IN PROTEST

    I looked up "world revolutions" in Wikipedia and found a list that was overwhelming. There were hundreds of struggles that I had never even heard of. It seems that ever since humans figured out how to organize themselves, the fighting began. The passions and the figureheads that spearheaded these movements have always inspired works of art. Here are some of my favorites.
    I'm going to begin by looking back only 144 years ago when in 1869 a Massachusetts born Quaker woman, Susan B. Anthony, cofounded an organization devoted to gaining American women the right to vote. All American men had achieved this right in 1870, but it was not until fifty years later, and after Susan's death, that American women were granted this privilege. Of course there are plenty of portraits of her, but Arizona artist John Adams gives this portrayal of her a 21st century spin.

    Moving to the 1940s, India's Mahatma Gandhi led his country out from under the rule of Britain, and tried his utmost to make it a peaceful process. Today his courage is still spoken of with reverence. Canadian Jeff Clark in 2011 portrayed Gandhi in what he calls a word portrait.

    A turning point moment of the civil rights movement in America was when in 1955 a Montgomery, Alabama woman named Rosa Parks refused to move to the back seat of a bus and was arrested for it. In 2013 she was featured on a U.S. postage stamp, with a graceful portrait done by Atlanta's Thomas Blackshear II.

    In 1959 China confiscated the country of Tibet and ever since has been determined to eradicate its traditional culture. The young Dalai Lama was forced to flee, but has spent the rest of his life spreading his Buddhist teachings of peace. Here is a beautiful poster image of him, though I am not able to find its artist's identity.

    A protest that cost a great young boxer named Muhammad Ali nearly four years of his career happened in 1967 when he refused to be drafted into the U.S. Army because of his religious opposition to war. This charismatic man has since become an American icon, and was portrayed here by another icon, artist Andy Warhol.

    Sometimes a photograph becomes iconic of an era. This 1970 photograph taken by John Filo of the shooting death of Jeffrey Miller by Ohio National Guardsmen during an anti-Viet Nam war protest on the campus of Kent State University, and the anguish of Mary Ann Vecchio, sums up entirely the turmoil that our country was going through during those years.

    Riding upon the emotions of that time, some Native Americans finally spoke up about the injustices that had befallen their ancestors and those who followed in the 20th century. They organized a group called the American Indian Movement (AIM), which instigated protest actions that were often very controversial and/or illegal. In 2012 one of the movement's leaders passed away, Russell Means. Whatever one might think of his political tactics, Russell became an icon of that time of unrest. I like this uncredited pop style image of him.

    None of us will ever forget the sight of "Tank Man" (identity never known) standing up by himself before oncoming military tanks in Tiananmen Square in China, 1989. News photojournalist Jeff Widener describes the photo as a lucky shot. It came to summarize the courage of the young people who rallied there for democracy but were overtaken by the Chinese Army.

    My favorite, most courageous person of protest of today is a teenage girl from Pakistan named Malala Yousafzai. Her advocacy for the schooling of girls nearly cost her life when she was shot in the head by members of the Taliban. Now mostly healed, and recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, she is speaking to the whole world about the importance of the education of all females. Here is a popular poster of her, featuring some of her words.

    Also right now, everyone is atwitter about the mysterious UK graffiti artist, Banksy, and his recent controversial works in the city of New York. Does anyone remember that he "hit" San Francisco in 2010? Below is a bit of his political sarcasm in SF.

    And last but not least, the annual protest in Sonoma County's own backyard of the goings on at the Bohemian Grove enclave spawned this funny poster expressing the wild imaginings we regular people might have about those very special men and their secret weekends in the forest.
    Long live the world's protesters!