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Equal Pay Act of 1963
The Equal Pay act was signed by John F Kennedy and aimed to abolish the wage gap based on gender. This was a huge step forward for women, who were historically always paid less for taking up the same jobs as men. The impact of this act was big: American women's salaries rose from 60% of men's to 80% in 2004. However, even if the impact may be big, it still did not reach the EPA's goal of complete equality. Amendments would be added to the EPA to work towards reaching complete equality in pay. -
California Grape Boycott
On September 8, 1965, Filipino American grape workers, members of a Filipino farm union walked out on strike against unfair terms and asked Cesar Chavez who led a mostly Latino farm workers union, the National Farm Workers Association. He united the two groups together under nonviolence and told them to boycott grapes. During the strikes, many wanted to turn to nonviolence so Cesar took a 25 day fast which almost killed him but also convinced many to keep to nonviolence and led to success. -
Formation and Goals of the Brown Berets
The Brown Berets started at a Mexican American youth conference in East Los Angeles in 1966 where students gathered to discuss problems facing Mexican americans, especially younger ones. This group took the name Young Chicanos for Community Action (YCCA) and later on became known as the Brown Berets due to their uniform. They were against assimilation into white American culture and vehemently opposed police brutality and discrimination in schools. They also opened a free clinic in East LA. -
N.O.W. (National Organization for Women)
NOW is an American feminist organization and is present in all 50 states. The founders were frustrated with the lack of federal enforcement to the new anti-discrimination laws and believed that without a feminist group to push for change, women would not be able to combat discrimination. NOW was created to help women rights advocates the power to push for change instead of using only words. NOW has helped put women in political positions and increased opportunities for women. -
Formation of the United Farm Workers Movement
Two groups focused on fighting for worker's rights, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), and the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), allied and transformed into a union, resulting in the formation of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW). The goal of this movement was to fight for better wages, housing, and working conditions for farmworkers in America, who were mostly immigrants and as a result, were treated poorly compared to other workers. -
Formation and Goals of the American Indian Movement (AIM)
AIM was a Native American advocacy group founded on July 1968 in Minneapolis. It was formed to address Native American issues such as treaty issues, racism, and police harassment which forced some Natives to move away. The group led protests for Native American interests, inspired cultural renewal and monitored police activity. Their plan revolved heavily around public attention, and most of their protests were meant to draw in media, such as occupying famous landmarks, and staging huge marches. -
Chicano Blowouts (also known as the East LA Walkouts)
The Chicano Blowouts were a series of protests staged during 1968 to protest inequality in Los Angeles Unified School District high schools, particularly with the quality of education. Moctesuma Esparaza was one of the original walkout organizers and started a group called the UMAS which traveled around to universities to recruit Chicano students. The UMAS organized hundreds of students to walk out of classes which caught the attention of the school board who agreed to meet with the students. -
Stonewall Riots
Stonewall Inn was a gay club located in New York City. On June 28, police raided the club and dragged patrons and employees out, which led to a six day long series of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement and residents. The Stonewall Riots began a domino effect which started gay rights movements across the US. The riots inspired many to take action, and led to the founding of many gay rights organizations, such as the Gay Liberation Front, Human Rights Campaign, and PFLAG. -
Occupation of Alcatraz
From November 1969 to June 1971, Native Americans took over and held Alcatraz Island as Indian Land. This occupation ended when they were forcibly removed by the federal government, however, this occupation held more importance as a symbol than any other lasting change. This occupation was a uniting force for Native Americans because of the importance of the island in their history. This occupation would inspire many to join the protest and was a catalyst for many other demonstrations later on. -
Formation and Goals of La Raza Unida
La Raza Unida was a political party formed in Texas in the early 1970s by Mexican Americans who wanted to Mexican Americans to be more involved in local politics. Although the party spread to Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, it had most success at the local level in Southwest Texas. Raza Unida wanted social, economic, and political power for Chicanos, other minorities, and the poor and less represented in politics. -
Trail of Broken Treaties
The Trail of Broken Treaties was a cross country protest to protest against the treaties America has broken with the Native American tribes. Out of more than 500 treaties, the US broke all but one. When the caravan reached Washington DC before the presidential election, Nixon, the current president at the time, refused to talk to them. So, they took over the Bureau of Indian Affairs and destroyed information such as records for about a week when presidential aides finally began negotiations. -
Roe V Wade
The decision reached in the case of Roe V Wade outlawed the outlaw of abortions. The decision legalized abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy and struck down dozens of state antiabortion laws. Before this law was passed, almost every single state outlawed abortions unless it was necessary to save the mother's life. This resulted in many stuck with children they did not want, and with the decision to legalize abortion came power to women, like pills have when it comes to relationships. -
Wounded Knee Event (1973)
The Wounded Knee incident began when 200 Oglala Lakota and AIM members seized and occupied the town of Wounded Knee. They were protesting the failure to impeach tribal president Richard Wilson who was accused of corruption and abuse of opponents, along with the US government who was accused of failing to fulfill treaties with Native Americans. They controlled the town for 71 days and this event drew large public attention and sympathy for their movement along with serving for a symbol for others -
Murder of Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk was a San Francisco city board member who was openly gay, and the first to do so. Dan White, who had lost his position to Milk, was outraged and stormed the government offices and shot the mayor before shooting Milk. He was caught immediately and claimed that huge amounts of junk food and stress caused him to suffer mental problems, and was given a light sentence of 5 years. Following this, rioters and peaceful demonstrations took place to mourn the loss of two respected leaders. -
Phyllis Schlafly and the defeat of the ERA
Phyllis Schlafly was a heavily conservative constitutional lawyer and was also the biggest opposition for the Equal Rights Amendment. Phyllis glorified the traditional roles of American Women and argued that the ERA would bring many undesirable changes to American women. She was the biggest face of the anti ERA movement, whose arguments ranged from understandable concerns to genuine fear that single-sex restrooms would be banished. This movement was successful and the ERA was not passed. -
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was an act to regulate Native American gambling. Gambling is a huge part of many traditional Native American cultures and can be a source of revenue(albeit an unstable one)for many, which is important because the highest poverty, unemployment, and dropout rates are located in Native American reservations. This act limited their gambling industry because their industry rivaled that of local US gambling industries and the government wanted to stop that. -
Murder of Matthew Shepard
Shepard was having a drink when two young men his age approached him. They would eventually lead him to their car, then repeatedly strike him in the head with a pistol and leave him tied to the fence with irreparable damage done to his brain stem. Shepard, who was openly gay, would die in the hospital, comatose. This murder led to discussion of a hate crime bill that extended to anti LGBT motivations, but that was dropped. His mother, Judy Shepard, would go on to become a prominent LGBT activist -
Don't Ask, Don't Repeal Act of 2010 (DADT)
DADT was a policy that restricted US military from efforts to discriminate or harass closeted LGBT members and barring those who are openly gay or lesbian from serving. The policy believed that LGBT members "create an unacceptable risk to...morale, good order, and discipline". Even though it restricted the US military from discrimination, it also restricted LGBT freedom by prohibiting them from disclosing their sexual orientation or from speaking about any homosexual relationships. -
Orbergefell v. Hodges
Orbergefell v. Hodges was a civil rights case where the Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by the 14th amendment and the ERP. The ruling requires all 50 states to recognize the marriages of same sex couples with the same conditions of traditional marriages. This was a huge step forward for LGBT members whose relationships were always unrecognized by the local government, and who did not enjoy the same rights as everyone else.
