The Damning Silence of Polish Americans

My People Protested Tyranny in the 1980s. Why Didn’t They Step Up in 2020?

I march in the anti-police brutality protests in New York following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

These aren’t my first protests—far from it. As the child of Polish American immigrant activists, I was raised on this form of expression. Even before I understood Polish politics or why we were marching, my community taught me to fight for freedom from tyranny.

But during these protests, my community has been silent. And that pains me tremendously. I find I can no longer reconcile the values I was raised with, with a …

Can Women ‘Turn Protest Into Power’? | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Can Women ‘Turn Protest Into Power’?

L.A.’s Women Are Rising, but Too Many Communities Are Being Left Behind

Last month, Kamala Harris made U.S. history, becoming the first woman to be elected vice president. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the November elections resulted in the first all-women Board of …

When Jewish Wives Beefed With Butchers and Changed the World | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

When Jewish Wives Beefed With Butchers and Changed the World

If You’ve Participated in a Community Protest or Consumer Boycott, You Can Thank the Great Kosher Meat Strike of 1902

Sarah Edelson had been pushed too far.

The price of the kosher meat that she and most of the half million or so Jewish homemakers on Manhattan’s Lower East Side …

In Zimbabwe, Literature Is Protest | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

In Zimbabwe, Literature Is Protest

A New Generation of Authors Are Giving Voice to the Post-Mugabe Reality

In November 2017, when a military coup removed Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe’s head of state after 37 years of rule, euphoria gripped the whole country. Many saw it as an …

The Enduring Power of Women’s Protests | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

The Enduring Power of Women’s Protests

Women-Led Movements Have Found Strength in Solidarity Across Centuries and Borders

Whether it’s the mothers and grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, whose work helped delegitimize the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina between 1976 and 1983, or the ongoing weekly rallies …