PROTEST is hitting the road!
We are excited to share the book tour for PROTEST: Respect It, Defend It, Use It! The tour will explore what peaceful protest has made possible, why that right matters, and what's at stake when it's under attack. Events will take place across the country, with conversations, signings, and gatherings designed to preserve our right to protest
Head to the link in our bio for full event details and to preorder the book.
#Protest #theprotestbook #annieleonard #andrecarothers
We’re thrilled to announce the release of our latest book, PROTEST: Respect It, Defend It, Use It by Annie Leonard and André Carothers.
This powerful new book looks at the long history of peaceful protest and the real change it has made possible, from cleaner air and water to women’s suffrage, labor rights, marriage equality, and more. Through 42 protest stories from around the world, plus essays from voices like Jane Fonda, Dolores Huerta, Justin Pearson, Rebecca Solnit, and Nemonte Nenquimo, it makes the case that public dissent is not a disruption of democracy. It is part of how democracy works.
At a moment when the right to protest is increasingly under attack, PROTEST: Respect It, Defend It, Use It is both a celebration of collective action and a reminder of what is at stake when people are punished for speaking up. Get your copy at the link in our bio!
#Protestthebook #theprotestbook #annieleonard #andrecarothers
Have you ever seen protesters portrayed as violent, unreasonable, radical or even unpatriotic? The vilification of protesters goes back to our country’s origins and is often the first step in undermining social movements, write lifelong activists Annie Leonard and André Carothers in our new book, “Protest: Respect It. Defend It. Use It.”
To protect our democratic right to protest, we can start by redefining the image of the protester. This book shows thousands of protesters as they truly are: strategic, principled, peaceful and remarkably effective at winning power.
Explore the book at the link in bio.
Slide 1: Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson (middle) was temporarily expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives in April 2023 for leading a gun control protest on the chamber floor. Photo: Getty Images
Slide 2: Nemonte Nenquimo of the Waorani Nation has faced constant opposition by the Ecuadorian government and oil companies for her work to protect her homelands in the Amazon rainforest. Photo: Amazon Frontlines
Slide 3: Chicago demonstrators rally in gas masks on the first Earth Day in 1970. Photo: Getty Images
Democracy is not a spectator sport.
It relies on people paying attention, speaking up, gathering together, and refusing to accept injustice. Many of the rights we now take for granted weren't just benevolently granted to us. They were demanded by people willing to march, sit in, strike, boycott, kneel, organize, and be inconvenient in the name of something better.
That's what makes protest so powerful. It interrupts business as usual and forces people to look at what is being ignored. It reminds those in power that democracy belongs to all of us, not just the people with the most money, influence, or access.
A democracy without protest isn't peaceful or calm. It's complacent. And complacency has never protected anyone’s rights.
Pick up a copy of the book today — Link in our bio!
#Protestthebook #theprotestbook #annieleonard #andrecarothers
Plastic pollution didn’t become a global issue overnight. Many of the changes we see today happened because people organized, protested, and pushed for action. 📣
Swipe through for a few historic moments that shaped the fight against plastic pollution.
👉 ICYMI: Our founder @annie_leonard , alongside @andrecarothers , just released a new book—Protest: Respect It, Defend It, Use It (@theprotestbook ). It’s a powerful reminder of why the right to peaceful protest matters and what’s at stake when that right is threatened. Grab a copy here: /
"People love protest in abstract and in history. But back when it was happening, no one was happy with them." – Annie Leonard
People tend to love protest once it's been safely filed away in history. They're all for it when it's attached to a quote in a textbook, a holiday, or a street name. But they're far less enthusiastic when it slows traffic, interrupts business as usual, or demands attention right now.
That is part of what makes PROTEST: Respect It, Defend It, Use It so timely. The people we now hold up as moral heroes were often deeply unpopular in their time. Just look at Martin Luther King Jr.; today his words are widely honored, but in his time, his actions were condemned.
But that's the thing. Democracy is not supposed to be neat and convenient all the time. Protest is often disruptive because it needs to be. How else can we force attention on something people would rather ignore? Most movements don't start there, but when the usual channels fail, and the stakes are high enough, disruption becomes a necessary part of how change happens.
That's one of the ideas at the core of PROTEST: if we only appreciate protest once it is over and safely folded into history, we're not being all that honest about what it takes to make progress.
Pick up a copy of the book to learn more — Link in our bio!
📸 National Archives Photo License: Thousands of women demanding the right to vote marched through Washington, DC, on March 3, 1913
#Protestthebook #theprotestbook #annieleonard #andrecarothers
The PROTEST book tour is well underway! Huge thanks to everyone who has come through so far: organizers, contributors, readers, and anyone else curious enough to show up.
One of the hopes behind this book is that it reaches beyond the usual circles and helps bring the history and power of protest to an even wider audience. That's why, along the way, selected tour stops also feature Resistance Skills Training, a free hands-on session covering the authoritarian playbook, pillars of support, and real-world next steps for protecting our communities and our vote.
Next stop: Colorado! Hope to see you there.
We’re officially on tour! Join us as we build community around protecting our rights to peaceful protest. Special thanks to @patagonia and @patagoniabooks for publishing our book and @davidsolnit for the beautiful screen printed artwork at our kick off event last week. To make this book come alive in community with you all has truly been a dream come true.
See you on the road!
@andrecarothers + @annie_leonard
Photos by: Aubrey Ingraham.
Our founder @annie_leonard , alongside @andrecarothers , just released a new book — Protest: Respect It, Defend It, Use It ✊📚 @theprotestbook
It’s a powerful reminder of why the right to peaceful protest matters and what’s at stake when that right is threatened. From environmental justice to workers’ rights, protest has always been one of the most powerful tools ordinary people have to create change. Now more than ever, we need to protect it.
👉 Grab a copy here: theprotestbook.com
Early reviews for PROTEST are starting to roll in, and we're so excited that people are loving it!
If you've ever wondered whether your voice matters, this book has something to say to you. PROTEST is available now. Pick up your copy today at the link in our bio.
#Protestthebook #theprotestbook #annieleonard #andrecarothers
PROTECT OUR RIGHT TO PROTEST
What an honor to design and screen print this poster at events in support of the new book and campaign:
'Protest: Respect It, Defend It, Use It.'
Thank you Annie Leonard and Andre Caruthers for your creative intervention against the crackdown on protest. It's a book published by @patagonia , a speaking tour and popular education campaign;
@theprotestbook
They write, "Nonviolent protest is one of the most powerful tools ordinary people have ever wielded. And because it works, it is under attack. We need it now more than ever."
The book's intros frame the history and the threat to protest and the book tells the stories (with photos) of 42 exemplary protests--from Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lay in 1738 to Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem to recent youth climate strikes. It adds 13 short, diverse "Voice of a Protester" reflections on protest-- from Favianna Rodriguez ("For me, artivism is using creativity to shape culture, build empathy, and transform reality.") to Indigenous Ecuador organizer Nemonte Nenquimo.
In 2016, Indigenous youth from three North Dakota reservations set out on a run across the state to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline and raise awareness about the threat it posed to the Missouri River, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s water supply, and sacred sites. What followed became one of the largest gatherings of Indigenous people in the US in more than a century, as thousands of Water Protectors and allies came to Standing Rock in prayer, solidarity, and nonviolent resistance. They built camps, organized schools and medical tents, marched, rallied, and put their bodies on the line to defend water, land, and treaty rights.
They were met with a harsh crackdown, but the movement changed the conversation. It brought wider public attention to Indigenous sovereignty, environmental justice, and the power of peaceful protest, and it continues to resonate far beyond the pipeline itself.
It's stories like this and the lessons people carry forward from them that readers will find throughout PROTEST: Respect It, Defend It, Use It. The book explores what peaceful collective action has made possible, what it asks of people, and why protecting the right to protest matters now, more than ever.
Pick up your copy at the link in our bio.
#Protestthebook #theprotestbook #annieleonard #andrecarothers
