Voices of Protest!: Documents of Courage and Dissent

Voices of Protest is an inspiring and comprehensive look at the meaning of protest throughout history, in democratic and nondemocratic societies. It is also a rousing confirmation that individual and community action matters and has great influence.

Collected here are more than 300 documents -- essays, letters, newspaper articles, court decisions, song lyrics, poetry, cartoons, and more -- that represent seven main categories of protest: Civil Rights; National Self- Determination; Economic Justice; Environmental Conservation; Religious Freedom and Morality; Peace and War; and International Political Freedoms.

A small sampling of the entries includes Seneca Falls Declaration of Women's Rights; Fidel Castro's anti- American writings protesting cultural domination; John Muir's essay "The American Forests"; and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s letter from a Birmingham jail. The editors have framed the documents with concise original commentary that places each selection in a political, historical, and social context.