Why Students of Color Are Stepping Up to Lead Climate Strikes

In an effort to fix the climate movement’s voter turnout problem, the Environmental Voter Project’s 6,000 volunteers use behavioral and data science in their outreach campaigns to encourage environmentalists to become consistent voters so the issues they care about are prioritized by politicians.

A participatory budgeting pilot in ten Chicago Public Schools empowers students to influence change by deciding how small grants, typically $1,000 to $2,000, should be spent for school improvement. Students brainstorm ideas, construct persuasive proposals, and vote on which to implement, providing valuable lessons in civic participation. The proposals revealed student needs that staff hadn’t previously considered. Ultimately, grants supported gender-neutral bathrooms, locker room shower curtains, a peer mentoring program, and spaces for students to reflect and decompress when feeling overwhelmed.

Organizations ran campaigns to recruit young people to work as poll workers, addressing shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of high school and college students, as well as recent graduates, signed up to fill the gaps. Social media provided an effective recruitment tool, and the diverse coalition called Power to the Polls, that includes MTV, Uber, Starbucks, and others, got 400,000 people to sign up. Some coalition partners offer paid time off to their employees for working at polls and states, such as Georgia, offer poll worker compensation, which was a draw for young people.

Organizations and educators in Texas work to increase voter engagement among young people. Schools must provide voter registrations, but many don't, so some teachers register students and teach the importance of civic participation. Several groups also work to get high school and college-age voters to the polls. MOVE Texas and Texas Rising registered thousands of young voters on National Voter Registration Day in 2019. Utilizing technology, going to where young people are, and teaching media literacy increased civic engagement among young people in 2018, although the turnout was still relatively low at 25%.

Climate change activist, Greta Thunberg, has sparked global action. The 16-year-old has started marches totalling over 1.5 million people, continuous protests and strikes, and spoken to world leaders at events such as the U.N Climate Change Conference and the World Economic Forum. Her activism has had noticeable impacts, like a decline in flight travel in Sweden, and spurring youth activism on an international scale.

Extinction Rebellion, a United Kingdom-based environmental group, has been using civil disobedience – blocking traffic, painting graffiti, or gluing themselves to trains – to increase discussion and action against the global climate crisis. Such disobedience has led to the leader of the UK’s Labour Party proposing one of their demands as legislation and a sharp spike in climate media coverage.

In an attempt to encourage voter turnout, Ariana Grande set up tables at concerts on her tour where fans could register to vote, or receive text alerts reminders for those who already had. The "ThankUNextGen" campaign, which plays on one of her song titles, has helped motivate younger voters.

Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders, but they aren’t letting age limit activism in the realm of environmental advocacy. The Youth Climate Strike was inspired by Greta Thunberg, a teenage girl in Sweden who stopped going to school on Fridays to protest climate change. The Sunrise Movement promotes environmental organizing among millennials, aiming to support Green New Real type legislation. These movements are rapidly spreading among young people who will have the power to make change.

Universities are using competitions, music, and prizes to encourage civic engagement among students. Efforts are aided by a national study that allows schools to see how many of their students voted either locally or absentee.

Philadelphia’s Chinatown remains authentic and keeps its position downtown by organizing together to preserve the community through activism.