Historian and civil rights activist proves how progressive movements can flourish even in conservative times.
INTRODUCTION
History Lessons
CHAPTER 1
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the March on Washington Movement
CHAPTER 2
The Movement Against the Vietnam War
CHAPTER 3
Winning While Losing: Fighting the Reagan Administration
CHAPTER 4
The Free South Africa Movement
CHAPTER 5
A “Kinder and Gentler” Presidency: George Herbert Walker Bush
CHAPTER 6
The Adaptable President: William Jefferson Clinton
CHAPTER 7
Unnatural Disasters: The Presidency of George W. Bush
CONCLUSION
Lessons Learned
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
Dr. Mary Frances Berry is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania. She is former chairwoman of the US Commission on Civil Rights, an Honorary Fellow of the American Society for Legal History, the author of twelve books, and the recipient of thirty-five honorary degrees. Dr. Berry has appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher, The Daily Show, Tavis Smiley, PBS NewsHour, and various MSNBC and CNN shows.
“A well-informed handbook of effective resistance.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Berry effectively combines her roles as historian and activist to
show how previous achievements of social justice were won and to
encourage future activists.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Mary Frances Berry’s History Teaches Us to Resist could not have
arrived at a better moment . . . . Berry reminds us that in
learning from the past and building on it, we should not hold our
breaths but always hold out hope.”
—Black Perspectives
“This is a superb essay on the role of activism during times that
the political climate did not favor reform . . . written with flair
and immediacy.”
—CHOICE
“Dr. Mary Frances Berry provides an essential book for our troubled
times and reminds us that ‘past is prologue.’ Every progressive
activist and lawyer will want to pore over the engrossing
behind-the-scenes details of the accounts in this book to learn how
activists navigated reactionary periods in American political life.
History Teaches Us to Resist is an encouraging reminder that, with
strategic discipline, progressives have always found creative ways
to advance the work of justice and equality—even in the worst of
times.”
—Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel, NAACP Legal
Defense Fund
“As every day brings more news of the Trump administration’s
unprecedented assaults on democracy, millions of Americans veer
between the horror of utter defeat and magical thinking that our
institutions will save us. In her characteristic no-nonsense style,
Mary Frances Berry teaches us that power is never absolute and that
democracy is not self-correcting. With a historian’s field of
vision and a veteran activist’s understanding of tactics and
strategy, Berry excavates how resistance to some of the most
powerful men in modern America shaped the freedom struggles that
have benefited us all—and in so doing provides a crucial road map
for the work that lies ahead.”
—Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw
“At this excruciating moment of crisis and looming catastrophe,
Mary Frances Berry reminds us that our most powerful weapon in the
struggle ahead is simply us. This is a book of hard-won lessons and
real inspiration, something to read and then keep in your backpack
for ready reference as we take to the streets and mobilize to storm
the heavens.”
—William Ayers, author of “You Can’t Fire the Bad Ones!” and 18
Other Myths About Teachers, Teachers’ Unions, and Public
Education
“A powerful, timely, and necessary read about resistance during
hostile times.”
—Dante Barry, cofounder and executive director, Million Hoodies
Movement for Justice
“I can imagine no one more qualified than Dr. Mary Frances Berry to
write this crucially needed and powerful book. As an award-winning
historian, as someone with firsthand experience serving in multiple
presidential administrations, and as an activist for over fifty
years in movements ranging from civil rights and anti–Vietnam War
protest to Free South Africa and LGBTQ rights, to name a few, Berry
has exceptional experience and vital knowledge about creating
resistance movements. We need to listen, learn, and act.”
—Anthony D. Romero, executive director, American Civil Liberties
Union
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