From the Suffragettes, to 1963’s historic Civil Rights March on Washington, to the grassroots movement Occupy Wall Street, public protests are how everyday people have orchestrated change in America. Our right to peacefully assemble was written into our national DNA by the Constitution’s First Amendment. And we've spent the last two centuries on the streets, expressing our outrage at wars, about innocent young men killed on the streets, and hoping to turn our marches into a mass movements. But do demonstrations actually catalyze meaningful reform and push elected representatives to hear the voices of the people? Rosario Dawson gives us the roadmap of how Americans use this unique freedom to make their opinions known — and why it’s still one of the U.S.’s most effective checks and balances on our democracy.

This video is part of We the Voters, a social impact campaign incorporating high-profile celebrities, real political players, and dynamic story lines into a series of groundbreaking short films and apps. We the Voters will demystify how the government and elections work, inspiring millions of young Americans to seize the power of their votes in the 2016 elections. Interconnecting 21 viral films and a variety of ancillary digital extensions across multiple platforms, We the Voters presents democracy and elections in a new, accessible format. As entertaining as it is informative, We the Voters promotes a clear call to action, encouraging young voters to make informed choices. It will be the ultimate resource for understanding what is at stake in this election — and in those to come.