DON'T WAIT

A journalist profiles three young women of color whose activism has reshaped their communities.

Kohli has spent her career reporting on youth activism. She writes, “The reality is that as teenagers you are powerful; you’re also not saviors and shouldn’t be tasked with the burden of saving the world.” In the pages that follow, Kohli traces the trajectories of three young women whose accomplishments would be impressive at any age. Mexican and Colombian American teen Nalleli Cobo, for example, worked with her mother to successfully shut down a toxic oil field in her neighborhood that devastated community members’ health, as well as her own—at the age of 19, she was diagnosed with cancer. Sonia Patel Banker, an Indian American choir singer, fought to bring arts education to California’s public schools. Kahlila Williams, the founder of her school’s Black Student Union, helped facilitate the reduction of the Los Angeles School Police Department budget. In addition to documenting the ups and downs of these teens’ organizing, the author includes a series of discussion questions intended to help readers apply what they’re reading to their own lives and, by extension, their own potential activism. Kohli’s curiosity, compassion, and strong journalistic instincts combine to create a narrative voice that’s both engaging and insightful. Her writing not only honors her subjects’ strength but also demystifies the process of creating community change.

Empowering portraits of a diverse set of young women who have changed their worlds.