Claire

**__What are some of the best protest methods????__** There are many different protest methods including violent and non violent protests. I’m only going to be looking at the non violent methods although a lot of protest can turn nasty. Sit ins: A sit-in is when a group of protesters seat themselves somewhere and remain seated until they are moved usually by force or until their requests have been met. Sit-ins are a highly successful form of protest because they cause disruption and that draws attention to them and their cause. Although sit-ins are non-violent, when moved by force they can often turn violent. Sit-ins usually occur indoors at businesses or governments offices, protesters do sometimes sit themselves in busy outdoor areas and sometimes even on roads. Where sit-ins have been used in history successfully: In North Carolina in 1960 four black students from a arts college sat down at a lunch counter in Woolworths. They purchased several items in the store before sitting down at the counter reserved foe white people only. When a waitress asked them to move they politely refused and to their surprise they were not arrested. The four students remained seated for almost an hour. The following morning about two dozen students arrived at Woolworths and sat at the lunch counter, this time attracting media attention. By day three of the campaign the students had formed the Student Executive Committee for Justice which would culminate in a march of several thousand students. By the end of the month, sit-ins had taken place at more than thirty locations in seven states. Strikes: Strikes are when people stop working as a way to protest about something. Often the reason workers strike is because they may want a pay rise or better working conditions or better contracts. Most strikes are undertaken by labor unions during collective bargaining. The objective of collective bargaining is to get a contract and the contract may include a no-strike clause which prevents strikes or penalizes the union and/or worker if they walk out while the contract is in force. Strikes also occur to put pressure on the government to change policies. Where strikes have been used in history successfully: An example is the Gdansk Shipyard strike led by Lech Walesa. This strike was significant in the struggle for political change in Poland and was an important mobilized effort that contributed to the fall of the comunist governments in East Europe. Picketing: Picketing is a form of protest in which people congregate outside a work place or location where an event is taking place. Often this is done to try to get others not to go in (“crossing the picket line”), but protesters also do this to get the publics attention on their cause. Picketing protesters try to put pressure on a business and by harming them, the business may have a loss of customers and negative publicity, or the protest may have discouraged or prevented workers from entering the site and therefore preventing the business from operating normally. Picketing is a common tactic used by trade unions during strikes. Where a picketing protest has been used in history successfully:       Union members picketing National Labor Relations Board rulings outside the agency's Washington, D.C., headquarters in November 2007. Petitions: A petition is when a document addressed to some official is signed my many individuals. A petition may be oral rather than written and now days it can be transmitted via the internet. Where a petition has been used in history successful: One of the most famous petitions is the one that sought to free Nelson Mandela during his imprisonment by the former apartheid government of South Africa. The petitions had no legal effect, but the signatures of millions of people on the petitions represented a moral force which may have helped to free Mandela and to end apartheid. Protest song: A protest song is what it sounds like! A song in which protestors sing about perceived problems in society. Protest songs are generally associated with folk music, but more recently they have been produced in all genres of music. These songs cover a wide variety of topics, and deal with issues and concerns ranging from personal and interpersonal to local and global matters. Every major movement in Western history has been accompanied by its own collection of songs. Some songs that have been used in history: Some of the most internationally famous songs have come from the United States. They include “We Shall Overcome” ( a song popular in the labor movement and later the civil rights movement), Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the wind” and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”.

These are just some of the many ways to protest against something, of these methods are very successful ways of protesting and have been used a lot in history and work very well. All these protests are a way to get peoples messages out and to help other people realise whats going on in our world. Without protest a lot of things that we take for granted these days would never have changed.

info from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_action http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sit-in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_march http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picketing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_song http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/about_king/encyclopedia/sit_ins.htm