Photo courtesy of Sunrise Movement Virginia
I never thought I’d have to choose between doing my schoolwork and fighting for a livable future.
Imagine trying to go about your normal life as a STEM student — working in the lab, going to class, teaching, occasionally making a TikTok with friends, all the normal stuff — while a roaring fire is inching closer and closer to you and the people you care about. Those who are in charge of putting out the flames, who have the power and resources to do so, are complacently watching it grow more and more dangerous. You’re starting to realize that working in the lab, going to class, doing the “normal” stuff, might not matter if your future is on fire.
While I wish I could say this was all just a bad dream, it is our collective reality. A reality that is especially poignant for young people — students, young professionals, and aspiring scientists alike — because this is the future we will inherit.
As a response, young people like me aren’t waiting around for leadership to make an eleventh hour appearance (if they even do that). That’s why we strike, and that’s why we are fighting for a Green New Deal.
So how did I get here?
Growing up, I was fascinated with the natural world and knew I wanted to unravel it on a molecular level. So I studied (and am still studying) to become a microbiologist. Along the way, I began picking up this narrative that science alone had all the answers, and the solutions to climate change and ecological destruction were one scientific and technological eureka moment away.
But this couldn’t be farther from the truth, because science doesn’t exist in a vacuum. I began to understand that climate change isn’t just a science problem. The challenges it poses are deeply embedded in the social and economic inequalities we are facing, so any comprehensive solution to climate change has to reflect this. That means centering everyday people — young people, people of color, LGBTQIA people, low-income and working class people, and frontline communities — as leaders in our solutions.
I began to understand that climate change isn’t just a science problem. The challenges it poses are deeply embedded in the social and economic inequalities we are facing, so any comprehensive solution to climate change has to reflect this.
Knowing this, I turned to organizing. I joined the Sunrise Movement in 2018, then a relatively small group of young folks organizing to fight climate change while building millions of good jobs in the process. Young folks rallying behind this idea of a “Green New Deal,” a galvanizing plan that would introduce sweeping policy changes based on scientists’ warnings. Not only a climate plan, but an economic plan rooted in social justice that would leave no one behind.
In the summer of 2018, I participated in my first ever direct action with Sunrise. We took over the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in Washington, DC, demanding the DNC reinstate a ban that would prevent fossil fuel companies from funding political campaigns. I was hesitant to join at first, nervous about what would happen during the action. Were we going to get in trouble…arrested even? It didn’t help that I had a big assignment for my virology class due that evening, too.
But once I got there, it was as if those worries fell right into a black hole. I felt grounded in moral protest with other young people, who like me, had put aside time from work, school, “normal” life responsibilities, to fight for a healthy, sustainable future for all of us.
I felt grounded in moral protest with other young people, who like me, had put aside time from work, school, “normal” life responsibilities, to fight for a healthy, sustainable future for all of us.
Inspired by Sunrise’s successes in mobilizing a new generation of activists, I brought the movement home to Virginia, where needless fossil fuel infrastructure projects, the threat of rising seas, and income inequality loomed overhead from the coast to the mountains.
Over the course of a few months, we built a coalition of young people from across the Commonwealth. Our mission? Unite behind — and win — a statewide Green New Deal. This past January, we flooded the halls and offices of the Virginia General Assembly just days after the 2020 legislative session kicked off. We demanded the newly elected Democratic trifecta prioritize legislation that would end our dependence on fossil fuels, transition us to 100% clean, renewable energy on an urgent timeline, and ensure strong environmental justice and worker provisions.
We were grounded in our demands; we sang, we shared our stories, we held space for each other, and we didn’t back down until our elected officials met with us and heard our concerns.
While we didn’t get the results we fought for the first time around, our work is just getting started. We’re already planning our next moves — from electing Green New Deal champions into federal, state, and local office, to ramping up efforts to win statewide climate and economic justice policies. Because massive structural change like the Green New Deal calls on a massive movement of people to make it a reality.
But there’s unpredictability in organizing at every turn – from direct actions going awry, to the political candidates we championed succumbing to defeat, and, yes, to pandemics bringing our world to a standstill.
But there’s unpredictability in organizing at every turn – from direct actions going awry, to the political candidates we championed succumbing to defeat, and, yes, to pandemics bringing our world to a standstill.
While we at Sunrise had grand plans for Earth Day’s 50th anniversary, we’re now adjusting to the immediate needs of our communities amidst COVID-19. Instead of centralized actions, we’re participating in climate strikes from our homes and on social media. We’re calling on congress to support a People’s Bailout that provides workers and people on the frontlines of the pandemic economic and social protections. We’re asking our friends, neighbors, people we don’t know, how we can help, and providing mutual aid to those in need (you can find your local mutual aid resources here). We’re phone banking for Green New Deal champions running for office, and building our community and skills through virtual trainings (check out Sunrise School!).
COVID-19 is giving us a preview of what could be ahead for us in the era of climate change. The brunt of this pandemic has fallen on the shoulders of our ill-prepared healthcare infrastructure, an economic system on the brink of collapse, and primarily poor communities of color and workers who aren’t properly protected. We are not equipped for crisis, and the climate crisis is no different.
It’s long overdue that we break up with the perceived stigma of scientists (STEM students and aspiring scientists included) as activists and the idea that activism interferes with our ability to be unbiased in our work. We can still work in a lab or conduct our research objectively, and organize for social, climate, and economic justice however we can.
We can still work in a lab or conduct our research objectively, and organize for social, climate, and economic justice however we can.
We finally have a movement that is led by new voices, by young people, scientists, frontline communities, and progressive politicians uniting behind a Green New Deal. If there was a defining movement for our generation, this is it. Because in the end, we all have something to lose to the climate crisis, and something to gain from coming together.
- You can find a local hub (chapter) of Sunrise Movement in your area here: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/hubs
- Join Sunrise School, an online community for building the skills and power we need to combat the crises we face: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/sunrise-school
- Write to your representatives in less than 30 seconds, and ask them to support a #PeoplesBailout: https://thepeoplesbailout.org
This article is published in partnership with Science Rising, a network of partners and advocates coming together for one purpose: to fight for science, justice, and equity in our democracy leading up to the 2020 election. Take the Science Rising Challenge and join the movement at www.ScienceRising.org.
