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The Jim Crow Laws
The Jim Crow (a slang name for a black male) Laws were put in place after the Civil War ended to continue racial segregation in America. The main purpose of the Jim Crow laws was to prevent contact between black people and white people as equals, making white people superior to black people. It included segregation for interactions and co-mingling in schools, parks, theatres, restaurants, transport, cemeteries, and general daily situations between white and non-whites. -
1901 Immigration Restriction Act (White Australia Policy)
The Immigration Restriction Bill was launched on 5th June 1901 by Prime Minister Edmund Barton in the House of Representatives. The Bill stopped all non-European immigration into the country, further contributing to the development of a racially secluded white society. -
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The Stolen Generations
After the Aborigines Act of Western Australia was passed in 1905, the Chief Protector was made the legal guardian of every Aboriginal and 'half-caste' child under 16 years old. The rest of the states and territories soon enforced these laws too. If removed, the children were put into missions where they were taught to reject their Indigenous heritage and forced to adopt white culture. At least at least 100,000 children were removed from their parents, estimating one in three Aboriginals. -
Apartheid introduced
Soon after signing the the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Prime Minister of South Africa D.F. Malan allowed the legalisation of segregation of South Africa, which they called 'Apartheid' (meaning 'apartness'). They removed many rights and freedoms of non-whites, and created programs that would keep the whites in privilege and command over South Africa. -
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The Population Registration Act of 1950 and The Pass Laws Act of 1952
The Population Registration Act, 1950 and the Pass Laws Act, 1952, made it illegal for citizens of South Africa to not be classified and registered with their racial characteristics as part of the system of Apartheid. Non-whites were expected to have their passbooks available at all time. If they were caught without one, it could've led to imprisonment. -
Reservation of Separate Amenities Act
The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act was put into place during 1953 in the Apartheid era. The Act created legal areas of where non-whites could and could not travel, sit, eat, work, play and relax. It also legalised the racial segregation of public premises, vehicles and services. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
On December 1, 1955, a black lady named Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white male. After she was arrested, black community leaders created the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) led by Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr. It led to the Supreme Court ruling segregated seating as unconstitutional on November 14, 1956. The Boycott lasted 381 days. -
Little Rock Nine
After segregation was illegal in public schools in 1957, Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, asked students from all-Black high schools to attend their school. As nine black students (Little Rock Nine) arrived on their first day, they had to be escorted by the Arkansas National Guard as there were mass threatening crowds surrounding the school. After many attempts, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered federal troops to escort the Little Rock Nine to and from classes at Central High. -
Woolworths Lunch Counter Sit in
On February 1, 1960, four college students disagreed with the segregation in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave a Woolworth’s lunch counter without being served. Hundreds of people joined them in what became the Greensboro sit-ins. Many were arrested and charged with trespassing. This led to protesters launching a boycott of all segregated lunch counters until the owners were pressured enough into serving the original four students. -
The Sharpeville Massacre
After a day of demonstrations against pass laws, 7,000 protesters crowded outside to the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in Transvaal. Many say they were peacefully protesting, others say they witnessed them throwing rocks at the police. Either way, the South African Police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69 people and injuring 180 others. There were 249 deaths in total, including 29 children. Many were shot in the back as they tried to run away. -
Indigenous Australians gain the right to vote.
The Commonwealth Electoral Act of 1962 granted all Indigenous Australians the availability to enrol for voting for the first time. This was not compulsory for them, however, once enrolled, they must continue voting, otherwise their right would be removed from the individual and their family. -
The March On Washington / I Have A Dream Speech
The March On Washington was a peaceful march organised and attended by civil rights leaders such as A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin and Martin Luther King, Jr. More than 200,000 protestors of all races attended the event. The occasion is famous for King's speech that he gave on the day called 'I Have A Dream', inspiring many around the world for equal rights and freedom. -
Bloody Sunday
As civil rights protesters neared the Edmund Pettus Bridge during a peaceful protest on March 7, 1965, they were blocked by Alabama state and local police sent Alabama governor George C. Wallace, a lover of segregation. As the protestors refused to stand down, they pushed forward and were violently beaten and teargassed by the police. 13 were killed. -
Aboriginal Tent Embassy established.
The Aboriginal Tent Embassy started by 4 men who set up a beach umbrella on the lawns opposite (what is now Old) Parliament House. The Embassy quickly grew popular, with many others joining them on their sit-in protest for Aboriginal land rights. However, on many occasions, violent police brawls occurred after the protesters tried to re-erect the Embassy after the Minister for the Interior created new laws that made it illegal to camp there. Today, the Embassy is still outside Old Parliament. -
Soweto uprising
The Soweto Uprising begun the morning of 16 June 1976, where a sequence of protests led by black school children occurred. Up to 20,000 students participated. Tsietsi Mashinini led the group of students from Morris Isaacson School to join up with others who walked from Naledi School. The students began marching, soon to discover that police had barricaded the road where they planned to walk. Soon after students wouldn't obey the police's requests, they began shooting. Approximately 176 died. -
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The End of Apartheid
President of South Africa F. W. de Klerk (served from 1989-94), announced he would expel the discriminatory laws of Apartheid in his opening address to parliament. After a series of negotiations between the African National Congress, the governing National Party, and various other political groups, Apartheid and its laws were ended after 42 years. -
The Mabo Decision
After 10 years of the case running, the High Court finally agreed that the British declaring terra nullius over Australia when arriving was not reasonable. The decision recognised Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders as the traditional owners, allowing rights to their land. Unfortunately, Eddie Mabo never found out the result of the decision, as he passed away 5 months before it was announced, -
Kevin Rudd's Apology Speech
When parliament first opened again in 2008, Kevin Rudd (who was recently elected the last year, 2007), made a formal public apology to the victims of forced child removal from Aboriginal families, also known as the Stolen Generations. It was witnessed by thousands of people gathered in Canberra for the event and was broadcast all over the country.
