043. Political mourning

Honoring a person or group that was injured or died, or a valued policy or practice that has been violated or destroyed. Often using traditional symbols of mourning, this act is done in a spirit of sadness and at the same time is intended to have political impact. It is not an actual funeral: see 045. It does not take place at a burial site: see 046.

Showing 1-25 of 29 results

Women form peace camp to protest housing of cruise missiles at Greenham Common, 1981-1993

Country
England
Time period
August, 1981 to 1993
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Peace
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Arielle Bernhardt and Olivia Ensign, 19/03/2010

Greenham Commons outside Newbury, England was purchased in 1939 by the Newbury District Council for the public use of Newbury inhabitants, including the collection of firewood. In 1941 this area was requisitioned by the Air Ministry for an airfield, which was later decommissioned. Despite the decommissioning of the airfield, public ownership of the land was not fully restored. Then in 1979 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization ) bought the land from the British government for the building of a military base that would house 96 Tomahawk Ground Launched Cruise Missiles (GLCMs).

Redwood Rabbis protect northern California trees, 1995-1999

Country
United States
Time period
1995 to 1999
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jasper Goldberg, 11/11/2009

Maxxam, a logging company run by CEO Charles Hurwitz, took over Pacific Lumber Company in 1986. Hurwitz doubled the rate of logging in Northern California forests, including Headwaters forest, an old-growth redwood forest in Humboldt County, California. Environmental activists were outraged and began to organize to protect the Headwaters forest. Several rabbis realized that Hurwitz was Jewish, and decided that they might be able to use Jewish theology to persuade him to change his mind and protect the forests.

Chinese students campaign for democratic reform (Tiananmen Square), 1989

Country
China
Time period
April 15, 1989 to June 4, 1989
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nida Atshan and Aden Tedla, 21/03/2010

During the second half of the 20th century, Chinese society experienced profound and tumultuous changes. Communist rule was declared in 1949, and the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s resulted in much social and economic upheaval. Students were particularly hard hit by the changes made during the Cultural Revolution as university funding decreased and education quality deteriorated. Student resentment towards the Communist government was further exacerbated by the practices of nepotism and profiteering among party officials.

Guatemalans overthrow a dictator, 1944

Country
Guatemala
Time period
May, 1944 to July 1, 1944
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aurora Muñoz 30/11/2009

Beginning in 1931 Jorge Ubico ruled Guatemala with an iron fist with the help of the vicious secret police. He admired Hitler’s tactics. By the summer of 1944, a similarly brutal dictator, Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, was overthrown in the face of a widespread nonviolent campaign in nearby El Salvador. This campaign served as a template for Guatemala’s own movement.

U.S. groups campaign to legalize abortion, 1969-1973

Country
United States
Time period
May, 1969 to January, 1973
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Arielle Bernhardt, 17/04/2010

Many women were put in great danger by abortions in the 1960s. Abortions were illegal, forcing many women to turn to back-alley abortionists, many of whom utilized unsafe techniques. A small group of determined activists had been campaigning for abortion law reform for decades, but to even mouth the word was controversial. The 1960s, though, saw the emergence of several revolutionary social movements, among them the civil rights movement and the women’s movement. This period of change and political involvement fostered the environment necessary for an abortion movement to develop.

Haitians demand civilian government and democratic elections, 1986-88

Country
Haiti
Time period
February, 1986 to February 7, 1988
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Alison Roseberry-Polier, 19/04/2011

On February 7, 1986, Haiti's dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier fled the country for France after a non-violent campaign for his removal (see "Haitians overthrow regime, 1984-1986"). Before leaving, he set up the National Governing Council (CNG), under the leadership of Henri Namphy, to rule the country.

Egyptians bring down dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak, 2011

Country
Egypt
Time period
January 25, 2011 to February 11, 2011
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zein Nakhoda and William Lawrence, 14/5/2011

Beginning in 1981, Hosni Mubarak ruled Egypt for over twenty-nine years. Though he ran for
presidential reelection several times, elections were marked by widespread
fraud, and opposing politicians were legally prohibited from running against
Mubarak until 2005. Virtually all key officials in government were from
Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP). Mubarak constructed a vast security
apparatus to control public dissent; in the 1990s, citizens would only whisper
his name for fear of reprisal. For his entire tenure as president, Egypt was in

Turkish families protest disappearances (“Saturday Mothers”), 1995-1999

Country
Turkey
Time period
April 11, 1995 to March 13, 1999
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
William Lawrence, 22/10/2010

Many Turkish families know the horror of having a loved one simply disappear.  From 1991 through 1994, more than one hundred Turkish citizens disappeared after being detained by police.  Most, but not all, of the disappeared were Kurds from southeastern Turkey suspected of collaborating with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an independence movement of the historically oppressed Kurds.  When families of the missing sought information from police, they were mocked, beaten, and often imprisoned.  Many victims were eventually found alongside highways or in unmarked graves

Love Canal residents campaign for clean environment, New York, USA, 1978-1980

Country
United States
Time period
May, 1978 to May, 1980
Classification
Change
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nathalie Schils, 22/06/2011

In 1894, William T. Love started construction on a power canal in an area outside of Niagara Falls in upstate New York. Although the canal was never completed, the neighborhood of Love Canal was born and soon became a locus of major chemical companies. In 1942, Hooker Chemical Company began dumping chemical waste into the abandoned canal. Through 1953, Hooker Chemical dumped 21,000 tons of chemical waste, including sludge, fly ash, and chlorinated hydrocarbon residues.

