What makes an activist?

Air Date: July 16, 2018 12:00 am

Victor Galvan uses a bullhorn to lead chants during an immigration rally and protest in Civic Center Park Saturday, June 30, 2018, in downtown Denver. The protest was one of hundreds staged nationwide that has brought liberal activists, parents and first-time protesters--motivated by accounts of children separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border--to press President Donald Trump to reunite families quickly. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Guests: Lauren Duncan, Mary Frances Berry

What makes an activist? What fuels their passion and drives them to challenge the status quo, to protest, to believe they can make a difference? Today we start our hour off discussing the psychology of activism with LAUREN DUNCAN, a professor of psychology at Smith College. Then, a conversation with long time civil rights activist and University of Pennsylvania historian, MARY FRANCES BERRY. Berry was a Vietnam War protester, co-founder of the Free South Africa movement and was appointed to the US Commission on Civil Rights by President Carter. In her new book, History Teaches Us to Resist, Berry looks at progressive resistance movements in our nation’s past and how they have led to important political change even under conservative administrations.

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