In the spring of 1965, citizens of St. Augustine protested rules against blacks swimming at white only beaches. The nonviolent protests were met with violence by white segregationists.
These protests were pivotal in creating momentum for the Civil Rights Bill of 1964.
During the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, a lone man stood in front of a column of tanks the day after the Chinese military had removed protesters from the square by force.
Many people also protested the violence by the Chinese military by standing in front of tanks. This one was the only one witnessed and filmed.
The video and pictures of the incident sparked world wide recognition and is considered to be one of the most iconic images of protest in history.
The identity of the man is unknown, but he represents all Chinese in their quest for freedom from authoritarian rule.
One month before Hitler rose to power, a Jewish family living in Germany defiantly displayed a Hanukkah menorah in their window across from a Nazi flag.
Rachel Posner took this photo of a Hanukkah menorah with a Nazi flag in the background. Rachel wrote on the back of the photo:
Chanukah 5692 (1932) “Death to Judah” So the flag says “Judah will live forever” So the light answers.
Her husband, Rabbi Dr. Akiva Posner was the last Rabbi of the community of Kiel Germany until after the war. The Posner family left Germany for Israel in 1933.
This photo of Rosa Parks sitting in the front of a bus was actually taken after the Supreme Court disbanded Montgomery’s segregated bus system, but it remains a classic symbol. Even so, her iconic action helped to drive recognition of civil rights in the United States