Were it not for the courage of activists who raised their heads above the parapet to demand change, the below would not have happened.
Abolishment of Slavery: On the 1st of January 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It states that “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” On the 31st of January 1865, the 13th Amendment passed Congress, enabling the United States government – in conjunction with the actions of enslaved people to definitively abolish slavery.
The Suffragettes: In 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst established the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), with the motto ‘Deeds not words’. So, began the Suffragettes movement, compromising of passionate and courageous women fighting for the right of women by law to vote. On the 19th of September 1893, the Electoral Act came into law, and Aotearoa New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to legalise voting for women. The name ‘Suffragette’ was reportedly derogatory; a mockery of those fighting for women’s right to vote. The suffix “-ette” refers to something small or diminutive.
Civil Rights Act (1964): On the 2nd July 1964, the Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination and segregation in public places, enabled the integration of schools and made employment discrimination illegal. Passage of the act was far from streamlined, however. Despite opposition in the House of Representatives, the compromise bill was put to a vote in the Senate, and passed 73 to 27.
LGBTQ+ Liberation: In 1973, Lambda Legal, founded by Bill Thom, became the first legal organisation to fight for the equal rights of the LGBTQ+ community and for those living with HIV. A panel of New York judges denied their non-profit application, but they appealed and won. They have gone on to represent their community in countless court cases, and have contributed to dismantling sodomy laws.