Browse Cases

Showing 1-25 of 38 results

Black Students in Texas Desegregate Del Mar College 1951-1952

Country
United States
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Beatriz Grace Baker 05/04/2015

From its founding in 1935 until the early 1950s, Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas accepted only white students. In 1951, when NAACP chapter leader Henry Boyd Hall began work to desegregate the college, community college classes for African American students were held at the city’s Solomon M. Coles High School for Negroes. However, these classes were insufficient in several ways.

Starr County, Texas Farm Workers Strike for Higher Pay - 1966

Country
United States
Time period
1 June, 1966 to Late September, 1967
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Beatriz Grace Baker 29/03/2015

On 1 June 1966, growing disputes between farmworkers and the owners of
melon farms in the Rio Grande valley in South Texas culminated in a
strike. Four hundred farm workers had voted in favor of a strike against
their employers at La Casita melon farm. It was the height of melon
season. Eugene Nelson, who had worked as a farm worker and author as
well as an organizer with the National Farm Workers’ Association, led
these workers to strike and organized them into the Independent Workers’
Association. Their organization, based in Rio Grande City in Starr

Chicano Students Walk Out for Racial Equality in Kingsville, Texas 1969

Country
United States
Time period
April 14, 1969 to April 24, 1969
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
2.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Beatriz Grace Baker 08/02/2015

During the Civil Rights Movement, Mexican-Americans struggled for equal
rights all across the Southwest in America. In Texas, campaigns for
racial equality were led primarily by organizations like La Raza (the
Resistance), MAYO (Mexican-American Youth Organization), PASSO
(Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations), and the Brown
Berets. These organizations struggled for equal rights and privileges
for Mexican-Americans in all facets of society.

Florida wade-ins to end racial segregation of public beach and pools (Civil Rights Movement) 1945-1964

Country
United States
Time period
May, 1945 to July 2nd, 1964
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
6.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jasmine Rashid 1/30/15

In a time that many considered the “post-Jim Crow” era, racial segregation of unequal public facilities remained the norm throughout Florida. First expressed in the Fort Lauderdale Daily News in 1927, African American communities were unhappy with being constrained to a single “colored leisure beach”; an uninhabited and inconvenient strip of land that was inferior to the “white beaches”. It was not until 1945 that African American leaders in Dade County began to plan action to challenge and draw attention to this injustice.

Alexandria citizens sit-in for library integration, 1939

Country
United States
Time period
21 Aug, 1939 to 21 Aug, 1939
Classification
Change
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Kerry Robinson, 30/03/2014

In August 1937, the city of Alexandria, Virginia opened its first public library, the Alexandria Library. Although all citizens funded the library, only whites could attend. The city council took no action beyond casual discussion to accommodate black patrons.

In 1939, a local black attorney, 26-year-old Samuel Wilbert Tucker, began challenging the lack of public library access for black citizens. On 17 March 1939, Tucker sent in a library card application for George Miller, a black resident. 

Connecticut Residents Give Up National Borders for Lent 2012-2013

Country
United States
Time period
November, 2012 to May, 2013
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Mar Firke 02/03/2014

In 2008, the Federal Government of the United States launched a
program called “Secure Communities” that would allow Immigration and Customs
Enforcement to review records of suspects in the custody of local and state
police.  In cases where officials found
out that prisoners were in the country illegally, officials could issue
detainer orders for local police to keep the prisoner in custody and begin
deportation proceedings. The effect of this enforcement policy was that
undocumented immigrants arrested on minor traffic infractions—or even

Native Americans occupy Alcatraz for land rights, 1969-1971

Country
United States
Time period
20 November, 1969 to 11 June, 1971
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Alexa Ross, 23/10/2010

In the 1950s the Eisenhower administration enacted the Relocation and Termination programs in regard to American Indian federal policy. The first part meant that Native Americans were to relocate from their respective reservations into big cities. In doing this, Native Americans would lose the unity of the immediate communities as they individually integrated as citizens into separate cities. Meanwhile, the reservation lands would be liquidated into the hands of the federal government. The second part, termination, was a broader result of the relocation.

Chicano students strike for equality of education in Crystal City, Texas, 1969-1970

Country
United States
Time period
Spring, 1969 to 6 January, 1970
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nick Palazzolo, 16/05/2013

In Crystal City, Texas, 87 percent of high school students in 1968 were Chicano, or Mexican American, and nearly half of these were children of migrant farm workers. But the high school principal, five of the seven school board members, and 75 percent of the teachers were white. During the summers, local government and school officials, all white, selected candidates for the fall elections. In doing so, the minority population maintained a majority white school board with just one or two Chicanos they believed to align with their views.

