TEEN GUIDE TO STUDENT ACTIVISM

A thorough guide for the next generation of activists.

In 1963, images of policemen turning fire hoses and dogs on young black students hit the nightly news, and a nation was shamed into action. Generations later, teenagers are again mobilizing to challenge the status quo regarding everything from racism and gun violence to the environment. Armed with passion, impatience, and zeal, activists can reach hundreds of thousands of people through social media in the time it takes to fry an egg. Kallen (Trashing the Planet: Examining Our Global Garbage Glut, 2017, etc.) has tackled the multifaceted world of activism and civic engagement in a handbook filled with examples of young people who have identified causes that mattered and used dogged determination to bring about change. Movements such as Black Lives Matter and #NeverAgain have risen to national prominence, but the author gives attention to students who protested budget cuts in the Boston public school system or sewed clothing for homeless kids at the Los Angeles LBGT Center. Six chapters on a myriad of topics include advice for educating oneself and doing research about issues, the rights of protesters, and advice for dealing with setbacks and trolls. The diversity of the people highlighted in the book mirrors the makeup of a country still trying to move the noble ideals of democracy from platitudes to practice.

A handbook for successful activism.