The launching of Gloria J. Browne-Marshall’s recent book A Protest History of the United States (Beacon) was held at Greenlight Books on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Christian F. Nunes, president of the National Organization of Women (NOW) moderated the discussion. Gloria J. Browne-Marshall is professor of constitutional law and Africana Studies at John Jay College, (CUNY) and an Emmy Award-winning writer, activist, film producer, and playwright. There was standing room only at the book discussion, reading, and signing.
Browne-Marshall began her discussion by defining protest as civil unrest, that is any action taken to defy, question, or resist behavior which one deems harmful or oppressive to their person, people, and space. Broadly defined in this way, people engage in protests without even realizing it.
Browne-Marshall then read an excerpt from A Protest History of the United States that focused on her family lineage. Her family migrated to Kansas in 1897 as Exodusters. Before migrating they had been enslaved in Kentucky and after the Civil War, they attempted to raise their family, farm their land, and build a community.
However, after Reconstruction ended in 1877, Confederate terrorism ensued and her family, like many from the South, moved north and attempted to survive racial violence, voter suppression, Jim Crow laws, and “legalized genocide.”
A Protest History of the United States underscores the resistance of Black and Brown people and Indigenous people to violence and oppressive acts that attempt to restrict their freedom and erase their culture, religion, and identity. It also addresses and documents protests against racism, sexism, unionism, and the violation of the body.
Browne-Marshall read excerpts from her book that highlighted these issues. Questions arose regarding how to address current issues such as the criminalization of Black men and women and its impact on the family, the denial of citizenship for immigrants of color, the future of the Women’s Movement, and the current Administration’s recommendation to increase the birthrate by paying women to have more babies, a response to the fact that by the year 2045, White people in the United States will be considered a minority.
When asked about the highlights of her extensive research from government documents, archival material, legal records, court cases, etc. Browne-Marshall responded that conducting interviews with families, Indigenous peoples, union workers and visiting the actual places where protests had taken place really helped her to understand the significance and value of protests in the United States. This is a must-read for those who seeks facts and the story regarding the history of protests in this place called America.
– Dr. Brenda M. Greene