Browse Cases

Showing 151-175 of 315 results

Freedom Summer campaign for African American voting rights in Mississippi, 1964

Country
United States
Time period
June, 1964 to August, 1964
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rachel S Ohrenschall, 19/03/2012

By 1964, a handful of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) field workers had endured three years of continued repression as they challenged Mississippi’s racial discrimination. Only 6.7% of black Mississippians were registered to vote in 1962, the lowest percent in the country. In 1963 SNCC’s Mississippi operation was facing a stalemate. Since arriving in 1961 they had few concrete victories to show for their hard and dangerous work in the state. They had gotten few people to attempt to register, and even fewer were successful.

Manitoba women win right to vote, 1870-1916

Country
Canada
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Alison Besecker, 02/03/2012

In North America and Western Europe in the later half of the 19th century, women began to campaign in earnest for the right to vote. At this time women were second-class citizens. The 1870s were the start of the movement in Canada, but there were few Canadians that supported the women’s right to vote. Two of the groups that lead the way in Manitoba were the Icelandic feminists and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). The Icelandic women had settled near Gimli. These women established the first suffragette associations.

Thai people successfully defend democracy against military coup, 1992

Country
Thailand
Time period
April, 1992 to June, 1992
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Alexa Wallin, 27/02/2012

On February 23, 1991, a military group by the name of the NPKC, or National Peace Keeping Council, which was composed of Military academy graduates, sought to overthrow the current government in Thailand, which they believed to be a “parliamentary dictatorship”. NPKC quickly gained control over the government and formed the political party known as Samakki Tham.

Nicaraguan students campaign against government, 1944

Country
Nicaragua
Time period
27 June, 1944 to 14 July, 1944
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Benjamin Bernard-Herman, 27/02/2012

In 1936, Anastasio Somoza was elected president of Nicaragua. He ran under the the Liberal Nationalist Party, or PLN. He was elected with broad support among liberals in Nicaragua, although, soon after his election, small numbers of Nicaraguans started to gather in opposition to his presidency. In 1937, a small group of university graduates formed a dicussion group that was highly critical of Somoza; the members of this unnamed group would go on to found the Independent Liberal Party, or PLI - the organization that led the campaign against Somoza in 1944.

Burmese citizens stop dam construction on Irrawady River, 2007-2011

Country
Burma
Time period
21 May, 2007 to 30 September, 2011
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Leah Grady Sayvetz, 15/03/2012

The Irrawaddy river, the largest in Burma, begins at the confluence of the Mali Hka and N’Mai Hka rivers in the northern state of Kachin.

UC Santa Cruz students and employees campaign for diversity and economic justice, 2005-09

Country
United States
Time period
April, 2005 to February, 2009
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sarah Gonzales, 04/02/2013

When the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) hired Chancellor Denice Denton in 2004 the transition entailed her earning a salary of $282,000 a year and $600,000 of renovations made on her future house of residence, including a controversial $30,000 dog run.   This became a topic of debate; students as well as media critics quickly brought these details to light and demanded accountability for the choices of spending at the University.  Under these circumstances, employees at the University began to call attention to the fact that they earned a less than living wage

University of Buffalo students campaign for janitors' rights, 2005-2006

Country
United States
Time period
1 December, 2005 to April, 2006
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nick Palazzolo, 03/02/2013

Along with many student activists in United States universities in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the University of Buffalo Students Against Sweatshops (UBSAS) ran a campaign to pressure their university to join the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC). After years of student protests and demonstrations, the University of Buffalo (UB) announced that they would join WRC and the Fair Labor Association (FLA). The group of student activists feared that their university’s decision to also join the corporate-sponsored FLA would compromise the efforts and aims of workers’ rights groups.

Milwaukee sales clerks strike for wage increases, 1934

Country
United States
Time period
30 November, 1934 to 11 January, 1935
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jonathan White, 24/01/2013

In 1934 it had been a successful year for strikes in Milwaukee, which emboldened retail clerks at Sears, Roebuck and Company, and the Boston Store to demand higher wages. At the time most clerks earned below $14 a week, which they called “starvation wages.”

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.

Chinese elites and commoners use city gods and direct action to hasten flood relief, Qing China, 1742

Country
China
Time period
(1742), 1700 to (1742), 1700
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Thomas Fortuna, 13/12/2011

During the 1740s, early modern China was undergoing a profound transformation. After decades trying to recover from the turbulent transition from the Ming dynasty to the Qing dynasty, a new era of stability was descending upon the empire, allowing for healthy growth of the economy and the expansion of the market economy.

