Cool to Skip School
Climate Kids take the streets this Friday, March 15th for the Youth Climate Strike, a global protest with over 100 participating countries.
The youth of the world will skip school this Friday, March 15th to protest for swift action on climate change. They’re calling for the same freedom as past generations: to grow up on a habitable planet. Why skip school to mobilize? Because in the wise words of 13-year-old Youth Climate Strike organizer, Alexandria Villasenor: "If we're not going to have a future, then school won't matter anymore.”
Greta Thunberg. Photo by Christian Charisius / AP Images
The Youth Climate Strike was born out of #FridaysForFuture, an escalating movement that ignited in August 2018 when 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg skipped school to protest climate injustice at the Swedish parliament. Greta pulls no punches. She has protested every Friday since—rain or shine. She speaks directly to the high-powered adults in the world: “You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their eyes.” Today, Greta received a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their eyes.”
Greta’s fervent battle cry amassed an extraordinary following: over the past couple of months, thousands of children around the world routinely skipped school on Friday’s to protest climate injustice. This Friday, Greta will be joined in solidarity by youths in 102 countries, in 1659 towns, and counting…
"This is the largest issue my generation will have to face,” says the lead organizer of Youth Climate Strike US, Alexandria Villasenor, who has been protesting every Friday at the U.N. for the past eleven weeks. “Humans are causing climate change, and humans are the ones who need to fix it." And they plan to. Youth Climate Strike US have made a comprehensive list of demands directly aimed at the current political order; coordinating with various climate groups such as 350.org, Extinction Rebellion, the Sunrise Movement, and Earther to ensure direct action.
The youth-led strikes are mobilized, accessible, and open to all— kids, young people and adults alike. “If you think that we should be in school instead,” Thunberg said, “then we suggest that you take our place in the streets, striking from your work. Or, better yet, join us, so we can speed up the process…There’s no other way.”
Check here for strike locations nationwide and this badass map of the world that shows the spread of this protest….and there’s still time to organize! Here’s an action guide created by the organizers at Youth Climate Strike.
For all who plan on striking in solidarity, send us your photographs!
