15 moments that provoked indignation, but they changed history

by Shirley Marie Bradby

January 23, 2018

15 moments that provoked indignation, but they changed history
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If we take a look at history, we immediately realize that it is full of small and large revolutions, many of which have produced the world and the rights we enjoy today.

None of these changes, however, has had the luxury of taking place without having to go through a painful phase of breaking with the past! Whether it was a prejudice or a habit to overcome, there was always someone who was the first to protest, taking on the responsibility and also the insults from everyone else.

History has proven many of these revolutionaries right, and it is also thanks to them if today women can wear a miniskirt or black people can take the bus like their fellow white citizens. 

Here is a short photo gallery to help us remember those epochal moments.

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wikipedia

wikipedia

Professional swimmer Annette Kellermann (writer and actress) poses in a swimsuit. She was arrested for indecency in 1907.

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imgur

imgur

Maud Wagner is one of the first female tattoo artists that we know about; here she is in a photo from 1907.

pikabu

pikabu

Two girls wear miniskirts in the streets of Cape Town in 1965, causing public outrage.

During a horse race in Melbourne in 1965, model Jean Shrimpton wore a short dress, provoking the disdain of all the spectators.

15 moments that provoked indignation, but they changed history - 5

A photo taken in 1957 portrays Elizabeth Eckford, one of the first black American students to integrate a public white school, impassive while being insulted by students.

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Unknown/Wikimedia

Unknown/Wikimedia

Hedy Lamarr was an American actress who helped refute the prejudices that saw the beauty of a woman and her intelligence as irreconcilable. In fact, her research and findings helped develop GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.

DaHitcha/reddit

DaHitcha/reddit

These women demonstrate in front of a clothes store, to protest against an imposed fashion trend that lengthened skirts and tried to force women to wear padding on their hips (California, 1947).

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imgur

imgur

In this photo, we see a woman, Rosa Parks, at the moment when her fingerprints are being taken following her arrest. Here we are in Alabama in 1956, and she had just refused to move to the last row of seats on a "white" bus.

Kheel Center/Flickr

Kheel Center/Flickr

A woman being arrested for indecency in Chicago in 1922 for wearing a swimsuit.

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barleycorns/reddit

barleycorns/reddit

Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon in 1967, despite the fact that official permission would be granted only 5 years later. In the picture, we see her in the act of ignoring the organizers who are trying to stop her.

wikipedia

wikipedia

London, 1906 --- two female protesters demonstrating for women's right to vote.

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Toronto History/Flickr

Toronto History/Flickr

Two girls walk down the streets of Toronto in 1937, when exposed legs were considered an outrage.

wikipedia

wikipedia

In the picture, we see the professional tennis player Billie Jean King, who had many victories that broke tennis records. In addition, she was one of the cornerstones for the development of equal rights between men and women in the world of tennis.

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 wikipedia

wikipedia

Maria Teresa de Filippis was an Italian race car driver who competed in many races in the 1960s. She was the first woman to race in Formula 1.

wikipedia

wikipedia

In 1899, the basketball player and trainer Senda Berenson struggled to change the rules of basketball and make them suitable for women too. Here she is with the women's basketball team at her college in 1902.

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