What's worked recently in the US in protesting? Gay marriage succeeded, transgender rights backfired, some local success on $15 minimum wage. The Bundy Malheur takeover fizzled out. Big wins on gun rights. Any visible pattern?
One might argue that gay marriage succeeded because it is good for the economy. All gays I know are incredibly smart, savvy and professionally successful. They worked for many years and became a financial and political force, not to mention they succeeded in getting people to like them and empathize with their cause.
I think this is the point. The success of any protest movement depends on whether it can be galvanized into a political force. This can happen either when the protesters have economic and financial influence in terms of sheer numbers. Alternatively, it can happen when the protesters learn to organise in a way that they become politically relevant by voting along certain lines or candidate, but even here the numbers are important.
Gay marriage didn't become a legal right in the U.S. through protests. It became a "right" after the U.S. Supreme Court dictated that States cannot makes laws banning it.