Throughout America’s history, young activists have been at the heart of civil unrest. The 2010s were no different. As the country moves into the next decade and continues to grapple with polarizing issues including climate change, mass incarceration, police brutality, and sexual assault, it’s important to reflect on some of the moments when young people stood strong in the face of institutional power.
Here are six times young people held politicians and government officials accountable in the 2010s.
1. Little Miss Flint writing a letter to Obama requesting a meeting about the Flint Water Crisis
Eight-year-old Mari Copeny was among the residents in Flint, Michigan, who spoke out against water conditions in her city, eventually writing a letter to President Obama urging him to provide assistance.
According to the New York Times, the Flint water crisis emerged after the city began using the Flint River as a water source in 2014. “Flint officials had failed to add needed corrosion controls to the river water. Lead from the city’s old pipes leached into the water, causing alarmingly high lead levels in the blood of many residents. The outcry that followed forced a change in the city’s leadership, criminal charges against state and local officials and a yearslong effort to replace Flint’s dangerous lead pipes,” the publication reports, noting that unsafe conditions persist today.
In a letter to the then president, Mari said, “I am one of the children that is effected [sic] by this water, and I’ve been doing my best to march in protest and to speak out for all the kids that live here in Flint.”
“I know this is probably an odd request but I would love for a chance to meet you or your wife,” she continued. “My mom said chances are you will be too busy with more important things, but there is a lot of people coming on these buses and even just a meeting from you or your wife would really lift people’s spirits.”
The letter spurred a response from Obama, who announced he’d be visiting Flint.
2. Elementary schoolers urge Senator Dianne Feinstein to support the Green New Deal
A tense moment between Senator Dianne Feinstein and elementary school students went viral earlier this year after the students showed up to Feinstein’s office in California asking her to back the Green New Deal. The young activists were with the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led organization focused on stopping the climate crisis and creating millions of sustainable jobs in the process.
The Green New Deal was introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts earlier this year. The New York Times says the proposal “calls for a ‘10-year mobilization’ to make the United States carbon neutral, meaning as much carbon would have to be absorbed as emitted into the atmosphere. It also requires shifting away from fossil fuels and supplying 100 percent of the country’s electricity from carbon-free energy sources.”
A video from Feinstein’s awkward interaction with the children went viral, showcasing what critics described as a smug response from the senator. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I know what I’m doing. You come in here and you say, ‘It has to be my way or the highway.’ I don’t respond to that,” Feinstein said. “I’ve gotten elected. I just ran. I was elected by almost a million-vote plurality, and I know what I’m doing. So, you know, maybe people should listen a little bit.”
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The organization fired back on Twitter, accusing Feinstein of acting with “smugness + disrespect.”
“This is a fight for our generation’s survival,” the viral response from the Sunrise Movement read. “Her reaction is why young people desperately want new leadership in Congress.” (In a statement to the Times, Feinstein called the encounter a “spirited discussion” and said the children “were heard loud and clear.”)
3. Maria Gallagher confronts Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator over support of Judge Brett Kavanaugh
A young woman from Ardsley, New York, publicly shared her story of being sexually assaulted in one of the most stunning political moments of the decade. Maria Gallagher was 23 years old when she and Ana Maria Archila confronted Republican Senator Jeff Flake last year, blocking an elevator door with their bodies in an effort to get him to reconsider supporting Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.
“I was sexually assaulted and nobody believed me. I didn’t tell anyone, and you’re telling all women that they don’t matter, that they should just stay quiet because if they tell you what happened to them you are going to ignore them,” Gallagher said during the tense encounter.
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After the exchange, Flake called for an additional FBI investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh, although he eventually voted to confirm the judge to the Supreme Court.
4. Asean Johnson rose to prominence in 2013 for protesting school closings in Chicago
In 2013, Asean Johnson was on a mission. The then 9-year-old spoke at a number of board meetings, protests, and the March on Washington advocating for students in Chicago. Asean was protesting plans to close 53 elementary schools and one high school, according to the Grio.
Asean delivered impassioned speeches calling out then mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city’s board of education, including one where he said, “You should be investing in these schools, not closing them. You should be supporting these schools, not closing them.”
“We shall not be moved today,” he continued. “We’re going to city hall; we are informing Rahm Emanuel [that] we are not toys. We are not going down without a fight.”
Asean’s school remained open.
5. Parkland students question lawmakers about accepting NRA donations during CNN town hall
In the aftermath of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, CNN hosted a town hall to provide students and their parents an opportunity to speak directly with local government officials. One of the standout moments was when survivor Cameron Kasky, then 17, asked Senator Marco Rubio if he would stop accepting money from the National Rifle Association (NRA). Rubio declined, saying he supported the Second Amendment and the NRA’s agenda.
The senator’s response was met with boos from the audience.
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6. Ferguson protesters face off against police in protest of police brutality
In a defining moment of the decade, a series of protests in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 helped shed a light on police brutality. The protests took place after black teenager Mike Brown was fatally shot by a white police officer, Darren Wilson.
Police received criticism for their handling of the crowds, which included arresting protesters, many of whom were young residents and activists, and even reporters (though those charges were later dropped). Officers also used tear gas and rubber bullets in an effort to disperse protesters.
No formal charges were brought against Wilson following the shooting, but the unrest in Ferguson served as a pivotal moment in the Black Lives Matter movement. The Ferguson protests gave rise to the “hands up; don’t shoot” chant that became a fixture at subsequent Black Lives Matter protests.
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