Protests have played a central role in political and social movements throughout history. From localized acts of resistance to global demonstrations, fueled by mass participation across the world.
In the United States, the First Amendment protects an individual’s right to assemble and to express their views through protest. Early acts of protest, including resistance to British rule, established the basis of a form of political resistance. Over time, protesting became a key strategy for many marginalized groups seeking equality and recognition, including labor unions, women’s suffrage activists and civil rights leaders.
During the 1950s and 1960s, protests played a crucial role in advancing racial equality. Sit-ins, marches and boycott movements drew national attention to segregation and discrimination. Many of these forms of protest led to legislation such as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. These movements emphasized nonviolent resistance and mass participation, strategies that proved to be effective in shaping public opinion and pressuring political leaders into taking action to remove discriminatory laws.
Protests have continued to evolve over time. Anti-war demonstrations during the Vietnam War era showed how public opposition could influence government decisions. In 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement sparked outrage across the world against police brutality and racial injustice. Throughout the years protests have continued to show how demonstrations can rapidly spread across cities and countries.
According to research from the Brookings Institution, protests do more than raise awareness. Protests urge policy makers for political action and aim to inform public opinion about current events happening in the world. While not all protests immediately lead to policy change, they can act as a wake-up call to the public about injustices in the world, influencing others to take action.
Youth participation in protest movements has increased over the years. A UNICEF report found that young people worldwide are turning to protests as a way to express their beliefs on an issue in the world. Many teens see protests as one of the few ways that they can express their thoughts and feelings and help support a cause that they deeply care about.
Manual student Joanna Lee (12, J+C) is the president and co-founder of the school’s Students Demand Action (SDA), an anti–gun violence group.
“I believe that protests are an opportunity for people to force society to pay attention to these certain issues and injustices happening throughout our country,” Lee said.
As a student activist, Lee believes protests are one of the most powerful tools young people have to influence change, seeing them as a direct way to communicate to others about the importance of an issue.
“I believe that protests provide a spotlight for our voices to be heard, and in turn that causes legislators to hear our voices and kind of understand that these are issues that are pertinent to us,” she said.
One of the biggest shifts in the way protests have come to be is the role of social media. While earlier movements relied on in-person organizing and protest leaders, protests now can be shared through social media, from reposting a post to informing others about a protest that’s being planned.
On Sep. 5, 2025, SDA held a walkout to protest against gun violence as part of the national SDA event in response to the shooting in Minneapolis that left two children dead and 17 other people injured.
“The main way that we got the narrative out that we were even doing a walkout was through social media,” Lee said.
However, longtime activist and member of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Sonja Wilde-De Vries noted that while social media spreads information on an issue and gains a large audience, it can lack the depth that a physical protest has.
“I think one thing we have to be careful of is that social media can spread some education, can spread some awareness,” Vries said. “But it’s all fairly surface.”
Vries emphasized the importance of historical knowledge and further organizing beyond online engagement when it comes to protests. For Vries, the key difference between a symbolic protest and an impactful protest all lies in organization and follow-through. Protests are most effective when they build community.
“I think having demands, having speakers who are inviting participation, really trying to get people to understand,” Vries said. “I actually tend to think it’s all about the relationships and all about the connections.”
Despite the differing views over the efficacy of protests, history shows how they remain one of the most vital and accessible tools for public expression of opinion.
“If there is an issue you are passionate about, you can’t just stand there. You have to stand up because if you don’t stand up, then there’s no change that’s going to occur,” Lee said.
As societies continue to face different political, economic and social challenges, protest remains a central feature of expressing public opinion. Even though the form of protest has changed, from printed flyers and marches to livestreams and reposting on one’s story, its purpose remains the same: creating a space for change.
“Valerie Kaur, she said, ‘What if this moment is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb about to give birth to something new,’” Vries said.
For many activists, protest represents hope and a possibility to make a change, that pain and darkness can be a transformative process rather than a means to an end.
