What’s the DNA of an Effective Protest?

Scholars and Practitioners Discussed What It Takes to Create a Sustained, Successful Movement at Last Night’s Event “When Does Protest Make a Difference?”

With the new school year starting, universities across the country anticipate a new wave of protests around the war in Gaza, now in its 10th month. To offer broad perspective, Zócalo brought a panel of scholars and practitioners to the ASU California Center Broadway last night to discuss the history, legality, and art of American protest.

The Zócalo event—which asked “When Does Protest Make a Difference?”—took the form of two back-to-back panels, both moderated by KQED correspondent and “The California Report” co-host Saul Gonzalez.

The first panel was made up of academics: …

Does ‘Slacktivism’ Deserve Its Bad Rap?

Lazy Forms of Protest—From Social Media Posts to Bumper Stickers—Can Also Help Effect Change

This essay was published in tandem with the event “When Does Protest Make a Difference?” on August 22. View the recorded discussions here.

Earlier this …

Let Artists Choose Activism

Or Not. But Don’t Assume That Anyone’s Identity Should Define Their Work

This piece publishes as part of the Zócalo, Thomas Mann House, and L.A. Review of Books conference on the role of artists in weakened …

What Happened to Stockton’s First Asian Enclaves?

How the City’s Chinatown, Japantown, and Little Manila Were Razed in the Name of “Progress”

What happened to Stockton’s first Asian enclaves?

In the 20th century, downtown Stockton established itself as a cultural and commercial hub for Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino communities in California’s San Joaquin …

The Slideshow That Kept Oil Drills Out of the Arctic National Refuge

The Last Great Wilderness Helped Earn a Grassroots Victory for Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice

The story seems impossible to believe: A low-budget traveling slideshow kept oil drills out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But Indigenous leaders from the Arctic, environmental advocates on Capitol …

Iran’s New Revolutionary Figure Is Feminist | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Iran’s New Revolutionary Figure Is Feminist

The Women at the Heart of the Movement Offer Potent Visions of Social Change

The feminist uprising in Iran—sparked by the beating, arrest, and death in police custody of Mahsa (also known by Jîna) Amini, a young Kurdish Iranian woman accused of “improper hijab”—is …