The Power of Protest: A Visual History of the 50 Biggest Social Justice Movements That Changed the World

by Brenda Griffing

A combination of current events and proud history, The Power of Protest reviews all of the protests that have shaped our society, as well as those at work RIGHT NOW at reshaping the system. Includes beautiful photography alongside current resources for you to continue to fight the injustices that remain in our culture ― The Power of Protest will inspire you to be the change you wish to see in the world! Times of great change did not occur by man's desire for change. They were fought for, battled into being, through protest and persistence. As we continue to push for justice, rights we now take for granted were born through protests like those we are waging today. The true impact of activism may not be felt for a generation but that alone is a reason to fight rather than forfeit our freedoms. Looking to our history, the peoples history, we can see how society was shaped by those citizens who refused to give up. How do we want to pick up their mantle? Organized by cause, in an oversized package with photographs and timelines that chronicles protests throughout our global history ― you'll find information on modern movements that you can get involved in, the stories and origins of those causes, as well as inspirational quotes from leaders and scholars throughout. Activists and those interested in activism can read about the fight for equal rights of all races, all sexes, all genders…and explore how their cause has shaped the world. What did the journey look like from the women's right to vote to modern feminism? What was the path taken by race activists as they changed history, from abolitionists to black lives matter? This visual history covers all aspects of protests that shaped our society, As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Genres: Nonfiction, History

208 pages, Hardcover

Published September 4, 2018

Reviews

[SaraCat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt like a mini encyclopedia of protests. By that, I mean that no individual protest was fully covered in detail, but the author seemed to try and capture the key points, people, etc. of each topic. Some of the protests seemed to have the basics covered well and people could easily expand their research to learn more if they wanted to. However, some not as well written because an action or event would be mentioned and it was unclear if it was a positive or negative for that particular protest. In addition, while the author generally did a good job of giving a short summary of what a particular point was and how it connected to the protest being addressed, there were times where only people with background knowledge on the topic would be able to follow along, I think.

I did like the structure of the book a lot though. Protests were separated into categories and at the beginning of each category was a timeline showing some of the key moments. The main body of each section had 2~5 page entries on various protests and often included photographs. Finally, each category ended with suggestions of specific actions and organizations people can reach out to if they want to be involved in making positive change.

Additionally, while this is neither a positive nor a negative, the book heavily focuses on movements that happened in the US. There are some protests that happened in other countries that are brought up, but the majority is focused on events that have happened in the US.

So, in summary, while the structure and idea of this book is great, and while I would recommend it for others to read if they have the chance, I felt there were just a few too many times where the writing was unclear to give it a higher rating.

[Georgette Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. But I did learn some information.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.