History Teaches Us to Resist: How Progressive Movements Have Succeeded in Challenging Times—Mary Frances Berry

Some people still mistake using Twitter or Facebook as the sum and total of their protest...But resisters must understand that media cannot cover them unless they do something, which is why showing up is still required. Also, the media requires newness, changes in tactics, and nimbleness to keep the story alive.


This is one of the books that was available for immediate download on Edelweiss and I'm quite glad. Written by Mary Frances Berry, the book covers resistance movements from FDR through George W. Bush, addressing the successes and less-than-successes as a result of each movement. From the March on Washington Movement during the 1940s, to the Vietnam War protests, to the antiapartheid movement, to the lack of action to genocide in Africa in the 1990s, Berry covers a huge swath of history and a huge sampling of some of our largest historical disappointments.

I was a bit surprised by how much Berry expounded on the general policies and viewpoints of each of the presidents, but I can imagine that folks who might have less historical background would appreciate the context. After all, it's hard to explain the impact that resistance had on policy if you don't know what the policies were to begin with.

One of the most interesting and inspiring aspects of the book is the point of view that Berry brings as the author. Her extreme involvement in resistance movements throughout the past several decades, in conjunction with her front row seat to the impact of resistance on presidential decision making. The woman has got bona fides. She was appointed to the US Commission for Civil Rights by President Carter, and in the '80s Reagan tried to fire her, and she sued him to be reinstated. ("I was a member of the US Commission on Civil Rights and was fired by President Reagan for opposing his anti-civil rights policies. He said I served at his pleasure but was not giving him very much pleasure. I gave him even less pleasure then, as I decided to sue, winning reinstatement." Snap!  Berry was very involved in the antiapartheid protests, and the Free South Africa Movement (which she co-founded) and spoke extensively about what worked and didn't work for their organization. She wrote about her time in Vietnam, reporting on the war for the University of Maryland Daily, and how her proximity to the front lines informed her take on the protests against the war. And most especially, she talks about the protests against Reagan, specifically in reference to his response to the AIDS epidemic, the rollback of environmental protections, and the destruction of civil rights protections.

Berry emphasizes a few points that have typically been helpful when organizing and engaging in acts of resistance, as well as a few pitfalls that have always been hard to avoid. One helpful thread is working together with other, like-minded organizations to make a stronger impact. Seems like a pretty common sense consideration. Though it can sometimes be difficult to find organizations that have the same priorities, even when the overall goal is the same, when groups have gotten together, their collective voices have been louder than the sum of the parts. An obstacle that is nothing new is problems with protestors joining the movement just because it's the "in" thing to do at the moment, or even to just be part of the crowd, and muddying the message because they don't actually believe in the cause. This is a problem that we still see with modern-day movements.

The important point in each of the chapters really are the victories, though. Of COURSE, with any sort of movement, you're not going to achieve 100% of the goals for which you're aiming. But as Berry's book—and, in fact, her personal life experiences—show, resistance is effective and imperative to our political society.

So, as the title says, history teaches us to resist. And resist we must.