We the Resistance ― Documenting a History of Nonviolent Protest in the United States

While historical accounts of the United States typically focus on the nation's military past, a rich and vibrant counterpoint remains basically unknown to most Americans. This alternate story of the formation of our nation—and its character—is one in which courageous individuals and movements have wielded the weapons of nonviolence to resist policies and practices they considered to be unjust, unfair, and immoral.

We the Resistance gives curious citizens and current resistors unfiltered access to the hearts and minds—the rational and passionate voices—of their activist predecessors. Beginning with the pre-Revolutionary era and continuing through the present day, readers will directly encounter the voices of protesters sharing instructive stories about their methods (from sit-ins to tree-sitting) and opponents (from Puritans to Wall Street bankers), as well as inspirational stories about their failures (from slave petitions to the fight for the ERA) and successes (from enfranchisement for women to today's reform of police practices). Instruction and inspiration run throughout this captivating reader, generously illustrated with historic graphics and photographs of nonviolent protests throughout U.S. history.

Michael Long is an associate professor of religious studies and peace and conflict studies at Elizabethtown College and the author or editor of several books on civil rights, religion, and politics, including Jackie Robinson: A Spiritual Biography; Peaceful Neighbor: Discovering the Countercultural Mister Rogers; Gay Is Good: The Life and Letters of Gay Rights Pioneer Franklin Kameny; Beyond Home Plate: Jackie Robinson on Life after Baseball; Martin Luther King, Jr., Homosexuality, and the Early Gay Rights Movement; I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin's Life in Letters; Marshalling Justice: The Early Civil Rights Letters of Thurgood Marshall; and First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson. His work has been featured or reviewed in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, USA Today, CNN, BookForum, Ebony/Jet, and other newspapers and journals. He blogs for the Huffington Post and has appeared on PBS, C-Span, and NPR. He also recently served as an expert for Ken Burns's documentary on Jackie Robinson. His speaking engagements have taken him to Fenway Park, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Negro League Baseball Museum, the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the Schomberg Center of the New York Public Library, and numerous colleges and universities. He holds a Ph.D. from Emory University in Atlanta.