We’ve Been Protesting — Public archive

“An artists duty as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.” — Nina Simone

Protest is not an anomaly in American history. It is one of its defining traditions.

From the earliest days of the nation to the present, Americans have raised their voices to challenge injustice, demand accountability, and push the country closer to its ideals. Protest, at its core, is an expression of dissent. A declaration that something is wrong and must change.

Protest Is American

Protest has taken many forms... some celebrated, some condemned... depending on who was protesting and what was at stake.

Throughout U.S. history, protest has included:

The Boston Tea Party (1773)
The Revolutionary War (1775)
The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955)
The March on Washington (1963)
The Selma to Montgomery March (1965)
Anti–Vietnam War protests (1969)
The Women’s March (2016)
The March for Science (2016)
Black Lives Matter protests (2013–present)

Each of these moments reflects Americans insisting that their voices be heard, often in the face of resistance, criticism, or hostility. Protest has long served as a catalyst for progress, even when it has been uncomfortable or unpopular.

Yet when Black & African-Americans protest, the conversation often shifts away from what is being protested and toward how.

“Anybody singing the blues is in a deep pit yelling for help.” — Mahalia Jackson

What’s the “Right” Way to Protest?

In 2016, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose to kneel during the national anthem to protest aggressive policing and systemic injustice affecting African-American communities. While many understood the substance of his message, public discourse largely shifted toward the method itself rather than the conditions being protested.

Was kneeling disrespectful?
Was it unpatriotic?
Was it the “right” way to protest?

Those questions revealed a deeper one: what forms of protest are considered acceptable when Black voices are involved?

This archive was partially born out of that question.

Protest Through Art and Music

One of the most enduring, and often overlooked, forms of peaceful protest is artistic expression.

For generations, Black/African-American artists have responded to injustice, grief, hope, and resilience through music and art. From spirituals sung in bondage to jazz, blues, rock ’n’ roll, rhythm and blues, hip-hop, and contemporary forms, artists have documented the realities of their time and given voice to experiences that were often ignored or silenced.

Music has served as:

A historical record
A form of resistance
A vehicle for truth-telling
A bridge for empathy and understanding

The arts do not simply reflect history. It preserves it, challenges it, and carries it forward.

“Whatever this country is willing to do to the least of us, it will one day do to all of us.” — Michael Render (Killer Mike)

Why This Archive Was Created

The We’ve Been Protesting archive took shape in the wake of the national protests of 2020, following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. While those events intensified public attention, they were not isolated incidents but part of a much longer historical continuum of injustice and response.

As protests spread across the country and around the world, it became clear that many people were encountering these conversations without historical context. This archive emerged as an attempt to provide that context. Not through slogans or soundbites, but through culture.

“The story of Black people in America is the story of America.” — James Baldwin

What We Document

We’ve Been Protesting catalogs and visualizes Black/African-American protest history through artistic expression, with a particular focus on music as a form of historical testimony.

The archive connects:

Historical events
The artists of the time
The music and art those events inspired

By organizing these materials chronologically, the archive helps visitors see protest not as a moment, but as a lineage, one that reflects anger, sorrow, creativity, resistance, optimism, and hope.

"Music at its essence, is what gives us memories. And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it." - Stevie Wonder

Moving Forward

This archive is a living body of work. It evolves as time, resources, and careful community contributions allow.

If it encourages reflection, conversation, or deeper understanding, then it is doing what it set out to do: using art and history to create space for dialogue, dignity, and change.