Teenage Activism

1 Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, met with people from her district recently, but it was far from a routine visit with voters. In fact, they were mostly nonvoters – children in third grade to high school. They carried a large handwritten letter asking the senator to vote "yes" on a resolution favoring the Green New Deal, a plan to address .

2 "That resolution will not pass the Senate, and you can take that back to whoever sent you here," Feinstein said."I know what can pass, and I know what can't pass."

3 Video recordings of the meeting became popular, bringing a range of social media reactions, with some accusing adults of turning children into political props. However, many others called Feinstein "rude" for not listening to the children and teens. Children often call on us to be our better selves, urging us by their example to speak up or join a cause.

4 Clayborne Carson, a professor at Stanford University, believes the Children's Crusade, the 1963 children's march in Birmingham, Alabama, turned the tide of the civil rights movement. During this peaceful march of children and teens, the police responded to the children as if they were adults. However, "pictures of the bravery and determination of the Birmingham children as they faced the brutal fire hoses and vicious police dogs were splashed on the front pages of newspapers all across , and helped turn the tide of public opinion," says , the founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund.

5 What gives children the moral authority and boldness to take action for causes? Feinstein's meeting shows that children's voices can sometimes get people to talk more directly about important issues. While some children might simply be following the lead of adults, those who work with children know that kids often ask tough questions and want honest answers. 6 It is perhaps the sincerity of children's questions and actions that appeal most strongly. I've heard kindergartners gasp when I tell them about Malala Yousafzai's campaign for global education and that girls don't go to school in many parts of the world.

7 There is also the persistence of kids, from school age to college age. Young people can truly devote themselves to their commitments, whether they include marching, sitting-in or rounding up followers. In the process, they are often able to reach grown-ups who can implement change. In his book It's Our World, Too!, ​ ​ Hoose also points to the importance of young activists' firmly defined senses of right and wrong, as well as the power of being underestimated and the availability of school as a place to organize.

8 Children, especially by their teenage years, also display bravery in the face of risk, which is often boosted by their frustration with being under the rules of adults. Hoose took the title of his book from an 11-year-old boy who was told he could not sign a petition to stop the spread of nuclear weapons because he was too young. "It's our world, too!" the boy said, and he started a petition for kids.

9 Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg showed many of these impulses when she initiated school strikes last year calling for action to stop global warming. Her persistence, time and energy brought a lot of attention. She sat outside the parliament building in Stockholm every day for three weeks during school hours. Thousands of young supporters staged school strikes in Germany, France, Britain and Australia. Nearly 10,000 rallied in Belgium in February.

10 Bill McKibben said, “Climate change exemplifies an issue on which older people should listen to the young. Because, to put it bluntly, older generations will be dead before the worst of it hits." He added that means "youth carry the moral authority here."

11 In addition, the Internet plays a role in the reach of children's voices, as young adults have organized protests on Twitter and other social media.

12 Emma González and her fellow students from Parkland, Florida, worked to get attention for their #NeverAgain response to the deadly shooting at their school. She quickly built a Twitter following of 1.2 million.

13 Malala Yousafzai, who as a teen was shot by the Taliban for her support of girls' education, has rallied supporters worldwide because of her honesty, passion, and determination to change the world. She was shot by a gunman over her education campaign in Pakistan's Swat valley, where she lived. Young people relate to Malala because of her age and because of her bravery in the face of violent threats.

14 "Deeply listen to kids, their ideas, their concerns," Neugebauer said, "because they will make us think and make us better people."