Those of us who were born in America after the Civil Rights Movement have not lived through an equivalent national transformation when organizations united across society in pursuit of common goals. We see pictures mostly in black and white that relegate these heroes and heroines to our history books, back to the past when citizens rallied together to achieve something momentous. The 1960s were not that long ago. Color photos do exist. Some leaders are even still with us and we spoke with one in 2021.
The movement is typically presented as a unique point in time unrelated to prior or future events. Yet Martin Luther King, Jr. was inspired by Gandhi, who in turn learned tactics from women's struggle for their right to vote. Many dreams of the era like accurate representation or affordable housing remain unrealized and thus resurface in modern activism efforts like Occupy Wall Street (whether or not you agree with their methods). These civic actions have been rarely discussed together, which has prevented applying any insights to the dilemmas we still face. Until now.
We wrote the book on groundbreaking social movements from the past century.
Some were truly historic; others were more obscure. All are instructive in their own way for how to make a difference and achieve progress. Our 40+ original interviews uncover the real story from activists, scholars, and curators rather than trying to push a philosophical agenda from pundits or politicians.
Put down your social media and learn how to make a difference with our book on social movements
Surmountable, PBC was formed to apply the insights from our first book to start solving the problems that plague us today. We have since researched 100 issues that affect our society and are compiling them into a second book. But you can get a sneak peek now by signing up for free to read about these causes, potential solutions, and what we can do as individuals.
