Older Greenpeace actions - work in progress

The Chartists were a working-class political movement in Britain during the 1830s and 1840s, campaigning for democratic reforms at a time when most ordinary people had no vote. They wanted measures like universal male suffrage, secret ballots, and fairer representation in Parliament. One famous action was the 1848 March on Kennington Common, when thousands of supporters gathered to present a petition to Parliament. The size of the march sent a clear message that many people were demanding change, showing how collective, nonviolent pressure could challenge entrenched political power.

The suffragettes were a group of women in early 20th‑century Britain campaigning for the right to vote, at a time when women were largely excluded from politics. Between 1910 and 1913, some chained themselves to the railings outside Parliament in highly visible, nonviolent protests. Rather than being treated as legitimate political activists, they were often arrested, imprisoned, and forcibly fed when they went on hunger strikes. This harsh treatment highlighted the state’s determination to suppress their demands, while also drawing public attention and sympathy, showing how civil disobedience can provoke both repression and wider support for a cause.

Note, not all the techniques used by the suffragettes were non-violent, so this is just one example that fits with NVDA.

The Salt March of 1930 was a central act of nonviolent direct action led by Mahatma Gandhi against British colonial rule in India. At the time, the British government imposed a monopoly on salt, making it illegal for Indians to produce or sell their own and forcing them to buy heavily taxed salt. In defiance, Gandhi and a small group of followers set out on a 240-mile march from Sabarmati Ashram to the coastal village of Dandi, walking for 24 days. Along the way, thousands joined him, turning the march into a mass mobilisation. Upon reaching the sea, Gandhi made salt by evaporating seawater, deliberately breaking the law. This symbolic act inspired widespread civil disobedience across India, including the production of illegal salt, boycotts of British goods, and peaceful protests, demonstrating the power of disciplined, nonviolent defiance to challenge an oppressive system.

In South Africa, nonviolent direct action played a key role in resisting apartheid, the system of racial segregation enforced by the state from 1948 onwards. A central example is the 1952 Defiance Campaign, led by the African National Congress (ANC) under the leadership of Walter Sisulu and coordinated alongside Nelson Mandela and other activists. Volunteers deliberately broke apartheid laws—such as curfews and segregation rules—without resisting arrest, aiming to expose the injustice of the system and mobilise mass participation. Though authorities responded with arrests and beatings, these disciplined acts of civil disobedience demonstrated the power of NVDA to challenge entrenched authority and inspire both domestic and international support for the anti-apartheid struggle.

Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus in 1955 is a landmark example of nonviolent direct action. At the time, segregation laws in the American South required Black people to give up seats to white passengers on public buses. Parks’ arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, in which Black residents collectively refused to use the buses, walking or finding alternative transport instead. This peaceful, sustained disruption put economic and moral pressure on the city’s authorities, challenging the unjust system of racial segregation and demonstrating the power of NVDA to drive social and political change.

One specific example of Martin Luther King Jr.’s use of nonviolent direct action is the Birmingham campaign of 1963. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference organised marches, sit-ins, and boycotts to challenge segregation in public facilities and businesses in Birmingham, Alabama. Protesters deliberately faced arrest without resisting, drawing national attention to the city’s harsh enforcement of segregation laws. Police used high-pressure water hoses to knock people off sidewalks and streets, and police dogs were set on demonstrators, including children. Many protesters were arrested and jailed for simply marching or sitting peacefully. The images of these attacks were broadcast nationally, shocking the public and highlighting the injustice of segregation. This deliberate, aggressive response by the authorities made the moral contrast of nonviolent protest versus violent oppression very clear, helping to build national support for civil rights reforms.