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| Teen Vogue Kristen Doerer |
Hundreds of young people from across the nation gathered on the national mall in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, July 21, for the protest planned by the environmental youth group Zero Hour.
The march was the last in a three-day string of events in Washington, D.C. organized by the youth and POC led group, including a lobby day and a Youth Climate Art Festival.
“I’m here because I know this an urgent problem we need to solve and we need to address,” 18-year-old Maeve Secor of Baltimore, Maryland, told Teen Vogue at the march. “I’m really worried about the water levels rising; that’s really going to affect Baltimore, especially with the impact climate change has on the low-income population.”
Meave went to Congress to lobby with other members of Zero Hour on Thursday, where she spoke with staffers. “We have a pledge for public officials to not take any more money from fossil fuel companies. They’re basically paying off public officials with campaign funds to not pass climate change legislation,” Meave explained.
A sea of umbrellas, ponchos, and climate change signs formed as the rally launched shortly after 10:30 a.m. The band Dispatch performed under umbrellas before a D.C. inter-tribal drum group. Then, a coalition of youth from Standing Rock addressed the crowd.
“I’m standing here for all the indigenous people who couldn’t be here today. This is my purpose, this should be all of our purposes — to protect our Mother Earth,” said Tokata Iron Eyes of the Standing Rock Reservation. “As an indigenous people, I know no other way. My grandmother has taught me how to live off the earth.” Tokata added that her reservation is still fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline.
“It’s not if, it’s when the Dakota Access pipeline breaks. It’s five minutes before it gets into our water,” said Standing Rock’s Bobbi Jean, who spoke next. “This isn’t just an indigenous issue, it’s a human rights issue.”
Bobbi also spoke about the need to support the environment through one’s wallet. “Remember to divest in your banks,” she said, singling out big banks like Chase and Wells Fargo, which reportedly support fossil fuels, before shouting out federal credit unions.
Standing Rock activist Daniel Grassrope took the microphone next and led a chant. “Respect our water,” he exclaimed, with the crowd echoing him. “Honor our treaties, honor our rights, we stand with our brothers, and our sisters, we stand with with our people.”
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When 7-year-old Havana Edwards stepped onto a stage, the D.C. activist known as “the tiny diplomat” spoke about her experience traveling the world with her family, and seeing how climate change and education affect other youth.
“For all the kids out there listening today, we’ve got this,” she said.
Some activists shared how climate change had hit close to home. Iris Fen Gillingham, who grew up Catskill Mountains of New York, spoke about how a flood destroyed her family’s organic vegetable field, and forced her parents to stop selling produce for a living. Emily Wang, 14, of Howard County, Maryland told Teen Vogue that she’s particularly worried about the pollution in China.
“I have a bunch of family there, and I don’t want them to have health problems because of the pollution,” Wang said.
By 12:30 p.m., the march took off, with hundreds of protesters holding signs, parachutes, and banners, many dressed in raincoats or ponchos, unfazed by the rain. At the front of the march was the coalition that protested the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock.
Chants of “Water is life," “Take it to the street. Take it to the polls,” and “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” broke out as activists drummed.
“The rain persisted more than we hoped. It comes to show, there’s this huge cloud over us, but we are still marching,” said Madeline Tew, 15, as she marched with a coffee cup in hand. As one of Zero Hour’s founding members from New Jersey, Madeline spent over a year planning the march, and says that she knows a lot of people who have been displaced by Hurricanes Sandy and Irene.
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| Teen Vogue Kristen Doerer |
Yelling into a megaphone, Kibiriti began another chant as the group approached the Supreme Court: “Corporate crime scene!”
“Hunger, violence, racism, poverty — every kind of inequality that exists today is going to get worse as climate change dries up our resources. That’s something the older generation doesn’t realize,” 17-year-old Anna Brooks of Silver Spring, Maryland, told Teen Vogue during the march.
“We don’t have any time to wait,” Elsa Mongistu said, noting she’s privileged to not be on the frontlines of climate change, but she knows it’s only a matter of time. The 16-year-old from Greensboro, North Carolina urged others to get involved. “It’s going to impact you also, don’t be selfish. Just because you’ve been able to avoid the issue, doesn’t mean other people have been.”
By the time activists marched down East Capitol Street and arrived in Lincoln Park, some had given up on their raincoats and simply enjoyed the rain.
“The rain brings out the real ones,” said local native youth activist Sebi Medina Tayac. He instructed the hundreds of remaining activists to circle around the drummers and link arms or hands as part of a “unity dance.”
As the dance came to an end, the march did as well. The rain came down harder, but the crowd, energized and ready for change, was slow to disperse.
Links
- Fake News And Climate Change: Young People Debate Key Issues On Q&A Special
- Dear Leaders: You've Failed Your Children On Climate Change
- ‘We Are Not A Force To Be Ignored’: Young People Take Up Climate Activism
- Don't Ignore Young People – We're Key To Fighting Climate Change
- Climate Change And Poverty Are As Much Of A Threat As Terrorism For Many Young People
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