International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
March 21 · Level 10 · #45 of 2238
This UN observance calls for equal dignity and action against racial discrimination. It remembers Sharpeville, South Africa, where police fired on a peaceful protest against apartheid laws in 1960.
How it is celebrated: communities hold commemorations, history lessons, public discussions and human-rights campaigns. Events explore how discrimination works and how people can support those affected by it.
The Sharpeville demonstrators were protesting pass laws: a system that controlled Black South Africans' movement within their own country. That specific struggle became the date's lasting international reference point.