If people think about protests, they will imagine large crowds marching, shouting, and holding hands. But not all protests must involve violence to make a difference. At times, something as simple as sitting down, refusing to move, or even refusing to eat can send powerful messages.
In Susan Leigh Foster’s Choreographies of Protest, she talked about how Black students participated in peaceful sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement. These students sat at segregated lunch counters and refused to leave even when they were denied service. Instead of fighting back, they remained calm and stood up for their rights. This is a powerful example of how people can challenge injustice without using violence.
Another example that stood out to me was the documentary The Strike. I really enjoyed this documentary, and it discussed how thousands of prisoners in California went on a hunger strike in 2013 to protest the conditions of solitary confinement. Many prisoners had spent years being isolated from others, and they wanted their treatment to change. Since they had little control over their lives in prison, refusing to eat became one of the ways they could make their voices heard. What surprised me was how something as basic as eating could become a form of resistance. Even though the prisoners were not physically attacking anyone, they were putting their own health at risk to fight for better conditions.
Prison food that is usually served to prisoners. Prisoners went on a hunger strike to prove that they were willingly to risk their health just to make their voices heard and to go against the prison solitary confinement system.
This also connects to Sami Schalk’s Black Disability Politics, which talked about how health, inequality, and the treatment of people’s bodies are connected. Schalk explained how activists used protest to bring attention to Black health and well-being. Like the prisoners in The Strike, these protestors wanted society to recognize problems that were often overlooked.
All these examples connect to how people use their bodies to challenge authority and unfair treatment. Whether it’s sitting at a lunch counter, blocking a bridge or refusing to eat, these actions show that peaceful resistance can still be disruptive. These protesters were not doing anything violent, but their actions still challenged the people and systems that had power over them. The Black students had challenged segregation by sitting in places where they were not allowed to receive service. The prisoners in The Strike challenged the prison system by refusing to eat and putting their lives at risk. Although their situations were different, both groups were using their bodies to make a statement. This connects to the idea of people using their bodies in ways that to protest and make their voices heard without being violent. Rather than accepting their treatment and letting it just happen, they used the control they still had over their own actions to bring attention to injustice. This shows how something that might seem small can become powerful depending on the situation.
These readings and the documentary helped me realize that protests do not always have to be loud or violent to create change or make their voices heard. One thing I learned is that peaceful protesting does not mean that the protesters are safe. The students participating in the sit-ins faced harassment and violence, while the prisoners participating in the hunger strike risked their own health. Despite these risks, they continued to stand up for what they believed was right. This shows how much courage and determination peaceful protesting can require. It also made me realize that we sometimes take things for granted such as being able to sit wherever we want or having control over what we eat. For some people, these everyday actions became ways of fighting against unfair treatment. These examples demonstrate that even when people have very little power in society, they can still find ways to make their voices heard. To refuse to follow an unfair system can be one of the strongest ways to stand up for yourself and others.
