Generations of New Yorkers have driven change in the city, from 17th century petitions to the mass mobilizations of the 21st century. Tracing more than 250 years of activism in New York, Raise Your Voice is organized around four tactics that activists have used throughout history: demonstrations, organizing, art and media, and direct action.

Each section presents the ongoing story of activism and social movements in New York City through the objects and tools that activists created and used. Demonstrations follows the evolution of more than 20 protests, from the colonial era to the new millennium, showing how demonstrations grew from small, spontaneous gatherings into large, organized mobilizations. Organizing looks at the often-unseen groundwork behind activism: the planning meetings, notebooks, and campaign strategies that turn causes into movements.

Art and Media explores how New York's role as a global art and media capital has shaped activist movements, showcasing print media, artworks, and posters alongside an interactive musical experience. Direct Action examines how activists have worked outside official systems to make change. A final section, Your City, Your Move, invites visitors to put these tactics into practice through a poster-making station, a neighborhood-focused digital interactive, and on-site voter registration for those 18 and older.

The Puffin Foundation Center for New York City Activism is a new, permanent home at the Museum of the City of New York dedicated to the history and ongoing legacy of civic engagement and social movements in New York City. Raise Your Voice: New York Activism is its cornerstone exhibition, succeeding the Museum's long-running exhibition Activist New York.

Featured Image: Pro-Vietnam-War Demonstration, New York, 1970, Benedict J. Fernandez, 1970, Museum of the City of New York, 99.150.15

Explore this virtual version of the exhibition, test your knowledge of activism in New York, and help us tell the story of today’s activists.

The Activist New York website explores the history of activism in New York City from the 1600s through today.