Records of Resistance exhibition documents activism from around the world

Selma, Lahore, Warsaw, Santiago … “Records of Resistance: Documenting Global Activism 1933 to 2021,” Princeton University Library’s latest exhibition opening September 7, captures continuity and change in practices of protest and activism in diverse geographic contexts and around issues that may be particular to an area or of universal concern. The exhibition includes images that range from sacred Passover Haggadot that embody Jews’ spiritual resistance to their oppressors during and immediately after the Holocaust, to dramatic photographs of marchers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965, to vibrant posters and pamphlets created by protesters taking to the streets of Santiago, Chile and Lahore, Pakistan only a few years ago.

Remember the Warsaw Ghetto, 1944, Author: Federation of Polish Jews in Great Britain

The exhibition depicts resistance through familiar and trusted tools and technologies – posters, pamphlets, and flyers. Visitors will also encounter new ways of disseminating dissent as activists harness the power of the internet and social media to make their voices heard. “Records of Resistance” considers how issues of perennial concern including indigenous, gender, and LGBTQIA+ rights, social inequality, antisemitism, and systemic racism manifest in resistance over time and across the globe.

Aurat March, 2019, poster, Artist: Shehzil Malik

This exhibition calls attention to the extraordinary material available on Digital Princeton University Library. The site has been created for the presentation and curation of digital images of Princeton University Library’s collections, and is accessible to everyone around the world. We invite you to further explore the digital collections at dpul.princeton.edu. 

"Records of Resistance: Documenting Global Activism 1933 to 2021" curators are Fernando Acosta-Rodriguez, Ellen Ambrosone, Will Clements, David Hollander, and Gabrielle Winkler.

The exhibition will run from September 7 through December 11, 2022. It will be open daily to the University and public in the Milberg Gallery, Firestone Library: Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Guided tours of the exhibition meet in the lobby and will take place on the following Tuesdays (Sep 13, Oct 11, Nov 22, Dec 6) from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturdays (Sep 10, Oct 1, Nov 5) from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.; and, Sundays (Sep 11, Oct 2, Nov 6, Dec 4) from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Learn more by exploring the accompanying digital exhibition.

John Lewis (in tan trench coat), Hosea Williams, Bob Mants, and Albert Turner lead marchers, 1965, Photographer unknown

Published on August 18, 2022

Media Contact: Barbara Valenza, Director of Library Communications