Tag Archives: activism

Creating a debate on gun laws

Gun control advocates are trying to invigorate the long-ossified debate on national gun laws in the United States.  This means filling the moment of public attention caused by the mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut. Public demonstrations are … Continue reading

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Perils on the journey from activist to elected official (Akin edition)

Rightwing Watch is promoting a video of Representative Todd Akin, Republican candidate for Missouri’s US Senate seat, acknowledging an arrest long ago for his ongoing efforts against abortion.  Here’s the video that’s everywhere at the moment: I doubt that many … Continue reading

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Activist lives

Courageous or crazed, activists tip into our awareness in the context of a moment and a movement.  But when the media spotlight moves and the placards disappear, the activism often continues.  Here are two new projects that put the ebbs … Continue reading

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Martin Luther King Day and Dead Heroes

Martin Luther King died young enough and dramatically enough to be turned into an American hero, but it was neither his youth nor his death that made him heroic. In his rather brief public life, beginning in Montgomery at 26, … Continue reading

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Targeting: University Protests

The global recession is still winding through government-sponsored programs in all of the rich countries.  When David Cameron’s government announced that it was tripling fees to attend university, students took to the streets–vigorously.  They knew who to blame; the Conservatives … Continue reading

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Activist Daughters

If Bristol Palin’s activist resume is rather thin, there are notable famous daughters who made serious commitments and took risks to advance their views.  Certainly, they benefited from their parents’ visibility, but they also did their own activist work. Amy … Continue reading

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Is Bristol Palin an Activist (cha-cha-cha)?

Bristol Palin is a nineteen year old single mother who has learned ballroom dancing on network tv.  The premise of Dancing with the Stars, her current network home, is that people will want to watch celebrities who have achieved notoriety … Continue reading

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What happens on Facebook stays on Facebook

I wish that line was mine, but it’s not.  Caroline Lee, skeptical about the potential impact of of social media on democracy in general and social movements specifically, offered the summary evaluation–along with some observations. The question is whether all … Continue reading

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The Lunch Counter

A piece of the actual Woolworth’s lunch counter from Greensboro has a place at the National Museum of American History, in Washington, DC. When I visited this past August, the Smithsonian was running a simulation of the nonviolence training sessions … Continue reading

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What social media can do:

I taught an undergraduate social movements course in the Fall of 2008.  The vast majority of the students reported that they had never done anything political at the beginning of the course.  This changed as the fall went on.  A … Continue reading

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