Browse Cases

Showing 1-25 of 146 results

Incarcerated people and allies rally to turn on heat and power in NYC federal jail, 2019

Country
United States
Time period
1 February, 2019 to 3 February, 2019
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Olivia Robbins, 29/05/2019

On 5 January 2019, Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn (MDC Brooklyn), a federal jail in Brooklyn, New York that housed 1,500 incarcerated people, lost power for the first time that year for unknown reasons. Three weeks later, an electrical fire caused the entire building to lose heating capabilities as well. This loss of power and heat took place over some of the coldest days and nights of the 2019 winter in New York City (NYC).

Indian revolutionaries protest prison injustices at Central Jail Mianwali, 1929-1931

Country
Pakistan
Time period
9 April, 1929 to 31 March, 1931
Classification
Change
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Human Rights
Democracy
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Khan B. Shairani 29/05/2019

A series of revolutionary movements aimed at freeing India from British colonial rule started in the early 1900s. In an effort to overthrow the British Empire and to end colonial rule, Indian revolutionaries and organizations undertook several tactics to free the region and become an independent country. Under colonial rule, the British government authority started penal colonies––one of which was established in Pakistan––to house Indian prisoners where they faced forced labor and worse conditions in contrast to English prisoners.

California inmates hunger strike to improve prison conditions, 2013

Country
United States
Time period
July 8, 2013 to September 5, 2013
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
2 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Juli Pham 02/04/2017

In 2011, over 12,000 prisoners of California’s corrections system participated in a hunger strike to protest their inhumane conditions of confinement.

Citizens of South Korea campaign for investigation of the Sewol ferry accident, 2014-2017

Country
South Korea
Time period
10 May, 2014 to 16 April, 2015
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Seimi Park, 23/03/2017

On the morning of 16 April 2014, as the MV Sewol was traveling its usual route, from Incheon, South Korea to Jeju, South Korea, the ferry capsized, killing 304 of the 476 passengers onboard - most of whom were high school students on a class field trip. As the boat was sinking, Captain Lee Joon-seok and his crew told passengers to stay seated, while they fled the scene and were among the first to be rescued by the Korean Coast Guard.

University of Sydney students uncover and protest discrimination of Aboriginal people in New South Wales, 1965

Country
Australia
Time period
February 12, 1965 to February 24, 1965
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jasmin Rodriguez-Schroeder, 15/02/2017

In 1965, a group of student students at the University of Sydney who were members of Student Action for Aborigines (SAFA) embarked on a two week bus ride through several towns and villages in New South Wales to draw attention to the prevalent discrimination against Aborigines in Australia. This campaign is often credited with directing national and international attention to the ongoing human rights violations against Aboriginal people and leading to the 1967 referendum that approved two amendments relating to Aboriginal rights and status in Australia.

Rio de Janeiro residents protest man's disappearance 2013

Country
Brazil
Time period
14 July, 2013 to August, 2013
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Juli Pham 09/02/2017

Starting in 2008, the Brazilian government began commissioning nearly forty police pacification units (UPP) in over two-hundred of Rio de Janeiro’s shantytowns, known as favelas. This pacification project aimed to maintain security in territories after Rio’s special police unit (BOPE) cleared the communities of gang leaders and drug traffickers who, for decades, controlled the favelas and inspired their violent reputations.

Rio de Janeiro residents protest World Cup and Olympics 2011-2016

Country
Brazil
Time period
March, 2011 to August, 2016
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Peace
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Shayla Smith 08/02/2017

The city of Rio de Janeiro is home to 6 million people with approximately 1.5 million residents living in favelas. These residential communities, named after the favela trees native to the region, are commonly misunderstood by outsiders. Although 32% of favela residents belong to the lower-class, a 2013 study found that 85% of people residing in favelas like where they live. Some favelas have high crime rates, but many are high-functioning, self-governing communities.

Garfield High School teachers in Seattle, Washington boycott Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test, 2012-2013

Country
United States
Time period
19 December, 2012 to 13 May, 2013
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Meghan Kelly 20/11/2015

Standardized testing in the United States dates back to the early 1900s, when the military issued standardized tests of intelligence to potential candidates for the armed services. In the 1970s, public school students began taking “high stakes” tests, in which their scores affected school district funding and the students’ ability to move on to the next grade. The original purpose of these tests was to hold school districts accountable by providing a standard measure of academic comparison across students and school districts.

