Voices of a People's History of the United States in the 21st Century: Documents of Hope and Resistance

by Anthony Arnove (editor), Haley Pessin (Editor)

Twenty-first century social movements come to life through speeches, essays, and other documents of activism, protest, and social change.

Gathering more than 100 texts from social movements that have shaped the 21st century, this powerful book includes contributions from Angela Y. Davis, Nick Estes, Colin Kaepernick, Rebecca Solnit, Christian Smalls, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Howard Zinn, Rev. William Barber, Bree Newsome, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Tarana J. Burke, Dream Defenders, Sins Invalid, Mariame Kaba, Naomi Klein, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Linda Sarsour, Chelsea E. Manning, Chrishaun “CeCe” McDonald, Julian Brave NoiseCat, H. Melt, and others.
 
Inspired by the original Voices of a People’s History of the United States, the book features speeches, essays, poems, and calls to action from Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, Indigenous struggles, immigrant rights activists, the environmental movement, disability justice organizers, and frontline workers during the global pandemic who spoke out against the life-threatening conditions of their labor. Together, their words remind us that history is made not only by the rich and powerful, but by ordinary people taking collective action.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History

527 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2023

Reviews

[Jeffrey Pedro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is phenomenal!!! From familiar voices to those unheard, it critically examines the legacy of white supremacy as the foundation of our society and its institutions. Each chapter is dedicated to multiple voices addressing a specific topic or theme from the 21st century. I’m deeply moved by all the activism that is taking place across the globe to address issues plaguing our world today. I love that this book highlights the dysfunction of both the left and the right in politics! Grassroots organizing and community building are keys to tackling the institutions brought about by colonialism and imperialism. If this doesn’t move you toward activism, I’m not sure what will!

This may be my second favorite book of the year!

[Shannon Grinnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive volume covering 2 decades of activism. I moved around a lot, reading different essays on the various different topics here. There is so much here to dive into. I really enjoyed this collection of works that brings voices to the voiceless. It really speaks to the importance of community and the power of unity in our communities

[Sheehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspiring and well organized primary source docs of resistance and context on the ongoing turbulent 21st Century.

Great resource and round up of critical issues for democracy and justice in the modern era.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful collection, full of hope and insight. A fitting tribute to my favorite writer of all time.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of modern speeches highlighting minority perspectives and positive social progress. Definitely on the progressive end of the spectrum, but great to use as an interesting counterpoint to standard textbook speeches. I had my students pick a speech a week from the chapter for that week based on their individual interests and complete a rhetorical analysis of that speech. They seemed to really dig into them. I'll definitely use it again in the future.