Summarize “Protesting Is as Important as Voting” by Andre M. Perry and Carl Romer

write an organized and detailed essay, following these guidelines:

Summarize “Protesting Is as Important as Voting” by Andre M. Perry and Carl Romer
Clearly state your position (thesis) in response to the author’s argument.
Support your position with specific examples.
Organize your ideas carefully.
Write clear sentences that use standard grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Cite the assessment reading at the end of your summary and response in either MLA or APA format.
Protesting Is as Important as Voting (abridged) by Andre M. Perry and Carl Romer, Brookings Institution, August 28, 2020

Jacob Blake became the latest victim of state-sanctioned violence against Black Americans when he was shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha, Wis. police officer. While Blake survived the shooting, he is reportedly now paralyzed. Subsequent demonstrations in Kenosha have joined what could be the largest protest movement in U.S. history, spurred by the killing of George Floyd in May.

From those national protests, “defund the police” quickly emerged as a rallying cry for Americans demanding systemic reform. And those demands have generated substantive policy change. Both Democrats and Republicans have offered federal legislation on police reform, and across the nation, local municipal leaders are cutting bloated police budgets.

In spite of several legislative victories, we’ve heard pundits and lawmakers say that voting—not protesting—is the real solution to systemic racism, and that we shouldn’t let slogans like “defund the police” hijack supposed real reforms. The diminution of protesting is nothing new: During his 2008 campaign for president, Barack Obama began using the refrain, “Don’t boo. Vote.” While Obama, a former organizer, is not necessarily deriding the act of protesting, he signals there is a priority. And prioritizing voting over protesting is the not-so-subtle way we devalue marginalized groups. Voting is only one way that people can exercise their power to create policy change—now, as national protests grow and Black athletes boycott their games, we are being shown that there are other ways to influence policy.

Protests… spurred the quick arrest of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for George Floyd’s murder…And it was protests that prompted international corporations—including Apple, Bank of America, Comcast, Nike, and dozens more—to invest billions in fighting racism and inequality.

By framing voting as the be all, end all, we minimize protesting’s power to change policy. We also ignore why people have taken to the streets in the first place: Their voices are not being heard through conventional means. “[Ordinary citizens] have little…influence on policy,” concluded a 2014 study on the influence of elections, confirming…that only the affluent have significant influence in policymaking.

On the other hand, a 2020 evaluation of the 1960s civil rights demonstrations found that “minorities” can successfully “[d]rive media coverage, framing, congressional speech, and public opinion” when engaging in nonviolent protest.

By driving media coverage, catalyzing congressional action, and shifting public opinion, nonviolent protests have been a force behind positive social change. A 2019 study of the 1992 Los Angeles riots found that even violent protests can ultimately prompt less hostile policing policies at the local level.

Even if you believe voting to be the most effective way to produce change, there is still plenty of proof that protests alter voting behaviors, shift the attitudes of marginal voters, and mobilize many previously disengaged voters. In 2010, large Tea Party rallies led to more Republican votes. Eight years later, the March for Our Lives protests were successful in registering and mobilizing many young voters who were instrumental to Democratic victories in the 2018 midterms. By highlighting incumbent political failings, protesting makes an apathetic majority sympathetic to the demonstrators’ cause—particularly at the ballot box.

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