Chilean students protest for free public education, 2011-13

Country
Chile
Time period
March, 2011 to November, 2013
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Meghan Kelly, 20-09-2015

On 11 September 1973, Chilean dictator Augusto Pinoche came to power and during the 1970s, he privatized Chile’s education system. The central government gave money to some private schools, while the public schools remained grossly underfunded. This commercialization of education began a legacy of educational attainment disparity along socioeconomic class lines—the poor received poor quality education, received jobs that paid meager wages, and remained poor, while the wealthy received high quality education, went on to university, and obtained well-paying jobs that increased their wealth.

French citizens campaign to close five concentration camps for North Africans, 1959-60

Country
France
Time period
June, 1959 to May, 1960
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Caroline Dreyfuss, 20/09/2015

The May 1959 opening of French government internment camps for Algerians suspected of being subversive agents of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) came towards the end of the Algerian War (11/1954-03/1962). The war, which ended with Algeria winning its independence from France, featured a wide variety of tactics, including torture by both sides. This torture led to the original conferences and protests of l’Action civique non-violente, a group dedicated to the right to resist oppression.

Sex workers strike for rights in El Alto, Bolivia

Country
Bolivia
Time period
17 October, 2007 to 27 October, 2007
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
3.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Erica Janko 28/04/2015

On 14 October 2007, citizens of El Alto, Bolivia demanded that all bars and brothels facilitating sex work be located at least 3,200 feet away from schools, because they believed that the establishments were facilitating crime in the area. They then began a three-day rampage of the bars and brothels in the impoverished red-lights district of El Alto. These El Alto citizens, primarily parents and students, burned or destroyed at least 50 brothels, burned sex workers’ belongings, and beat sex workers.

Chilean Student Campaign to Reform Education, 2011

Country
Chile
Time period
May 12th, 2011 to September 27th, 2013
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jasmine Rashid 02/20/15

Student governments of Chilean universities assembled to be represented as the Confederation of Chilean Students Federations (CONFECH), the leading organization of the campaign. College students Camila Vallejo and Giorgio Jackson took leadership of the protests and were both integral in creating the "Social Agreement for Chilean Education" (Acuerdo Social por la Educación Chilena), the proposal that was presented to the Chilean government. The students of CONFECH  demanded the following:

Romanian citizens of Pungesti backed by Greenpeace force Chevron to stop fracking operations, 2014

Country
Romania
Time period
October, 2013 to July, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
4.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Dong Shin You, 08/02/2015

Anti-fracking movements in Romania originated in February 2012 when Bulgarian activists, enthused from their recent victory over their government in anti-fracking legislation, contacted their Romanian counterparts. The Bulgarians informed the Romanians of the potential impending fracking in Romania and from this point on, the Romanian activists began using their Facebook group page to increase awareness of, and actively campaign against the dangers of fracking.

Black students, community, allies begin desegregating Jackson, Mississippi, 1962-1963

Country
United States
Time period
October, 1962 to 18 June, 1963
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Kerry Robinson 26/04/2014

Jackson was the largest city in Mississippi in 1960, with 250,000 residents, 50,000 of whom were black. Medgar Evers, a field secretary for the Jackson chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began to build up NAACP Youth Councils at colleges and high schools in the area since 1961. Since the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) were in other parts of Mississippi, the NAACP was the only consistent nonviolent group in Jackson.

Black students sit-in for U.S. civil rights, Marshall, Texas, 1960

Country
United States
Time period
26 March, 1960 to 3 April, 1960
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Kerry Robinson 06/04/2014

Marshall, Texas, despite having a black majority, practiced public and private racial segregation like most of the South in the 1950’s. The town included two historically black colleges: Bishop College and Wiley College. 

Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh Protest to Stop Open Pit Coal Mine 2006-2014

Country
Bangladesh
Time period
26 August, 2006 to 6 February, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Andrés Cordero and Ryan Leitner 02/04/2014

Phulbari is a region in the northwest region of Bangladesh. It is an important agricultural region that is also home to low quality coal deposit. Several companies have proposed to use the open pit technique for mining the coal, which would displace thousands of people, many of them indigenous people. The proposed mining projects would destroy farmland, homes, and divert water sources to be used in the mining process.

West Indians of Bristol boycott buses, end racial discrimination in hiring, UK, 1963

Country
United Kingdom
Time period
29 April, 1963 to 28 August, 1963
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Kerry Robinson 02/24/2014

Many West Indian settled in England during the 1960’s due to looser immigration restrictions. In Southwest England West Indians easily found menial jobs in Bristol, but found themselves shut out of higher positions. It was hardly a secret that the Bristol Omnibus Company constantly turned away black and Asian applicants for drivers and conductors, but neither management nor the union, the Transport and General Worker’s Union, seemed interested in dealing with the “colour bar”.

