Lately, I haven’t spent much time thinking about the (far) future because the present is demanding enough. However, even more recently, I’ve been reminded of the attention the future requires. After all, is the world today really the kind of place I want to bring children into? There is a resounding no echoing in my head.
The work that needs to be done right now will shape the world for future generations. At first, this idea seemed distant and too big to me, but the more I allow myself to wrestle with it, the more concerned I become. There is so much work to be done, how are we to guarantee that future generations will live in a world they are proud of? It starts with today’s children.
As protests and marches (for women, for science, etc.) are taking place all over the world, I have witnessed incredible accounts of children participating in these expressions of speech. I think it is extremely important to expose children early to the power of participation. By raising children in an activist environment, they are being taught to understand that their future is theirs and that taking action matters.
In Courtney Martin’s book Do It Anyway, she creates an anthology of modern day activists. Many of these stories include anecdotes about the activists’ childhood, and their early integration into the world of peaceful protest.
Nia Martin-Robinson is an environmental justice advocate, focusing on the way environmental issues relate to race and class issues. She is the director of the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative (EJCC) and often credits her resilience to the way she was raised. As Martin puts it, “Dissent in in Nia’s DNA. Her mother has been preaching about the benefits of breastfeeding, talking about the country’s dirty history of eugenics, and raging against the injustice of U.S. economic policy, both domestic and foreign, since the seventies.” This early exposure allowed Robinson to fully embrace her calling as an activist, and today it allows her to have “an impressive capacity to explain and convey her passion for environmental justice.”
Rosario Dawson, an actor and activist, represents the other end of the spectrum. She stumbled upon activism as the missing link in her life later on, but she is now determined to teach her future children of its importance. Dawson says, “When I’m doing my activism, I feel like it’s something I will one day be able to pass on to my children.”
Psychology Today notes that “The timing is perfect right now for activism because many children are feeling empathy or outrage, and regardless of your child or your family’s political affiliation, problems are present in your community or in one close by.” The steps can start small: collecting cans for food banks, tutoring younger children, or helping out at a local organization. These smaller actions may lead to larger actions, and could one day lead to a community of young activists. Psychology Today concludes “When children become activists, they begin to connect the dots between the problems they see and the solutions they envision.”
As overused as the phrase is, it is still the truth: the children are our future. We need to invest in them and teach them that they can create change.
Actor and activist, Misha Collins, with his two children, West and Maison, attending the Science March on April 22, 2017