Browse Cases

Showing 1-25 of 45 results

Black Students march for the release of the Brockwell Three in Brixton, England (1974)

Country
England
Time period
9 June, 1973 to 3 April, 1974
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Khan Shairani 16/05/2019

On 8 December 1965, the British government passed the Race Relations Act, the first legislation to address racism and xenophobia in the United Kingdom. The act addressed significant disparities in the UK, like the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott, which demonstrated against income and work inequalities faced by West Indian and African communities. The act made it a civil offense to incite racial violence and for businesses to not serve people based on race.

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.

Paul Robeson High School Students in New York Campaign Against Closing, 2009-2011

Country
United States
Time period
15 December, 2009 to 1 May, 2011
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
1 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Celine Anderson 06/12/96

Paul Robeson High School opened in Brooklyn, New York, 1984, as a replacement for the closed Alexander Hamilton High School. The school board’s vision for the new Robeson High School focused primarily on decreasing the dropout rate. To ensure this, the board replaced most of the Hamilton teachers with new ones and created a new application process for students. At first, Robeson did see an increase in the graduation rate, earning it recognition in The New York Times. However, in 2004, the graduation rate began to slowly decrease.

Students at the University of Havana Strike to Restore Doctoral Degrees 1892

Country
Cuba
Time period
March, 1892 to September, 1892
Classification
Change
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Celine Anderson 25/10/15

In 1892, students at Havana University in Cuba (then called The Royal University at Havana) staged a strike in protest of the suspension of Doctoral degrees from the University. The student campaign took place from mid-March to mid-September and utilized striking, letters and public exhibitions comprised of notes displayed on the school walls as acts of nonviolent protest. During this time of the campaign, the president of the University of Havana was Joaquín Francisco Lastres y Juiz, whom the student activists held accountable for the suspension of Doctoral Degrees.

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.

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.

British students force end of Barclays Bank’s investments in South African Apartheid 1969-1987

Country
United Kingdom
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Ryan Leitner 08/02/2014

Apartheid was a legal and political system of racial segregation in South Africa in which the National Party used violence to uphold political and economic control by the white minority. Apartheid began under colonial Dutch rule and was officially introduced as an official policy in 1948.

Hong Kong students and residents reject national-education classes, 2012

Country
China
Time period
29 July, 2012 to 8 September, 2012
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Iris Fang, 18/11/2012

On 29 July 2012, thousands took to the streets after the Hong Kong government announced that by 2015 they would integrate mandatory national-education classes in Hong Kong’s public schools. The government’s plan would not affect international schools where rich families tend to send their children, but it would affect the education of children from the working and middle classes.

Germans reclaim Heligoland from the United Kingdom, 1951

Country
Germany
Time period
December, 1950 to January, 1951
Classification
Change
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Christopher Capron, 18/11/2012

Heligoland (also spelled Helgoland) is an archipelago 46 kilometers off the German coastline in the North Sea. The two small islands are less than 2 square kilometers in total, but the British, Danish and Germans have hotly contested the land over the centuries. In the Second World War, the British Air Force frequently bombed the islands, most notably in air to sea battles in 1939 and in 1945, when the residents of the island were forced to abandon their rock shelters and evacuate due to an enormous Allied air raid. 

Tibetan students campaign to defend Tibetan language in schools, Tibet and China, 2010

Country
Tibet
China
Time period
19 October, 2010 to 26 October, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Lekey Leidecker, 14/10/2012

On September 30, 2010, an article in People’s Daily, a Communist Party magazine in China, quoted Qiang Wei, Qinghai Province’s party secretary as saying that “mandating Chinese language was crucial” in all schools throughout the province. The majority (around 70%) of the students and teachers that lived in the Qinghai Province was ethnically Tibetan, and many considered themselves Tibetans living in China rather than Chinese citizens. However, the national majority, Han Chinese people, exercised the most authority in the region.