Indigenous Gurindji win land rights in Australia (Wave Hill Walk Off) 1966-1975

Country
Australia
Time period
August 23rd, 1966 to August 16th, 1975
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Angeline Rivard 18/11/2013

On August 23rd, 1966, the workers of the Wave Hill Station in Northern Territory, Australia, participated in a walk off led by Vincent Lingiari. The workers felt oppressed by the low wages, poor working and living conditions they received at the Wave Hill Station. The Indigenous people known to be part of the Gurindji Tribe were pastoral workers situated at Vesteys' Wave Hill station. The Vestey family was a rich British family that owned many acres of land and companies in Australia.

Australian Aboriginal workers strike for fair wages and equality, 1946-1949

Country
Australia
Time period
1 May, 1946 to Spring, 1949
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Dylan Cohen, 18/10/2013

In 20th century Australia indigenous workers were treated completely differently from the Caucasian settlers on the continent. Until the 1920s, for example, Aboriginals employed at pastoral stations in Australia received rations of clothing and food instead of cash wages. 

Guatemalans refuse to serve in civil patrols, 1988-1993

Country
Guatemala
Time period
March, 1988 to 1993
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Peace
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sarah Gonzales, 09/04/2013

From 1961 to 1996 Guatemalans endured a bloody civil war.  During this conflict the military-controlled government fought the leftist guerillas or the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG).  These groups fought each other for political control.  The extreme violence pushed many indigenous Guatemalans high into the country’s highlands or displaced them as refugees into other countries.

Ugandans protest rising fuel prices ("Walk to Work"), 2011

Country
Uganda
Time period
February 2011 to June 2011, 2011 to
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Democracy
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Joseph Kiranto, 29/03/2013

The Walk to Work was a campaign that happened in Uganda led by the leader of The Forum for Democratic Change, Kizza Besigye. Its main goal was to curb the high cost of living as result of high food and fuel prices.  

This campaign started after the general election in February 2011 and ended in June 2011. Though the leader of opposition lost the election in Uganda, this campaign propelled his “cause to the top of the agenda and won him far greater popularity than during the general election. 

Indigenous groups in Peru massively campaign to protect the rainforest, 2008-2009

Country
Peru
Time period
9 August, 2008 to 19 June, 2009
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nick Palazzolo, 18/03/2013

In April 2006, the United States and Peru signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which they planned to implement on 1 February 2009. The United States required that Peru make certain regulatory changes in law to allow access to the Amazon rainforest before implementing the FTA. In late 2006, President Alan García passed Law 840, known as the “Law of the Jungle,” which undermined the collective property rights of indigenous groups by giving land concessions to foreign investors.

Thai students overthrow military Thanom regime, 1973

Country
Thailand
Time period
6 October, 1973 to 15 October, 1973
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Meiri Anto, 13/05/2013

Student activism in Thailand had grown during the 1960s as the number of students in university increased rapidly. In 1971, the Thanom Kittikachorn government launched a coup and restored authoritarian rule by disbanding the national legislature, terminating the 1968 constitution, and proclaiming martial law. On 15 December 1972, a new constitution was established that gave Prime Minister Thanom and his National Executive Council extensive power, but promised to return the country to democracy as soon as the communist threat was eliminated.

Unemployed Detroit auto workers conduct Hunger March to protest Ford Motor Company's policies, United States, 1932

Country
United States
Time period
6 March, 1932 to 12 March, 1932
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Fatimah Hameed, 03/03/2013

During the Great Depression, Detroit, Michigan, and its auto-industry suffered an exceptional amount. After the stock market crash of 1929, around 80 percent of the industry was no longer producing and by 1932 large numbers of Detroit's citizens were dying of starvation. The Ford Motor Company, one of the richest employers, had laid off two-thirds of its employees. The Unemployed Councils, United Auto Workers, and communist union-organizing groups decided to organize a march against the Ford Motor Company and its employment policies.

Black South Africans resist pass laws and mount general strike (Sharpeville Massacre), 1960

Country
South Africa
Time period
21 March, 1960 to September, 1960
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Hayley Summers, 29/04/2013

In 1960 South Africa was under the rule of the National Party, which was imposing harsh, demeaning laws on black South Africans. The party was made up entirely of white people, mostly the descendants of Dutch immigrants. The party was devoted to apartheid and white supremacy, maintained through a collection of policies, including the pass laws.