Ecuadorians overthrow dictator (Glorious May Revolution), 1944

Country
Ecuador
Time period
28 May, 1944 to 31 May, 1944
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Kate McClellan, 6/11/2011

Beginning with the cacao surge during the 1870s, the conservative landowners in the Sierra and liberal exporting bourgeoisie in the Coastal region had fought for control of Ecuador. Indigenous and lower class Ecuadorians quickly became marginalized, and were extremely frustrated by this by the early 1900s. By this time, Ecuadorian politics and politicians were known to be corrupt and both the lower and even upper classes of society were disenchanted. This was only exacerbated by tough economic times, as the 1929 US Stock market crash greatly affected the Ecuadorian economy.

International team campaigns against nuclear testing in Africa (Sahara Protest) 1959-1960

Country
Ghana
Algeria
Time period
6 December, 1959 to 17 January, 1960
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Peace
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nancy Liu, 05/12/2011

In the summer of 1959, the French government announced plans for a test of the first French atomic bomb in the Sahara in Reggan, Algeria, to support its military and political powers. Also at the time, Algeria was engaged in a war of independence from France. African leaders and organizations protested almost unanimously against nuclear testing in the Sahara and became concerned with the dangers of nuclear fallout in their country as well as France’s colonialist attitude.

Chinese middle-class and farmers protest petrochemical plant in Chengdu (Chengdu Stroll), 2008

Country
China
Time period
3 May, 2008 to 4 May, 2008
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Pauline Blount, 04/12/2011

On the weekend of 3 and 4 May 2008, 400-500 residents in the capital city of Chengdu in the Sichuan province gathered in protest against the ethylene and petrochemical plant being constructed in Pengzhou, a neighborhood about 18 miles northwest of the city.  Most protesters were concerned with pollution, and asserted in interviews that the plant should fulfill an Environmental Impact Assessment.  Protesters were concerned that Chengdu’s location in the basin downstream from Pengzhou would make it particularly vulnerable to water pollution from the plant.  Some sources indicat

Australian women protest conscription during Vietnam War [Save Our Sons (SOS)], 1965-1972

Country
Australia
Time period
13 May, 1965 to December, 1972
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Hadley L. Stein, 27/11/2011

The “Gulf of Tonkin Incident” in early August 1964 marked the beginning of dramatic escalation of the United States’ involvement in the civil war in Vietnam. As a close ally, Australia made a commitment to support the United States’ intervention in Southeast Asia. To support the war effort, Prime Minister Robert Menzies’s Liberal government introduced conscription for national military service on November 10, 1964. A few months later on April 29, Menzies announced that Australian troops, including National Service conscripts, would be sent to Vietnam to assist in the American war effort.

Chinese residents force relocation of chemical plant in Xiamen, 2007

Country
China
Time period
16 March, 2007 to 2 June, 2007
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Pauline Blount, 20/11/2011

It was announced in November 2006 that a chemical plant producing paraxylene (PX) and teraphalic acid would be built in the Haicang District 7km from Xiamen, a city of about 3.5 million residents in southeastern Fujian Province China.  The two companies constructing the plant, Dragon Aromatics and the Xianglu Group invested some 10.8 billion yaun in the facility and local estimates showed that the plant would bring 80 million yaun of Gross Domestic Product to the city of Xiamen.

Mu Sochua defends women’s rights against Cambodian government, 2010

Country
Cambodia
Time period
2 June, 2010 to 15 July, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Elena Ruyter, 20/11/2011

Mu Sochua fled Cambodia during the genocide under Pol Pot in the 1970’s. When she returned to her homeland in 1989 as a mother of three, Sochua began a tireless effort to further women’s rights in Cambodia. At the start of her political career she served as Advisor of Women’s Affairs to the Prime Minister, and from 1998 to 2004 was elected to Parliament and also served as Minister of Women’s and Veterans’ Affairs. In 2004, Sochua changed directions slightly by joining the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), the leading political opposition in Cambodia.

Colombian women use sex strike to pressure government to repair road (Huelga de piernas cruzadas), 2011

Country
Colombia
Time period
24 June, 2011 to 11 October, 2011
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nancy Liu, 12/11/2011

Barbacoas is an agricultural town in Narino, Colombia. It is a small port town in southwest Colombia that linked the southern regions of the country in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, the provincial routes used in those times have not been renovated since. Its economy now relies primarily on fishing, agriculture, and mining.

