Dictators Do Not Want You to See This (ft. Annie Leonard)

The Role of Peaceful Protest

The video argues that peaceful protest is a foundational democratic tool, especially when people are excluded from decision-making or conventional political channels fail them. Protest can draw attention to injustice, build movements, and help bring about change, even in the face of repression and public hostility.

Historical Examples

The video highlights protests and movements including:

• Abolitionist Benjamin Lay’s dramatic challenge to slaveholders and the Boston Tea Party
• Women’s suffrage marches
• The 1936–37 Flint sit-down strike
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott, sparked by Rosa Parks’s arrest and led in part by Martin Luther King Jr.
• The 1970 Earth Day demonstrations
• The occupation that secured implementation of Section 504 disability protections
• ACT UP’s protest at Senator Jesse Helms’s home
• Campaigns for same-sex marriage
• Kayakers’ opposition to Shell’s Arctic drilling plans

How Movements Create Change

Movements do not need majority support to make progress. The video invokes the idea that sustained, active participation by 3.5% of a population can be enough. It also emphasizes that change often takes years and rarely results from a single protest. Protest can turn public outrage into organized pressure and broader support.

Recent Protests and the Call to Action

The video connects this history to recent demonstrations, including protests against police killings of Black Americans, pro-Palestinian protests, and the “No Kings” demonstrations, which it describes as a large-scale defense of democracy and nonviolence.

It concludes that protest is especially urgent because, in its view, social gains are being rolled back, democratic institutions are under pressure, and the opportunity to avert severe climate consequences is narrowing. The closing message is to resist authoritarianism, participate in ways large or small, and support others who are able to protest.

Presenters and Contributors

Annie Leonard; Robert Reich.