We've Been Here Before: How Rebellion and Activism Have Always Sustained America

America has always been sustained by rebellion and activism. It is up to us to continue the fight.

America's founding was a contradictory one. When the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago, it painted a beautiful vision of freedom and equality. It was quite the gutsy move, declaring freedom, especially economic and religious freedom amid slavery and oppression for others. Indeed, for the majority of our nation's history, America hasn't lived up to its founding vision of freedom. Various movements have helped define and shape America, for good or bad, nudging us toward greater freedoms at times and pulling us back at others.

In our current era, these contradictions feel even more profound, and many of us are left wondering if America will ever live up to the promises of her founding, or if we are moving even further away from those hopes. Yet, a deeper look at our history reveals key revolutionary moments in which the promise of America has been fully realized. We've Been Here Before draws together the stories of these movements as a powerful reminder that America has always been sustained and challenged by rebellion and activism. Longtime journalists Michael I. Days and Angela P. Dodson compellingly profile the individuals who led those movements--the mavericks, rebels, outliers, and ordinary citizens who had extraordinary impact--paying particular attention to the women and people of color history has overlooked. At this important historical milestone, let us look back to celebrate those moments and let them guide our future.

Angela P. Dodson is a former senior editor for the New York Times and a former executive editor of Black Issues Book Review. She is the editor of We Refuse to Be Silent: Women's Voices on Justice for Black Men, author of Remember the Ladies: Celebrating Those Who Fought for Freedom at the Ballot Box, and the founder of Editorsoncall, LLC. She has written and edited for outlets like Essence, Heart & Soul, the Washington Star, and the Louisville Courier-Journal. She lives in Trenton, New Jersey.

Michael I. Days served as vice president for diversity and inclusion of the Philadelphia Media Network and the former editor of the Philadelphia Daily News. Under his leadership, the Daily News won dozens of awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 2010. He also worked at the Wall Street Journal, the Louisville, Kentucky's Courier-Journal, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, and the Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester, New York, in varied reporting positions. He is the author of Obama's Legacy: What He Accomplished as President and was a partner in Editorsoncall, LLC.