March On: The True Success of Protest
The recent Women’s March along with many other protest movements during the past couple decades have inspired Americans to rebel against oppression. However, does protest truly achieve tangible change in the ‘land of the free’?
On a bitter cold day in January, 2017, millions of men, women, and children alike in 700 cities took to the streets to march for female empowerment, individual rights, and in protest of the newly inaugurated President Trump. This Women’s March was identified as “the largest single-day demonstration in recorded U.S. history”, and as these motivated activists marched along, an atmosphere of hope and change flooded the United States. However, as the next day approached, the administration went back to work as usual with no policy changes. Another year of legislative stagnation followed, and as the marchers gathered again in 2018, Trump still stood in office neglecting the call for change that millions of these people desired.
Was this an unsuccessful outlier in the history of American protest movements? Or is protest truly an ineffective catalyst for change in society? American history reveals the complexities of this seemingly black-and-white issue.
While there is a rebellious stigma surrounding protest, it is what this nation was founded on. Every fourth of July, Americans gather to celebrate one of the most extreme and significant protests in history — the fight for independence from the British. Over two centuries ago, revolutionaries such as Washington and Jefferson challenged oppressive British rule, laying the foundation for American democracy through an aggressive and violent political protest. This set a substantial precedent that has inspired many throughout time. The American Revolution accomplished its ultimate goal: independence, however this success was not immediate, nor was it perfect. As history progresses and more rebels take a stand against oppression, the line between a successful protest and a failure has become blurred.
Similar to the American Revolution, the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s went down in history as very successful due to the legislation it directly precipitated. During this movement, people across the nation protested non-violently against the unequal treatment of African Americans. One of the most significant protests during this time took place on August 28, 1963, when Martin Luther King led a record-breaking March on Washington. Over 200,000 activists marched peacefully from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, demanding racial equality. Their demands were fairly quickly addressed, as the next year, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 finally put into place the legislation they desired.
Decades later, however, peaceful protesters did not achieve this immediate political success. In the fall of 2011, demonstrators gathered in lower Manhattan to protest economic inequality and corporate corruption in a movement known as “Occupy Wall Street”. Spreading to 900 cities and attracting serious international attention, it appeared that reform was near. However two months later, protesters were forced to stop the occupation by authorities, and business carried on as usual shortly after.
Protests like the Civil Rights Movement that produce tangible and rapid legislative results are characterized as effective and successful. However, as time progresses, modern protest after protest, like Occupy Wall Street, is labeled as a perceived failure due to a lack of immediate political change. Consequently, Americans have become disillusioned and cynical towards politics and government. While these protests did not result in obvious and immediate political change, their implications maintain the foundation of our society. A protest may be labeled a political “success” or “failure”, however the true effectiveness of protest lies within the hope, passion, and unity it ignites.
What many people do not realize is that Occupy Wall Street did have a gradual, yet successful impact on American politics. The movement ignited a spark, and local politicians lit the fire. Shortly after the eviction of the protesters, Bill de Blasio, a democrat whose campaign was based on the same issues of Occupy Wall Street, was elected as New York City’s public advocate, and later mayor. He then was able to bring these economic and corporate issues to the national stage, achieving the initial goals of the protest movement.
Another controversial protest movement in American history is the resistance to the Vietnam war. When this war intensified in the mid-1960s, American citizens clearly articulated their opposition through marches, rallies, sit-ins, and more. These protests continued as the war escalated, reaching a breaking point when President Nixon’s “Vietnamization” policy was actually revealed to be an increase in troops. When Nixon finally put combat to an end in 1973, the American public still felt hopeless, as it felt that their continuous efforts did not stop the government from prolonging the war.
While combat may have come to an end in South Vietnam, the U.S. was still funding their civil war against the north. The American people continued to protest, and even developed a lobbying campaign to shut the war down for good. While it initially seemed American protests were all for nothing, it was the persistence and passion of the people that finally brought the Vietnam war to an end.
Change does not occur overnight. Despite explicit legislation that appeared to achieve the goals of the civil rights movement, racism and inequality are still very prevalent in our society. This movement, however, ignited a passion for reform and equality. A couple years later, when it appeared that the Vietnam war would never end, relentless protesters continued to fight and eventually put an end to the war. When Americans unify towards a common goal and become politically activated, success is always prevalent.
The Constitution guarantees “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Through this crucial line, the founding fathers intended future Americans to fight oppression and injustice just as they did on July 4, 1776. They intended future Americans to unify towards a common goal, and become politically involved. They intended future Americans to protest.
We are the future of America, and it is our responsibility to continue the legacy of our founding fathers, of the civil rights activists, of those who occupied Wall Street, of those who opposed war, of those tired of bigotry and ignorance, of any who took a stand against something they felt was wrong.
As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “There is no noise as powerful as the sound of the marching feet of a determined people.” The true effectiveness and success of protest is never as tangible as a policy or piece of legislation. A glimmer of hope, a change in political dynamic, a challenge to old ideas is what has driven this country for the past 242 years.
So keep marching and stay determined. Change can be a slow process, but as American history demonstrates, reform will come from protest with time. It is not a leader or a policy, but the passion and unity of the American people that will maintain the democratic ideals that our founding fathers once imagined.
