ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 investigates agency within movement texts, and how collective identity is transformed into collective action. In some cases, movement texts encourage participants to engage in actions such as protests, strikes, and marches. Other texts serve as forms of action in their own rights. When movement participants march, strike, or sit-in, they become a collective embodiment of their values and demands. This chapter looks at two kinds of movement text that are themselves forms of collective action: first, the freedom songs that were collectively authored and performed by civil rights activists; and second, contemporary forms of action organized around hashtags.
