History Teaches Us to Resist

A well-informed handbook of effective resistance. --Kirkus Reviews At this excruciating moment of crisis and looming catastrophe, Mary Frances Berry reminds us that our most powerful weapon in the struggle ahead is simply us. This is a book of hard-won lessons and real inspiration, something to read and then keep in your backpack for ready reference as we take to the streets and mobilize to storm the heavens. --Bill Ayers I can imagine no one more qualified than Dr. Mary Frances Berry to write this crucially needed and powerful book. As an award-winning historian, as someone with firsthand experience serving in multiple presidential administrations, and as an activist for over sixty years in movements ranging from civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protest to Free South Africa and LGBTQ rights, to name a few, Berry has exceptional experience and vital knowledge about creating resistance movements. We need to listen, learn, and act. --Anthony D. Romero, executive director, American Civil Liberties Union Dr. Mary Frances Berry provides an essential book for our troubled times and reminds us that 'past is prologue.' Every progressive activist and lawyer will want to pore over the engrossing behind-the-scenes details of the accounts in this book to learn how activists navigated reactionary periods in American political life. History Teaches Us to Resist is an encouraging reminder that, with strategic discipline, progressives have always found creative ways to advance the work of justice and equality--even in the worst of times. --Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund As every day brings more news of the Trump administration's unprecedented assaults on democracy, millions of Americans veer between the horror of utter defeat and magical thinking that our institutions will save us. In her characteristic no-nonsense style, Mary Frances Berry teaches us that power is never absolute and that democracy is not self-correcting. With a historian's field of vision and a veteran activist's understanding of tactics and strategy, Berry excavates how resistance to some of the most powerful men in modern America shaped the freedom struggles that have benefited us all--and in so doing provides a crucial road map for the work that lies ahead. --Kimberle Williams Crenshaw A powerful, timely, and necessary read about resistance during hostile times. --Dante Barry, co-founder & executive director of Million Hoodies Movement for Justice At this excruciating moment of crisis and looming catastrophe, Mary Frances Berry reminds us that our most powerful weapon in the struggle ahead is simply us. This is a book of hard-won lessons and real inspiration, something to read and then keep in your backpack for ready reference as we take to the streets and mobilize to storm the heavens. --Bill Ayers I can imagine no one more qualified than Dr. Mary Frances Berry to write this crucially needed and powerful book. As an award-winning historian, as someone with firsthand experience serving in multiple presidential administrations, and as an activist for over sixty years in movements ranging from civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protest to Free South Africa and LGBTQ rights, to name a few, Berry has exceptional experience and vital knowledge about creating resistance movements. We need to listen, learn, and act. --Anthony D. Romero, executive director, American Civil Liberties Union Dr. Mary Frances Berry provides an essential book for our troubled times and reminds us that 'past is prologue.' Every progressive activist and lawyer will want to pore over the engrossing behind-the-scenes details of the accounts in this book to learn how activists navigated reactionary periods in American political life. History Teaches Us to Resist is an encouraging reminder that, with strategic discipline, progressives have always found creative ways to advance the work of justice and equality--even in the worst of times. --Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund