Born a year before emancipation, journalist Ida B. Wells is getting some overdue recognition for her brave and powerful reporting on injustice.
Category Archives: Voices of Protest
Do today’s global protests have anything in common?
Whether in Europe, the Middle East, or South America, movements of people rising up in protest have grown recently. Read about what links these far-flung demonstrations.
Why Yelp Emerged as a Site for Social Protest
Looking for an outlet to be heard, people have increasingly gone to Yelp to offer satirical and straight-forward critiques of business owners who have made political statements.
Environmental Justice History
Read about the start of the environmental justice movement, when activists protested the location of hazardous waste sites in low-income and minority communities.
Activism Or Slacktivism? How Social Media Hurts And Helps Student Activism
Listen to the radio piece to learn about “slacktivism,” or supporting a cause simply by “liking” it on social media, and how experts suggest turning it into real activism.
Stitch by stitch, a brief history of knitting and activism
Learn about the significance of textiles and knitting in protest movements throughout history, and how people continue to use the craft to fight for causes they believe in.
Brazilian protesters rail against Bolsonaro as Amazon fires rage on
Thousands of protestors in Brazil and across the globe are protesting the Brazilian president’s environmental policies, which they save have increased the number of fires in the Amazon rainforest.
China accuses Hong Kong protesters of committing ‘evil and criminal acts’
Hong Kong is a region that operates independently from mainland China. In recent weeks, its citiizens have been protesting a bill that would allow extradition from the region to China. As response from police has become more severe, so have protestors’ demands.
‘Before India,’ A Young Gandhi Found His Calling In South Africa
In this interview, historian and writer Ramachandra Guha shares stories of Ghandi when he lived in South Africa. We learn about some of Ghandi’s early experiences with nonviolent protest.
Remembering Tiananmen Square in a new age of censorship
With the 30th anniversary of the Chinese Tiananmen Square protest and massacre approaching, photojournalist Liu Heung Shing reflects on his experiences documenting the events as they unfolded.
Is There Any Point to Protesting?
Weaving in examples throughout history, columnist Nathan Heller argues that even when marches and protests are ineffective, they are still important.
Teenagers Emerge as a Force in Climate Protests Across Europe
Concerned about their futures, young people in Europe have started skipping school to protest for more climate regulations.
Why MLK Encouraged 225,000 Chicago Kids to Cut Class in 1963
Ten years after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, Chicago’s schools remained segregated and unequal. Over 200,000 children protested the conditions.
How the long history of leaderless movements helps us understand the ‘yellow vests’ protests
This article compares current protests in France to the Swing riots in 19th-centurty England. Both lack a leader and spread by word-of-mouth.
How a Ragtag Band of Reformers Organized the First Protest March on Washington, D.C.
In this article, you’ll learn about an 1894 march organized to protest income inequality and demand a jobs bill. The slideshow at the top includes images of the march to Washington and its leader, Jacob Coxey.
Classic protest film ‘The War at Home’ back in theaters
Inspired by current political protestors, documentary filmmaker Glenn Silber restored and redistributed his 1976 film about Vietnam War protests at the University of Wisconsin.
After Five Years of Living in Trees, a Protest Community Is Being Evicted
Environmental activitsts protesting the mining of Hambach Forest have clashed with the mining company for years and now face removal.
Thomas Paine Biography
Learn about the life of Thomas Paine, whose writing in the 1770s argued for independence from Britain.
The Statue of Liberty Has Long Been a Magnet for Protest
A symbol for American values and freedom, the Statue of Liberty has been used as a tool to promote the goals of protestors throughout history.
Researchers Examine The Psychology Of Protest Movements
An NPR reporter talks to social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam about the difference between effectiveness and visibility in protest movements.