Abalone Alliance campaigns against Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant, California, 1976-1984

Country
United States
Time period
February, 1976 to June, 1984
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nathalie Schils, 24/06/2011

In 1965 Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) announced its plans to build a new nuclear facility with six reactors and selected Diablo Canyon as the optimal site, even though the site included a sacred burial ground of the Chumash Native Americans and a large costal wilderness area as well as potential zones of seismic activity that could lead to earthquakes and a nuclear disaster.  Construction was projected to cost $162,270,000 and the plant was forecasted to be operational in May 1972.

Taiwanese student sit-in for human rights (The Wild Strawberry Movement), 2008

Country
Taiwan
Time period
November 6, 2008 to January 4, 2008
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Lindsay Carpenter, 27/7/2011

On November 3, 2008, Chen Yunlin arrived from China on a visit to Taiwan to meet with President Ma Ying Jiao. His visit was met with protests led by the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party), which resulted in violent clashes with the police. In reaction to the protests, police closed major highways, forbade citizens from publicly waving the national flag or saying “Taiwan does not belong to China,” hindered citizens filming around the hotel where Chen was staying, shut down a nearby music store, and executed a number of other repressive actions.

Tunisians overthrow dictator and demand political and economic reform (Jasmine Revolution), 2010-2011

Country
Tunisia
Time period
17 December, 2010 to 27 January, 2011
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aden Tedla, 12/02/2011

Over the past several decades, high unemployment, high food prices, and widespread poverty have characterized much of Tunisia.  Government corruption and a paucity of political freedoms have also painted its landscape, making it exceedingly difficult for Tunisians to express dissent against the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party.  However, on 17 December 2010, 26-year-old Mohammed Bouazizi doused himself in paint thinner and set himself on fire in front of the Sidi Bouzid municipal office in response to the confiscation of his produce stand, his violent treatment a

Rutgers University students win divestment from apartheid South Africa, 1985

Country
United States
Time period
12 April, 1985 to 13 May, 1985
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Economic Justice
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Julio Alicea, 19/09/2010

South Africa’s system of apartheid became law following the elections in 1948. Similar to the Jim Crow laws in the United States, the system of apartheid was a form of legalized racial segregation. Consequently, South African apartheid became a very important political issue in the United States; this was especially true once the Jim Crows laws were outlawed. Americans of different racial and economic backgrounds opposed South African apartheid.

Harvard University community campaigns for divestment from apartheid South Africa, 1977-1989

Country
United States
Time period
1977 to 1989
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Anjali Cadambi, 19/09/2010

In the late 70s and 80s, American colleges and universities were engulfed in a heated debate over the ethical implications of financial investments. Educational institutions had invested billions of dollars in financial institutions and corporations with holdings in South Africa. Since the mid 1900s, the South African Nationalist government had implemented apartheid – a form of institutionalized racial segregation that had forced over a million South Africans to move out of urban spaces to designated rural areas. Many saw U.S.

El Salvadorans bring down a dictator, 1944

Country
El Salvador
Time period
Mid-April, 1944 to 7 May, 1944
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aden Tedla, 14/06/2011

In 1938, El Salvadoran president General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez proposed changing the country’s constitution so that he could continue holding his position beyond the end of his second term.

Iranians overthrow the Shah, 1977-79

Country
Iran
Time period
May, 1977 to 10 February, 1979
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Lindsay Dolan, 05/06/2009; revised by Aden Tedla, 02/9/2011

Agitation in Iran was visible by May 1977 in predominantly intellectual circles. A group of lawyers—upset by the government’s interference in the judiciary—drafted a strongly worded manifesto chronicling the legal abuses that had occurred under the Shah’s regime. Poets formed a Writers’ Association to call for an end to censorship and the activity of SAVAK, the Shah’s secret police. A National Organization of University Teachers began fighting for academic freedom while university and seminary students called for academic freedom in the schools.