Philadelphia African-Americans desegregate trolley cars, 1865-1869

Country
United States
Time period
1865 to 1869
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Dilcia Mercedes, 16/3/2012

In 1865, the Civil War shook the foundation of the United States when the South was forced to give slaves their freedom. Although the slaves were granted their freedom, African Americans were still severely restricted in their everyday activities. One of those activities was getting around.  The segregation laws in the U.S. made it difficult for African Americans to safely move from one destination to the next.

Miami college students march to U.S. Capitol in support of immigrant rights (Trail Of Dreams), 2010

Country
United States
Time period
1 January, 2010 to 1 May, 2010
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Peter J. Saunders, 25/02/2012

In 2001, Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois and Rep. Howard Berman of California introduced a piece of proposed legislation named The DREAM, (acronym for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act. Under the proposed Dream Act undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally under parental supervision, would have an opportunity to obtain conditional U.S. citizenship with the possibility of achieving full citizenship upon completion of the process and by finally completing either two years of college or two years in the military.

African American auto workers strike for union democracy and better working conditions (DRUM), 1968-1970

Country
United States
Time period
May, 1968 to May, 1970
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
5.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Kate Aronoff, 07/11/2011

Detroit, Michigan had long served as a world center for auto manufacturing. A number of U.S. automobile manufacturers centered their operations in the city, including Ford, Chrysler and General Motors. For decades, as well, the city was a center of racial conflict in the country. Following World War II, a number of white soldiers had returned to Detroit to find their manufacturing jobs “taken” by women and, more so, African American men. A number of Black workers were forced out of their jobs, though many remained.

U.S. civil rights activists campaign for federal government action, 1957-63

Country
United States
Time period
May, 1957 to December, 1963
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
George Lakey, 09/10/2012

In 1957 A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin initiated a campaign to pressure the U.S. government to intervene for the civil rights of African Americans.

Randolph, 68, was the acknowledged “elder” among civil rights leaders, with a base in the labor movement.  Rustin, 57, was a veteran civil rights and peace activist who had coached Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott.

Chestertown, MD, "Freedom Riders" campaign against racial segregation, 1962

Country
United States
Time period
February, 1962 to March, 1962
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Soul Han, 16/09/2012

Chestertown, situated in the Eastern Shore of Maryland, was one of the few northern parts of the U.S. still segregated in the early 1960s. Most African Americans could not vote. Only three black students were enrolled in the local Washington College. Moreover, the only school in Chestertown that accepted black students from the 1st grade to 12th was the Garnett School.

Wichita students sit-in for U.S. Civil Rights, 1958

Country
United States
Time period
July 19, 1958 to August 11, 1958
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Matthew Heck, 12/09/2011

Race relations in the United States had been tense for decades before the 1950s.  The tension was especially obvious in the political, economic, and social realm where African-Americans were unable to vote in many states, had previously been considered property by white Americans, and were frequently segregated in restaurants, libraries, movie theatres, or almost any place where African-Americans might interact with whites.

Seattle students and parents boycott schools for integration, 1966

Country
United States
Time period
23 February, 1966 to 1 April, 1966
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Hanna King, 21/11/2010

In 1966, the Civil Rights movement was in full swing in the Southern and Eastern parts of the United States, but it was just beginning to reach Seattle, Washington. De facto segregation in housing meant that the public schools were effectively segregated as well, with North End schools serving predominantly white students, and South End schools serving predominantly African-American and Asian-American students.

Seattle's Franklin High School students sit-in for reinstatement and civil rights, 1968

Country
United States
Time period
12pm March 19, 1968 to 4pm March 19, 1968
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Hanna King, 15/11/2010

In 1968, the Civil Rights movement was in full swing in the Southern and Eastern parts of the United States, but it was just beginning to reach Seattle, Washington. Buoyed by a series of speeches given by Stokely Carmichael, a group of black students from the University of Washington founded a Black Student Union (BSU), to advocate for the rights of black students at the university and area high schools.