Ukrainian students hunger strike and protest against government, 1990

Country
Ukraine
Time period
2 October, 1990 to 17 October, 1990
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Yein Pyo, 14/09/2012

Dissatisfied with lack of democracy and the Soviet Union’s influence on their country, Ukrainian university students in L'viv established the Student Brotherhood in March of 1989.  In December students in the capital city of Kiev formed the Ukrainian Students Union. 

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.

Attawapiskat students win new school (Shannen's Dream), Ontario, 2007-2012

Country
Canada
Time period
2007 to 2012
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Felicity Forbister, 27/02/2012

Attawapiskat First Nation is a small community located on James Bay approximately 220 kilometers north of Moosonee, Ontario.  Attawapiskat was home to a courageous and passionate young woman named Shannen Koostachin.  Shannen led a campaign of school children to fight for the right to “safe and comfy” schools and quality, culturally based education for First Nations children all across Canada.

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.

UC Santa Cruz students launch hunger strike to protest discriminatory budget cuts, 2009

Country
United States
Time period
26 May, 2009 to 31 May, 2009
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
6.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Patricia Gutiérrez, 14/10/2012

The University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) has historically struggled with meeting their students’ desire for ethnic studies, despite its liberal reputation. In 1981, the college’s student group Third World and Native American Student Coalition protested the college’s lack of an ethnic studies major with a hunger strike. Since then, the college has offered a number of courses and major options for those interested in ethnic studies.

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.

Syrian citizens general strike against France, 1936

Country
Syria
Time period
January 20, 1936 to March 2, 1936
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Markus Schlotterbeck, 20/08/2009

French-occupied Syria was facing darkening hopes for more independence from France at the end of 1935. The major Syrian nationalist party, the National Bloc, was losing power, the Syrian Parliament was adjourned and the government in power was under the unpopular Shaikh Taj al-Din al-Hasani. France was also refusing to negotiate a new treaty with Syria. In a move to squash the National Bloc altogether, the French authorities closed the office of the National Bloc in Damascus on January 20, 1936, and arrested two leaders from the Bloc: Fakhri al-Barudi and Sayf al-Din al-Ma’min.

Chinese students protest the Treaty of Versailles (the May Fourth Incident), 1919

Country
China
Time period
May 4, 1919 to July 22, 1919
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Samia Abbass 14/11/2010

Post-WWI China was fraught with political turbulence and social unrest. The Qing Dynasty was overthrown in 1911 and the Republic of China was instated in its place, ending thousands of years of imperial rule in the country and generating a host of new streams of intellectual and political thought. However, warlords still ruled strong throughout many of the provinces, fueling a chaotic and backwards politics that an emerging intelligentsia sought to change.

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.

Mongolians win multi-party democracy, 1989-1990

Country
Mongolia
Time period
December 10, 1989 to May 10, 1990
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jasper Goldberg and Max Rennebohm, 01/12/2009 and 23/05/2011

In 1921 the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) came to power and soon aligned the country with the USSR. Until this democracy campaign in 1989, the MPRP ruled Mongolia through a constitutionally-sanctioned single-party government. By the mid-1980’s, pro-reform sentiments and movements were spreading in Eastern Europe, especially at the universities. However, Mongolians remained isolated from all of this except for the few students who could afford to study abroad in Eastern Europe.

Swarthmore Afro-American Student Society fights for greater representation and support services, 1968-1969

Country
United States
Time period
October, 1968 to January, 1969
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Olivia Ensign, 03/11/2010

The first attempt by an African American to enroll in Swarthmore College was 1905 when the admissions committee mistakenly admitted a light-skinned black student thinking he was white. Upon discovering his race the college withdrew its acceptance. The next attempt was not made until 1932 when a black student from Philadelphia High School applied to Swarthmore College. The admission’s committee decision was that, as a co-educational institution, Swarthmore College was not yet prepared to admit African American students.