civil rights movements

Emmett Till

14-year-old boy murdered in Mississippi (1955) after being accused of flirting with a white woman; open-casket funeral showed brutality; killers found not guilty but later admitted guilt; became a civil rights symbol

Bus Boycott

Started after Rosa Parks' arrest in 1955; Black Americans in Montgomery refused to ride buses; ended in 1956 after Supreme Court ruled segregation on buses illegal

Brown vs Board of Education

1954 U.S. Supreme Court case that declared segregation in American schools illegal

Little Rock Nine

In 1957

Ku Klux Klan

White Protestant group known for hate crimes against people of colour

US Freedom Riders

In 1961

Terra Nullius

Legal term meaning “land belonging to no one”; used by British to justify colonisation of Australia starting in 1770

Frontier Wars – Van Diemen’s Land

Violent colonisation of Tasmania; Aboriginal population reduced from ~7000 to 203 by 1832; many moved to Flinders Island

Aboriginal Protection Boards

State-run boards established before 1901; removed Aboriginal children to assimilate them; key force behind the Stolen Generations

Situation at Federation

In 1901

Segregation in Australia

Separation of Indigenous Australians from white Australians; included separate facilities and limited rights

Stolen Generations

From late 1800s to 1970s

Cummeragunja Walk-off

On 4 Feb 1939

Day of Mourning – 1938

Protest on 26 Jan 1938 (Australia Day) against colonisation and Aboriginal mistreatment; involved leaders like Jack Patten and William Cooper

Jack Patten

Yorta Yorta activist; spoke at 1938 Day of Mourning; created “Abo Call”; had 6 children taken by Protection Board

Eddie Gilbert

Aboriginal cricketer who needed permission to play due to racial policies

Albert Namatjira

Famous Aboriginal artist; became one of the first Aboriginal citizens in 1957 along with his wife

Sir Doug Nicholls

Yorta Yorta man and Fitzroy VFL player; civil rights campaigner; first Aboriginal person to receive a knighthood

Wave Hill Walk-off – 1966

Vincent Lingiari led strike for equal pay by Gurindji workers against Vestey company; major event in Aboriginal land rights movement