Puerto Ricans protest United States Navy presence on Vieques Island, 1977-1983

Country
Puerto Rico
United States
Time period
1977 to 1983
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nathalie Schils, 07/07/2011

Vieques is a fifty-two square-mile island located eight miles off the east coast of Puerto Rico.  Home to 10,000 citizens, it is a part of Puerto Rico and therefore a non-sovereign territory of the United States. This status grants American citizenship to its residents and allows them to serve and be drafted into the armed forces, but does not give them political representation in the U.S. Senate or allow them to vote in presidential elections. Since 1938, the U.S.

Puerto Ricans expel United States Navy from Culebra Island, 1970-1974

Country
Puerto Rico
United States
Time period
1970 to 1974
Classification
Change
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Human Rights
Peace
Environment
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nathalie Schils, 06/07/2011

In 1970, Puerto Rico was a non-sovereign territory of the United States. Its residents were U.S. citizens but could not vote in presidential elections, nor did they have political representation in the U.S. Congress, although they could serve and be drafted in the U.S. armed forces. At the beginning of the 20th century, the U.S. Navy eliminated the principal town on the island of Culebra and evicted its residents so that a marine base could be built. In 1941, President Roosevelt claimed exclusive rights to the air space above Culebra as well as a three-mile wide radius around the island.

East Los Angeles students walkout for educational reform (East L.A. Blowouts), 1968

Country
United States
Time period
March 1, 1968 to October, 1968
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
5.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rebecca Contreras 24/04/2011

In late 1967 East Los Angeles housed a school system entrenched in racism. The Mexican American community had the highest high school dropout rate and lowest college attendance among any ethnic group. The poor facilities and constant underestimation of student capabilities by teachers created an atmosphere hostile to learning. The oppressive conditions coupled with the inability to make changes compelled students, activists, and teachers to meet and discuss the situation.

Pastors and students lead campaign to desegregate Danville, VA, 1963

Country
United States
Time period
May 31, 1963 to August, 1963
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jennifer Trinh, 30/01/2011 and George Lakey, 8/21/14

The Civil Rights Movement in the United States gained momentum in the 1960’s with campaigns and demonstrations taking place throughout the country. Following the success of the 1963 campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, and the strong leadership of that struggle by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), ministers and other activists in Danville, Virginia, decided to start their own campaign. They formed the Danville Christian Progressive Association (DCPA).

New Orleans citizens boycott for U.S. civil rights, 1960-61

Country
United States
Time period
April, 1960 to late, 1961
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zein Nakhoda, 31/01/2010

In 1960, almost 40% of New Orleans' population was African American. The city's main shopping avenue was Canal Street, where all stores were white-owned, predominantly Christian, had segregated facilities, and didn't serve blacks at lunch counters. The second busiest shopping avenue was Dryades Street, where the stores were also white-owned, but store patrons were almost all black. Blacks could use the facilities, but were not employed in the stores aside from an occasional janitor.

African American citizens campaign for integration in Durham, N.C., 1963

Country
United States
Time period
18 May, 1963 to 21 May, 1963
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Meghan Auker Becker, 14/03/2010

The mass demonstrations of 1963 in Durham were the culmination of a local black freedom movement that had slowly gained momentum over the preceding years. Durham had been the site of a thwarted sit-in at the Royal Ice Cream Parlor in 1957, limited desegregation of schools, and the long-standing lunch-counter sit-ins in 1960 (see “Durham students sit-in for U.S. Civil Rights, 1960”). Throughout the next few years, civil rights activists continued to attack segregation in theaters, schools, motels, and restaurants as well as demand increased employment opportunities for blacks.

University students campaign for racial integration in Charlotte, NC, 1960

Country
United States
Time period
February 9, 1960 to July 9, 1960
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Samantha Bennett 28/01/2011

During a period of five months in the spring of 1960, students and adults in Charlotte, North Carolina, participated in the sit-in movement to protest segregation. It was an attempt to end racial segregation in the public facilities in the city of Charlotte. The city government was the opposition.

Students protest segregation in Columbia, South Carolina, 1960-1961

Country
United States
Time period
February, 1960 to April, 1961
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Elowyn Corby, 30/01/2011

By the beginning of the 1960s the Civil Rights Movement had taken hold of the United States, where black Americans had been treated unjustly since they first arrived in the nation.  During the Civil Rights Movement, black communities all throughout the US South rose up in protest against the segregationist policies that kept them in systematically separate and insufficient living arrangements, a world away from the “separate but equal” treatment promised them by the 14 amendment and its interpretation in the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson.