How many protests have their been since President Trump took office?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:
According to the data from the visual above, between January 20, 2025 (the first day of the second Trump administration) and the end of February 2025, how many cumulative protests had taken place?
According to the data from the visual above, between January 20, 2017 (the first day of the first Trump administration) and the end of February 2017, how many cumulative protests had taken place?
In February 2025 alone, there were over 2,085 protests, which included major protests in support of federal workers, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, Ukraine, and demonstrations against Tesla and Trump’s agenda more generally. This is compared with 937 protests in the United States in February 2017. Why do you think there are so many more protests this time around?
Coordinated days of protest such as March Fourth for Democracy (March 4), Stand Up for Science (March 7), rallies in recognition of International Women’s Day (March 8), and protests demanding the release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil suggest little likelihood of these actions slowing down. What has been the impact of these protests so far?
Think about the history of mass mobilization and protest in American history. Boston Tea Party (1773): A protest against British taxation and the perceived monopoly of the East India Company, leading to the dumping of tea into Boston Harbor. Women's Suffrage Movement: Protests and marches, like the 1913 Suffrage Parade, advocating for women's right to vote, ultimately leading to the passage of the 19th Amendment. Civil Rights Movement: Marches, boycotts, and sit-ins, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, fought against racial segregation and discrimination. Anti-Vietnam War Protests: Protests against the war in Vietnam, including the Kent State shootings, reflected growing opposition to the war and its impact. Stonewall Riots (1969): A pivotal moment in the LGBTQ+ rights movement, sparked by a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. Million Man March (1995): Washington, DC's Million Man March took place with a stated aim to unite the black community. Estimates for the number of attendees vary from 400,000 to 1.1 million people. March for Our Lives (2018): A student-led protest against gun violence, organized in response to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Women's March (2017): A large-scale protest against Donald Trump's presidency, drawing attention to issues like women's rights, immigration reform, and racial equality. This was the largest single-day demonstration in US history, attracting up to 5.2 million protesters. Black Lives Matter Movement: Protests and demonstrations calling for an end to police brutality and systemic racism against Black people. In your opinion, do protests and mass movements work?
How much have the numerous protests of 2025 impacted the policy decisions of the Trump Administration - specifically, can you think of any Trump policy that was changed, paused, or cancelled because of public outcry or mobilization?
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. Conservatives recently boycotted products and businesses from Bud Light to YETI to Target. Liberals recently boycotted products and businesses from Twitter to Tesla to Target (Target can’t seem to win! ). Do you think it is fair to support or punish a business for political reasons?
Authoritarianism is a political system based on a concentration of power in a leader or elite group, that people must obey. In anti-authoritarian movements of the 20th century, economic noncooperation — more so than protest alone — was the coordinated activity that weakened authoritarian systems and made way for democratic breakthroughs. In apartheid South Africa, it was the enormous economic pressure — through boycotts of white-owned businesses, general strikes, and divestments — that brought the white supremacist National Party to an end. In communist Poland, it was the ability of trade unions to carry out strikes that gave the Solidarity movement the leverage to negotiate a peaceful democratic transition. Gandhi’s economic boycotts, strikes, and noncooperation campaigns in India led to Indian independence. The United States has its own storied history of resisting authoritarianism through noncooperation. Pro-independence colonists living under the British crown organized campaigns to refuse to buy or consume British goods; refuse to abide by laws requiring colonists to export raw materials to Britain; refuse to serve on juries under crown-appointed judges; and develop alternative institutions including the Continental Congress itself. The Boston Tea Party was a defiant act of noncooperation — a refusal to import, consume or pay taxes on the crown’s tea. In 1815, John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson of his hope that historians would recall those acts of noncooperation — and not the war of independence — as “the revolution,” that “was in the minds of the people.” Much later, during the civil rights movement, desegregation was first tangibly achieved in large part through noncooperation campaigns like the courageous school attendance by the Little Rock Nine, the Montgomery bus boycotts, the lunch counter sit-ins and boycotts of businesses in Nashville and elsewhere, strikes among sanitation workers in Memphis, and other acts of refusal to abide by the Jim Crow system of racial segregation. These took place in combination with marches and demonstrations that were powerful and dramatic displays of the moral power of the movement, and legal action that demanded the government abide by its own Constitution. How successful do you think political pressure would have been without economic leverage with strikes and boycotts?
Historically, street protest and legal challenges are common avenues for popular opposition to governments, but economic noncooperation — such as strikes, boycotts and buycotts — is what often leads to change. Target just reported fourth quarter net sales declined 3% and warned that February sales were down, after civil rights leaders called for a Target boycott in Black History Month for changing its position on DEI, followed by a sharp drop in traffic to Target stores and website during the Feb. 28 Economic Blackout. Consider the protests against Tesla in response to Elon Musk firing federal workers and blocking federal funding. The multifaceted campaign has a quite specific goal: punish Tesla, Musk’s signature company. In addition to protests at Tesla showrooms and charging stations, people have also sold their Teslas. Others have called on mutual funds to divest from Tesla stock. And as of March 11, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as much as $126 billion has been shaved off Musk's own personal wealth since the beginning of this year, partly because of Musk’s DOGE work. According to the data below* who is most likely to engage in economic boycotts?
According to the date below* people of color are more likely to engage in boycotts than Whites. Why do you think that is?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Do some research about brands to support or boycott and then share your list and reasons with your classmates.
Get Creative
Support a business or product that you admire or design your own personal boycott of something you oppose.
Learning Extension*
SOOOOOO DOGGONE CUTE.