This exhibition is no longer on display at the William H. Hannon Library – this post is maintained for historical purposes. Please contact the Information Desk with any questions.
March marks Women’s History Month as well as the more recent youth movement around gun control and school violence. Many of the voices that have emerged from this movement, including Emma González and David Hogg, began with an interest in student activism and political participation. They were students, educators, and people who saw injustice and decided to do something about it, and you can too!
An informed and active citizenry is always the most impactful. The William H. Hannon Library Resist! Explore exhibit currently on display (level 1 beside the Circulation Desk) provides resources to begin your activism long after March is over. Along with a handy infographic (Activism and Organizing 101), this exhibit includes books and databases ( that provide information about activism and even a few local organizations that are looking for activists like you.
Activist Vocabulary
Just like any topic, activism and organizing start with research. Check out these terms to develop your activist vocabulary:
Anti-racism: active and continuous engagement to combating racial inequality and dismantling white privilege both personally and at every level of society. Some principles of this work include:
- Engaging with differing perspectives
- Promoting cooperative environments
- Identifying and working toward mutually beneficial goals
- Exchanging accurate information (non-stereotypical, biased)
- Exacting and restoring equal power relationships
(Source: Sue, Derald Wing “What Must Society Do to Combat Racism?” Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation, Jossey-Bass, 2003, pp.230-240.)
Oppression: The prejudice and discrimination of one social group against another, backed by institutional power. (Source: DiAngelo, Robin and Özlem Sensoy. Is Everyone Really Equal? An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press, 2012.)
Collective Liberation: the undoing of the effects and the elimination of the causes of social oppression by transforming oppressive behavioral patterns, “unlearning” oppressive attitudes and assumptions, and breaking down institutional power structures. (Source: Durrani, Shiraz. Information and Liberation: Writings on the Politics of Information and Librarianship. Library Juice Press, 2008.)
Don’t forget that joy is also its own form of resistance. Celebrate LGBTQ+ Rainbow Week right here on LMU campus and get involved with student groups doing their part in the resistance.
Update: LMU Library has additional resources to share to kickstart your activism:
- National Study of Protest Events (first study to provide a national portrait of protest event characteristics)
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