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October 20, 2024

On defending our right to protest, climate delulu, a ceasefire and growing support for abortion access.

Do you find yourself in the kids section each Sunday morning, coffee in hand? Is this your classroom away from campus? Are you obsessed with the unlimited free books you can download on your Kindle? For an upcoming series, we want to hear your stories on the role that the public library has played for you and your community. Email us to share more!

On October 19, 1960, fifty-two people, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were arrested for challenging segregation at department store lunch counters. This act of civil disobedience was part of a larger "sit-in movement” unfolding across the South, a form of peaceful protest where protestors would occupy seats in spaces at establishments reserved as “whites-only”. It started earlier that year when four college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, refused to leave a segregated Woolworth's counter. Their peaceful protest sparked a wave of similar actions, rallying tens of thousands to challenge the unjust Jim Crow laws that forced Black and white people to use separate facilities in public spaces.

Charges against 16 of the 52 protesters were dismissed at their first court appearance, but Dr. King was sentenced to six months of hard labor, and held on charges that his arrest violated a term of state probation. Although these charges were eventually overturned, this excessive use of force was intentionally designed to set an example and stymy other protestors from joining the movement.

This tactic is not new, and today, there are more legal threats against protestors than ever before, used to minimize any efforts to challenge the power of the state. Consider how the Patriot Act has been enforced to surveil and repress pro-Palestinian organizers and Muslim communities, or how the government has explored charging animal rights activists with bioterrorism. In Atlanta, protesters with the Stop Cop City Movement are facing years in prison on RICO and domestic terrorism charges, far more harsh than their actions should be applied. Despite real health concerns, states and cities are enforcing mask bans at public protests as a way to further identify and track participants.

As our struggle for justice continues to evolve, the core principle remains: the right to peaceful protest must be protected as a fundamental pillar of democracy, lest we risk losing the very freedoms our predecessors fought so hard to secure.

Take Action:

Join us next Tuesday, October 29 to hear from organizers about what’s at stake this election season, and how you can help. Tickets will support Proceeds Benefit Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, Sistersong, and the Movement Voter Fund. If you cannot donate, a select number of free tickets are available by RSVPing here.