“We sing the freedom songs today for the same reason the slaves sang them, because we too are in bondage and the songs add hope to our determination that ‘We shall overcome, Black and white together, We shall overcome someday’… These songs bind us together, give us courage together, help us to march together.” – Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.
United States
The Struggle for Accessibility: Disability Rights at UW-Madison
UW-Madison’s path to equal opportunity has been shaped by resilience, from the early struggles of students in the 1940s to grassroots efforts to establish accessible resources for students. While significant strides have been made, the history of disability rights at UW-Madison portrays that the fight for inclusion and accessibility is not over.
“Soapbox” in Review
From September 2023 to December 2024, Axell Boomer hosted a radio show titled “Soapbox” on the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s student radio station, WSUM 91.7FM Madison. Using songs as primary sources or thematic markers, he developed the show to explore protest movements throughout history and the music genres that communicated their goals.
Leading Nonviolence Scholar: Gene Sharp
Gene Sharp is the “world’s leading writer on nonviolent action.” He played a key role in systematizing the nonviolence field by classifying methods of nonviolent action and elaborating on the theory of power.
Syncopating Survival
In music, syncopation can be understood as a site of invention, an off-beat from the given beat of an arrangement. For example, if a piece of music were in a 2/4 time signature, a syncopated beat would be an experimental site of play that precedes, follows, or interrupts the given two beats of the measure. In a conversation with the scholar and musician Dr. Kwami Coleman, the idea of syncopation was expanded to “something new.”
The Occupation of Alcatraz Island: Roots of the American Indian Movement (1969-1971)
Prior to European colonization, over 10,000 indigenous people called the coastal area between Point Sur and the San Francisco Bay home. Alcatraz Island was part of this land, known primarily for its infamous prison and notorious criminals. However, the history of Native Americans in connection to this penitentiary is less known. Starting with the first prisoners of Alcatraz, many of whom were Indigenous Californians imprisoned for resisting the invasion of settlers and miners during the Gold Rush.
Appealing to Emotion: The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) rattled cities across the United States with their passionate demonstrations that emphasized strategic emotional appeal and civil disobedience.
Students of Madison Lead the American Anti-Apartheid Movement: Madison Area Committee on Southern Africa
Though UW-Madison has had protests and civic engagement throughout its history, the era that gave UW-Madison its reputation as a “protest school” began in the 1960s. Anti-Apartheid activism influenced politics in Madison long before the American Anti-Apartheid Movement gained momentum in the 1980s, becoming one of the first communities in the United States to recognize apartheid as a critical issue that required American activism and solidarity.
Oral History Interview with Antonio Salazar-Hobson
This oral history interview was conducted by Gabe Sanders with Antonio Salazar-Hobson, a tribal and labor lawyer who has worked with Cesar Chavez. Below is a summary of the oral history, as well as the transcript itself.
Vel Phillips: Wisconsin Civil Rights Trailblazer and the March on Milwaukee
According to Vel Phillips, it is hard to describe the wonder of the cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. to those who haven’t seen them because nothing compares.