Our Wild Decade
By Lily Powell
I have been alive for 15 years. I was born in 2002. I have only experienced the twenty-first century.
In February, I attended a 'Sister March,' as it was called, an affiliate of the Women's March, in Augusta, Maine, the Women's March in Washington, and Women's Marches it cities across America, simultaneously. As soon as I got home, I ran to my iPad, my main source of news, and googled 'Women's March.' I spent at least the next hour checking and double-checking the news. What were the most updated estimates for attendance? How many people rode the Washington D.C. metro that day? I found pictures of people around the world, on every continent, working hard to bring attention to the causes that were important to them.
Before this, in 2013, after the murder of a young black man named Trayvon Martin, the news media reported on the Black Lives Matter movement. It seemed unreal to me at the time, because it was happening so far away. I argued with my friends who were arguing the cops' side. Had Trayvon Martin assaulted a police officer? Why is he dead? I didn't really know what I was arguing for.
In June of 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. I remember that happening. I found out because I saw a link shared on Facebook. I told both of my parents, but they did not believe me. My parents thought that was something that could not realistically happen. I was validated that night with pictures of the White House lit up in rainbow colors.
I think of these things, the protests and marches, the social change, and I wonder how history will remember the early 2010's, the time of my youth.
I think, sometimes, of the 1960s and 1970s, of all the movement that happened then: for civil rights, for gay rights, for women's rights, against the Vietnam War, and I wonder how we shape up in terms of fighting for justice and fairness. I have learned, through books and television, through school and adults in general, what that period was like in a positive way. How will my children be taught about my generation's activism and protests when I was in high school and college (because I'm sure there will be more) in their schools?
I can only hope that the decade of my political and social awakening will be an inspiration, a positive moment in time that we will look back on with pride.
By Lily Powell
I have been alive for 15 years. I was born in 2002. I have only experienced the twenty-first century.
In February, I attended a 'Sister March,' as it was called, an affiliate of the Women's March, in Augusta, Maine, the Women's March in Washington, and Women's Marches it cities across America, simultaneously. As soon as I got home, I ran to my iPad, my main source of news, and googled 'Women's March.' I spent at least the next hour checking and double-checking the news. What were the most updated estimates for attendance? How many people rode the Washington D.C. metro that day? I found pictures of people around the world, on every continent, working hard to bring attention to the causes that were important to them.
Before this, in 2013, after the murder of a young black man named Trayvon Martin, the news media reported on the Black Lives Matter movement. It seemed unreal to me at the time, because it was happening so far away. I argued with my friends who were arguing the cops' side. Had Trayvon Martin assaulted a police officer? Why is he dead? I didn't really know what I was arguing for.
In June of 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. I remember that happening. I found out because I saw a link shared on Facebook. I told both of my parents, but they did not believe me. My parents thought that was something that could not realistically happen. I was validated that night with pictures of the White House lit up in rainbow colors.
I think of these things, the protests and marches, the social change, and I wonder how history will remember the early 2010's, the time of my youth.
I think, sometimes, of the 1960s and 1970s, of all the movement that happened then: for civil rights, for gay rights, for women's rights, against the Vietnam War, and I wonder how we shape up in terms of fighting for justice and fairness. I have learned, through books and television, through school and adults in general, what that period was like in a positive way. How will my children be taught about my generation's activism and protests when I was in high school and college (because I'm sure there will be more) in their schools?
I can only hope that the decade of my political and social awakening will be an inspiration, a positive moment in time that we will look back on with pride.