in the Americas, as late as they were compared to European countries and the like. -
The Tlatelolco massacre
In protest to the impending 1968 Summer Olympics, due to start on October 12th, tens of thousands of students staged a peaceful protest in the Tlatelolco area of Mexico City. These students were angry that the Mexican government had spent the majority of public funds on lavish Olympic stadiums and sports facilities, but the police opened fire on them (claiming self-defence for decades), racking up a death toll between three to four hundred. -
Greenpeace is founded
In 1969 the US detonated a bomb underneath a tectonically unstable island in Alaska, causing fears that an earthquake or tsunami would emerge. Despite a 7000-person strong blockade, the US aimed to detonate a second bomb, five times more powerful in 1971. Protesters sailed towards the site in a ship named "Greenpeace", but were turned away by the US Coast Guard, hence leading to the formation of the eponymous group. -
Cuba's Family Code is enacted
Under Cuba's new legislation girls in the country could be married off as early as 14, and boys at 16. This was criticised for essentially subsidising underage pregnancy, disease, domestic violence, and the denial of economic opportunities. The argument is also that it would be too early for boys and girls to understand the implications of marriage and the commitment required. -
Reagan passes the Immigration Reform and Control Act
This act aimed to preserve jobs for Americans and "aliens" alike, in America. Employers were prohibited from employing people without verifying their identity, or rather whether they were illegal immigrants or unqualified for jobs, on pain of fines between $100 to $1000. If an existing employee wasn't verified, whether they would have been or not, they would usually be fired either way. -
The UN passes Convention C169
Concerning indigenous people, this act aimed to fully recognise them for their culture, beliefs and values, and aimed to grant them full human, social and economic rights.