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Civil Protest: Love’s Call to Action
Activism as a form of love
In 1969, the Black Panther Party established the Free Breakfast for Children Program. At its peak, the program fed 10,000 children daily nationwide. A lot of fuss is made now about the Panthers fighting back against police brutality, carrying firearms in public, and walking into the California state capitol. However, the most powerful thing the Panthers did was feed children free breakfast.
The Panthers used love for community as a catalyst for change. See, we’ve been so focused on the fire that we’ve forgotten to reflect on the love and intention behind why the work existed. In hindsight, love has been the cornerstone of every great social movement. Love has been the catalyst for some of the greatest developments in civil protest, and the impetus for pushing the ideas of the people behind them. Love is a form of activism.
Activism is not just about petitioning and making pamphlets to hand out on street corners. It’s not just about marching and protesting, fighting on the county courthouse steps for the right kind of legislation, organizing grassroots movements, and building effective and substantial ways to bring about change and unite communities.
Love, when used constructively, can do the work through art and protest that…