Shanti Sena (Indian Peace Brigade) intervenes in deadly Hindu/Muslim riots, Ahmedabad 1969

Country
India
Time period
September, 1969 to January, 1970
Classification
Third-party nonviolent intervention
Cluster
Peace
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nancy Liu, 14/10/2011

After India’s independence (for example see, “Indians campaign for independence (Salt Satyagraha), 1930-1931”), tensions between Hindus and Muslims erupted in violent riots in the north of what was an undivided India. At that time, Gandhi had the idea of creating Shanti Sena, or the Gandhian Peace Army, an army of nonviolent soldiers that could keep the peace. Gandhi planned a conference in 1948 at his Sevagram Ashram to discuss the organization of the Shanti Sena, but he was assassinated before talks began.

Guatemalan activists defend human rights, 1960-1995

Country
Guatemala
Time period
1960 to 1996
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Peace
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Manuel Figueredo, 17/12/2011

The Guatemalan people have endured numerous hardships throughout the years, but none more tragic than those perpetrated by the Guatemalan government and military during the country’s thirty-six year civil war. The Guatemalan civil war began in 1960, when a group of insurgents sought to depose the US-backed military government. The military had obtained complete authority in Guatemala by overthrowing the democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz in 1957.

Canadian environmentalists campaign against seal hunting, 2009

Country
Canada
Time period
March, 2009 to May, 2009
Classification
Change
Cluster
Environment
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Megan Leskiw, 26/02/2012

Seal hunting, or the slaughter of seals (depending on with whom you are speaking) has become a very controversial topic over recent years. In the past, seals were just another resource used by those living in Northern and more remote communities. The meat was used for human consumption and the oil for lamps and cooking. These particular products, as well as the pelts themselves were exported to other countries for further use. The hunt of these animals was also beneficial to ensure the number of cod fish remained high.

South Korean workers campaign against apparel sweatshop conditions in Pyunghwa Market, 1969-1970

Country
South Korea
Time period
June, 1969 to November, 1970
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Soul Han, 28/10/2012

Since the Jung Hee Park regime seized power in South Korea through a military coup in 1962, the government’s economic policy had grown more pro-market and anti-union. Because of its large economic success (in terms of large economic measures like GDP) the public sentiment toward his economic policy was supportive enough to sustain it. Many people adhered to Park’s political narrative of a “growth-first ideology” at the cost of sacrificing labor rights.

South Koreans protest against the mishandling of the deaths of two Korean students caused by U.S. Army, 2002-2004

Country
South Korea
United States
Time period
June, 2002 to June, 2004
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
5.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Soul Han, 25/11/2012

The U.S. Armed Forces had been stationed in South Korea since the end of Korean War in 1954. More than 26,000 soldiers resided in six camps. Heavily dependent on the U.S. military support, the Korean army had an symmetrical relationship with the U.S. The two countries agreed that the U.S. military would assume the Wartime Operational Control (WOC) until 2015. Moreover, the Status of Force Agreement (SOFA) validated extraterritorial jurisdiction for the U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea.

Vancouver Women's Caucus fights for reproductive rights (Abortion Caravan), Canada, 1970

Country
Canada
Time period
14 February, 1970 to June, 1970
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Elizabeth J. Morrison, 06/03/2013

Reforms to the Canadian Criminal Code legalized abortion in 1969. Under the direction of Pierre Trudeau’s government, a constitutional amendment was made to Section 251 of the Code. The alteration limited legal abortions to be performed only when the mother’s health was at risk. In addition, abortions could only be performed in credible hospitals with licensed physicians and needed to be approved by a panel of doctors called Therapeutic Abortion Committees, which often consisted of all males.

 

Philadelphians campaign against welfare cuts, United States, 1996-1997

Country
United States
Time period
25 August, 1996 to 1 July, 1997
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nick Palazzolo 02/03/2013

On 16 May 1996, Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania signed Senate Bill 1441 into law. This bill contained a series of welfare reforms, including cuts to medical assistance, a requirement that childless people between ages 21 and 58 work 100 hours a month to receive medical assistance benefits, and a condition that anyone making more than $5100 a year did not qualify for medical assistance. When implemented this legislation would cut 250,000 people off of medical assistance.

Philippine citizens overthrow President Joseph Estrada (People Power II), 2001

Country
Philippines
Time period
17 January, 2001 to 20 January, 2001
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jessica Seigel 03/03/2013, drawing on research by Geraldine Damsel

In 1992, Joseph E Estrada ran for Vice President on the National People’s Coalition ticket.  Although the party’s presidential candidate, Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr., lost the election to Fidel Ramos, Estrada won the vice presidential contest.  He served as Vice President for 6 years leading the Anti-Crime Commission and was also responsible for a number of high-profile crime arrests in the Philippines.  

Peace activists occupy “Camp Casey” to demand truth about Iraq War, United States, 2005

Country
United States
Time period
5 August, 2005 to 31 August, 2005
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Peace
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Amy Robertson, 2/4/2013

On 4 April 2004, Casey Sheehan, an American soldier, was killed in the Iraq War. Upon hearing the news, his mother Cindy Sheehan was completely devastated and questioned the value of the war.