5 tips on how to be a youth activist

These are hard times right now and especially for us kids, right?

I'm 16 years old and my feelings have been all over the place because of the current state of affairs in this country. There's Corona, cop killings of black people and our lives have literally been placed on hold.

I want to live but everyday I am afraid that our wants and demands will continue to be unheard until we speak up and speak out.

So I have taken a stance to get out and use my voice and my platform to protest for change in the name of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and let's not forget my cousin Bianca Roberson who was killed by a racist white man who shot her in the head while she was driving.

Being young, sometimes it's scary to put yourself out there but we have to do it. So here are 5 quick tips I can offer you if you want to march or find a way to use your voice for change.

Enlist a trusted adult - First things first, you do not want to go to any protests without a trusted adult by your side. I know some of you are so eager to get out there, but some protests are dangerous and I urge you not to do it alone. I have gone to protests with my mom, but I have also gone to protests without my mom but with my best friend and her parent. Find the power with a parent by your side.

Use your social media to make a difference - I had a friend who used social media to call out someone else who was using the n-word on social media. That's one way to that you can use your voice to make sure that you are holding your peers accountable for what they say and do.

Donate to a cause - A lot of my friends want to protest but their parents won't allow them to. So since most of us teens have summer jobs and our own cash, you can find a charity that supports social justice cause and donate money. It would be $5 or $50. Something is more than nothing. Then use your platform to share the link and enlist other people to donate too. That's also a form of activism.

Start a letter campaign - In my city there is a Confederate monument smack dab in McDonough Square that I would LOVE see taken down. I wanted to start a campaign to get rid of it but before I could I found that there was already a petition circulating. You can start a petition asking local leaders to consider your demands or you can look up your local city council and write them. You can even dare to speak at a city council meeting!

And for those who are old enough VOTE or ask your school to hold a voter drive.

XOXO, Mikaela