The Power of Young People: Protests and Politics

All over the world, Black Lives Matter protests continue 15 days after the senseless killing of George Floyd. A lot of the impassioned faces we see protesting on the streets are those of young people. 

We’ve seen this before: Greta Thunberg, at 15, sparking a worldwide environmental movement in less than a year; young people in Sudan at the heart of the revolutionary protests which ousted long time ruler Omar al-Bashir and now here in Britain where young people pulled down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston and dumped it in the river. A powerful action that hurt no-one but taught so many. 

A statue of Christopher Columbus has now been brought down by anti racism protesters in Virginia. A man famed for his ‘discovery’  of the Americas while his slaughter and sexual abuse of the Taíno people is usually disregarded. 

We cannot be ignored…

Around 42% of the world’s population are under 24. Roughly 31% of the UK’s population alone are under 25. There are more young people than ever before, and a lot of us are angry.

Young people today have seen the world drastically change around them: from recessions to accelerating climate change and school shootings to terrorist attacks. Today, we are trying to live through a global pandemic more familiar to them in history books and face one just as deadly but far more difficult to recover from: racism.

We are growing up well aware that when they are thrust into adulthood and a world so changed and scarred by this momentous year, the odds will be against us. We’ve seen how very little is done about it.

‘There are more young people than ever before, and a lot of us are angry.’

That is certainly not to say our parents and their grandparents had lives so easy. However, students in particular will be leaving sixth form or university to enter adult life in a society scorched by COVID-19 and an economy battered by lockdown. 

That smouldering fire of justice, so many young people have within them, is burning so much brighter than before. It will keep burning as we are reminded the world will always be against the minority. Racism is so ingrained in the roots of our towns, cities and countries. Society needs to change now for the sake of a lot of young peoples’ futures, who are seeing the world around them still divided over the colour of their skin. So, of course there’s anger. There’s no wonder young people today are far more aware of politics and how to fight for what is right.

‘Today, we are trying to live through a global pandemic more familiar to them in history books and face one just as deadly but far more difficult to recover from: racism.’

…Young people have a fire too powerful to be put out

Protesting works. Fighting back against the powerful works. The history books might not always report it, but young people today have grown up experiencing it in other ways.

For a lot of us, revolution has been all around us all our lives. We grew up with a teenage wizard fighting back against an ignorant government and hateful ideologies. We were inspired as a 16 year old girl led the fight to overthrow injustice. Re-watching The Hunger Games, the similarities to the world today are both striking and so terrifying.

You can’t raise a generation on Harry Potter and The Hunger Games and not expect them to fight back against what they think is wrong. 

Not only that, history is abundant with young people doing what is right and just for the masses. At just 25, Jack Merritt had lived a life selflessly dedicated to others. When Nellie Bly was just as young she exposed the neglect and abuse of a mental institution to the world. Malala was 15 when a man climbed onto her school bus and insisted her friends name her. She did not hide. She was shot three times in the temple. Three years later she stood in front of the United Nations and told them how her country was burning.

Protesting has already brought about change. Young people have already brought about change. We could soon be entering a tomorrow where the lives of famous historical figures are not celebrated by how many innocent lives they took, but are only found in museums and books to show what they are: history. A revolution is happening and for young people today a new world is on the horizon.

We are not rewriting history. We’re making it.

Jessica Sharkey

Tweet to @jessmsharkey

Image Courtesy of Patrick Behn on Pixabay.