Signs of Our Waking Planet
Symbol of the Abolitionists
19th Century The Abolitionist Movement — At a time when millions of people were enslaved and most called it a “necessary evil” small groups of church goers (most of them Quakers) began to speak publicly about the inhumanness and cruelty of slavery. Abolitionists risked losing their livelihoods, property, freedom and even their lives to end slavery. In 1865, all slaves in the US were set free.
Suffrage Parade 1913
Credit: George Grantham Bain Collection Library of Congress
1920 Women’s Suffrage Amendment passed. Women who fought for the right to vote put their lives on the line, were beaten and imprisoned (“Iron Jawed Angels” graphically depicts the brutal treatment suffragists endured), but they persisted and won and the movement spread around the world.
1930’s The Labor Movement in the US scored significant victories. For decades, owners and management used violence to suppress workers, with at least 1,000 losing their lives on the picket line, but their numbers and resolve for fair wages and decent working conditions prevailed. People like Mother Jones fought to also end child labor earlier in the century.
1947 Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha “The force which is born of Truth and Love” inspired millions to engage in nonviolent resistance which led to India’s independence.
1945 The United Nations was founded. In 1948, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights passed in the UN General Assembly. It was based on universal dignity and equal rights as the foundation for freedom, justice and peace in the world (the essence of Waking Planet!).
Civil Rights March on Washington 1963
Credit: National Archives and Records Administration
1950’s Dr Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement culminating in the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Flower Power
1960’s The Peace Movement- millions took to the streets nonviolently to stop the Vietnam War.
1969 A whole generation embraces peace and love, culminating at the celebration at Woodstock.
Our Home
1969 For the first time we saw our Earth from space - a beautiful blue and white jewel without borders.
1970 The First Earth Day was celebrated and the Environmental Movement took off.
1970’s The Women’s Movement which had been growing since the days of abolition, became an unstoppable force for change. Feminine values of cooperation, inclusiveness, intuition and interrelationship are crucial to the current global shift.
1970’s Growing popularity of Eastern philosophy and religion- including yoga, meditation and reincarnation.
1970’s The New Physics that showed on a quantum level that all physical reality is energy and is interconnected (what the Indian sages had been saying!).
Gay Rights Flag
1980’s Gay Rights Movement, the last frontier in guaranteeing human rights for all.
1980’s A conscious planetary civilization begins to emerge.
1983 Anti-Nuclear Protests around the world draw millions.
1985 “We Are the World”, the biggest selling single of all time raises money for humanitarian aid for Africa.
1985 Live Aid -18 hour broadcast on hunger viewed by 2 billion people
1987 Harmonic Convergence- Millions came together to connect to the Earth
The Velvet Revolution
1980’s Influenced by Gandhi, a series of nonviolent revolutions to overthrow corrupt dictators and authoritarian regimes took place; The People Power Revolution of the Philippines (with over 2 million taking to the streets) the Singing Revolutions in the Baltic States (singing mass demonstrations) The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, the Orange revolution in the Ukraine, the Rose Revolution in Georgia and more.
1988 Jewish and Palestinian women stand together in Jerusalem for an end to the violence (this marks the beginning of Women in Black, a massive international movement of women taking to the streets to say no to war and violence).
1989 The fall of the Berlin Wall and end of the Cold War.
The Spiral Galaxy
Credit: NASA
1990 We see deeply into the beauty and vastness of our universe for the first time through the Hubble telescope.
1990’s Apartheid in South Africa is dismantled with Nelson Mandela being elected President in 1994- South Africa’s first election with universal suffrage.
1990’s The New Age goes more mainstream. More people remember that “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience.”
1990’s The rise of Holistic medicine that recognizes the importance of body, mind, emotions and spirit on our overall well being.
1990’s The Communication Revolution with the Internet, our planet’s nervous system, connecting us all.
1990’s Increasing acceptance of the paranormal and research giving credibility to events such as field consciousness or the ability of groups of people to have an effect on the physical world through focused intention.
2000 The New Millenium- peaceful and joyful world celebrations
2000’s Largest explosion of not for profit peace, justice and environmental organizations in the history of the world. Paul Hawkin’s calls them humanity’s “immune response” to what is wrong in our world in Blessed Unrest. It represents a movement of millions of people who see themselves as responsible partners in the evolution and destiny of the earth.
2000’s The Green Revolution begins which holds the promise of transforming our planet on a major scale.
World Social Forum, Porto Alegre, Brazil
2000’s The Global Justice Movement officially begins. Their mission: to make the world work for everyone. They meet annually at World Social Forums which have been attended by hundreds of thousands over the last ten years. Their slogan is “Another World Is Possible”.
Feb 13, 2003 Millions participate in a global meditation for peace.
Click on image to enlarge
San Fransisco Anti-War
Demonstration on February 15, 2003
Credit: Chris Carlsson
Feb 15 2003 The largest anti-war protests in history (up to 30 million) and the first to take place to try to prevent a war (on Iraq). The New York Times called the people taking to the streets the world’s second super power.
November 2008 Election of the first African American as President of the US
The world shift continues and is accelerating...
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