Name the movements which made headlines in the recent past at national and international levels.
Answers
Explanation;
Women’s Right to Vote
Emmeline Pankhurst
Brit Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women’s Franchise League in England in 1889. The League organized many demonstrations, as well as more extreme measure such as hunger strikes, in protest of the British government’s failure to give women the right to vote. Emmeline was arrested several times and went on hunger strike which resulted in violent force-feeding. British women legally gained the right to vote on July 2nd, 1928, as a result of her efforts.
Emmeline’s legacy can be seen in the 1964 musical film Mary Poppins in the song “Sister Suffragette.”
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony joined the American women’s suffrage movement in 1852. Anthony traveled throughout the United States in spite of opposition and abuse, lecturing and canvassing for the vote. She also campaigned for the right for women to own their own property and retain their earnings, and advocated for women’s labor organizations. She was commemorated on the U.S. dollar coin. Anthony’s efforts resulted in women getting the right to vote on August 18, 1920.
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Image: Flickr - John Flannery
Civil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Perhaps the most famous civil rights activist in the U.S. is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who led a nonviolent movement for change in the 1950s and early 1960s. He advocated for protests, grassroots organizing, and civil disobedience in place of violent activism. He is best known for his “I Have A Dream” speech, which took place at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. In 1964, at age 35, Martin Luther King, Jr. became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize (at the time). King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
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Image: Flickr - Kaysha
LGBT Rights Movement
This movement is far from a thing of the past; however, its history is rich and worth taking a look at
Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk was the first openly gay person elected to public office. When Milk began planning a run for city supervisor, he sought the support of the gay political sphere but was met with a cold rejection. However, he built up support among members of the LGBT community who felt that political representation had taken too soft of a stance and were tired of the harassment and discrimination they often faced. Milk’s oratory and media skills brought him a lot of press attention in 1973, and although he lost the election that year, he came in 10th out of 32 candidates. Milk was finally elected supervisor in 1977 and made headlines as the first openly gay non-incumbent man to hold elected office.
Internal Resistance Against Apartheid
Nelson Mandela
Also called Madiba, Nelson Mandela is revered in South Africa for his resistance against the apartheid state. Mandela was originally imprisoned for leaving the country without a permit and inciting people to strike. He was further convicted of four counts of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government and was given a life sentence. He ultimately served 27 years. His “Speech from the Dock”, which he gave while facing the death penalty on April 20, 1964, reads, “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Mandela was voted South Africa’s first democratically elected president on May 10, 1994.
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Desmond Tutu
In 1978, in his position as general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, Desmond Tutu began to speak out about the injustices of apartheid. The South African government persecuted him and denied him a passport. After 18 months without a passport, the government granted him a limited travel document. Tutu traveled to the United States and educated Americans about the apartheid state. In 1984, Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize for his untiring efforts. Tutu was elevated to the position of Archbishop of Cape Town and became a principal mediator in the transition to democracy. He urged for civil disobedience as well as foreign divestment from the apartheid government. Post-apartheid, President Mandela asked Tutu to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Council, which was set up to bear witness to, record, and sometimes grant amnesty to the perpetrators of human rights abuses.