Georgetown University students catalyze win for living wage for university workers, 2001-2006

Country
United States
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Fatimah Hameed, 03/02/2013

The
Georgetown Solidarity Committee (GSC) formed at Georgetown University in 1996
to support workers' rights.  In the fall
of 2001, a group of students, headed by the GSC, formed the Living Wage
Coalition (LWC) in order to guarantee University workers an income to meet their
subsistence needs. The students held meetings on how to take action and organized
breakfast events with workers to hear their grievances and concerns.  By 2002, the administration agreed to raise
the minimum wage of workers directly employed by the university to $10.25 per

Ecuadorians general strike and protest to oust president Abdala Bucaram, 1997

Country
Ecuador
Time period
11 January, 1997 to 6 February, 1997
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Elena Ruyter, 23/10/2011

Ecuador ushered in a democratic process of election after 1978, following six years of military governments and coups d’état. During that time, the public demanded increasingly for democracy, prompting government officials to change the constitution in support of democratic elections beginning in 1979. Since then, Ecuador’s election process has involved more than six candidates in each election, and each elected president had finished their respective term. Abdala Bucaram broke that record.

Egyptians campaign for independence, 1919-1922

Country
Egypt
Time period
13 January, 1919 to February, 1922
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Elliana Bisgaard-Church, 23/10/2011

Egypt became a British protectorate on December 14, 1914.  During World War I agitation towards the British increased as all sects of the population united in their discontent. British rule caused Egypt’s involvement in the war to increase – 1.5 million Egyptians were conscripted in the Labour Corps and much of the country’s infrastructure was seized for the army – contributing to the dissatisfaction.

Madagascar citizens force free elections, 1990-1992

Country
Madagascar
Time period
1990 to August, 1992
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Elena Ruyter, 12/10/2011

Madagascar gained its independence from French colonialism in 1960 after nearly 70 years under French rule. Vice Admiral Didier Ratsiraka was sworn into office on December 21, 1975, after a military coup ousted president Philibert Tsiranana, who had been in office since 1959. In his first term as president, Ratsiraka nationalized Madagascar’s banks, insurance companies and mineral resources, following a socialist model that was wrought with censorship and government repression. By the late 1980’s Ratsiraka’s socialist regime had impoverished Madagascar.

Larzac peasants campaign to block expansion of military camp (The Battle of Larzac), 1971-1981

Country
France
Time period
November, 1971 to June, 1981
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Peace
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nancy Liu, 01/10/2011

The plateau of Larzac is a limestone karst plateau located in the southern Massif Central area of France, extending between Millau (Aveyron region) and Lodeve (Herault region). The area is mainly agricultural and the economy relied mostly on sheep breeding and production of ewes’ milk for Roquefort cheese. Sheep farms dominated the landscape, and the land is rocky, arid, and windswept, with thin and relatively infertile soil. The French army established a military camp on the plateau of Larzac in Aveyron in June 1902, where it served as a garrison and training center.

Filipinos protest against Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and U.S. military bases, 1983-1986

Country
Philippines
Time period
October, 1983 to April, 1986
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Peace
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Hannah Lehmann, 25/09/2011

In July 1973, then-Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos announced the decision to build the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in response to the Philippines’ economic crisis at the time. The Middle East oil embargo was putting incredible stress on the Philippine economy. For the Marcos regime, investing in nuclear power was the solution to their dependence on imported oil and energy demands. However, Bataan residents and Philippine citizens responded in fierce opposition to the new plant due to its threat to public health.

Indians campaign for independence (Salt Satyagraha), 1930-1931

Country
India
Time period
January, 1930 to 1931
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aden Tedla and George Lakey, 01/09/2011

The Salt Satyagraha campaign that began in 1930 sought to continue previous efforts that had attempted to undermine British colonial rule in India and establish Purna Swaraj (complete self-rule).  The previous nationwide nonviolent campaign for independence (1919-22) had been called off by Gandhi because it broke into disarray and violence, even though it had been preceded by local campaigns: a campaign in Champaran (Indian peasants in Champaran campaign for rights, 1917) and a textile workers strike in Ahmedabad in 1918.

Ukrainians overthrow dictatorship (Orange Revolution), 2004

Country
Ukraine
Time period
22 November, 2004 to 8 December, 2004
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Max Rennebohm, 09/09/2011

The October 31, 2004, presidential elections in Ukraine pitted popular opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko against Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.  The incumbent president, Leonid Kuchma, had personally chosen Yanukovych as his successor, but their political party was losing popular support.  Yushchenko, supported by a united opposition, was expected to win the election.  However, the October 31 election yielded no winner, with each candidate receiving about 40% of the votes.  At this point most opposition groups, such as the student group Pora, already suspected fr