Youth lead thousands in march to save climate
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
Thousands of young people fi lled
the streets of Lower Manhattan
to call on those in power to take
action on climate change, before it’s too
late.
“This is an emergency; our house is
on fi re,” climate change activist Greta
Thunberg told a crowd of strikers at
Battery Park where the climate strike
march ended. “We will not just stand
aside and watch.”
Strikers fi rst gathered in a packed Foley
Square; WABC-TV reported more
than 60,000 people participated in the
march. Last week, the New York City
Department of Education announced
that public school students would receive
an excused absence for attending
the strike.
The plaza in front of nearby courthouses
was a sea of signs Friday reading
“protect our mother” and “there is
no Planet B.” Young people chanted
“This is what democracy looks like!”
and “The sea is rising and so are we!”
as they waited to hear from members
of the Youth Climate Strike Coalition,
which organized the protest.
Members spoke to the crowd about
the urgency to mitigate the effects of
climate change, the importance of respecting
Climate change activist Greta Thunberg speaks to a crowd of thousands
at Battery Park days before the UN Climate Change Summit.
Thunberg became a household name after she repeatedly skipped
school to protest for more action on climate change mitigation outside
of the Swedish parliament.
indigenous and front line communities,
in the fi ght for climate justice.
One of the speakers, 13-year-old Marisol
Rivera, spoke about her journey to
join the climate strike because of Hurricanes
Sandy and Maria.
Scientists say climate change increased
the storms’ strength.
Seven years ago, Rivera’s home in
Brooklyn was destroyed by Hurricane
Sandy. “I remember turning around
and seeing a huge amount of water fall
Photos by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech
Some climate strikers could not make their way into Foley Square but gathered on streets in front of nearby
courthouses.
onto my bed,” Rivera recalled.
Five years later, when Hurricane Maria
devastated Puerto Rico, Dominica
and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Rivera was
forced to relive that trauma again when
family members’ homes were fl ooded
and a close family friend died in the
storm.
As fate would have it, the strike took
place on the two-year anniversary of
Maria, which left 3,000 dead on the
island.
“You never think that you are going
to be the type of person that is hit by all
these disasters … it’s the kind of stuff
you watch on TV,” said Rivera. “But the
ugly reality is that the crisis will effect
everyone.”
Speakers also reiterated the strikers’
three demands: Ending fossil fuel
consumption, prioritizing front line
communities in fully transitioning to
renewable energy, and holding government
offi cials along with businesses and
other institutions of power accountable
for the effects of climate change.
Chanting protesters then marched
from Foley Square area down Broadway
to the Battery. There, protesters heard
other activists, songs and climate activists
including Jaden and Willow Smith
(the children of actor Will Smith) and
most importantly Thunberg.
Many of the strikers cited Thunberg’s
efforts in her native Sweden that
catalyzed their own climate change activism.
They say she made them believe
in the power of the individual to enact
change.
At Battery Park, Thunberg called on
the United Nations to listen to what
young people, whose futures are more
affected rising global temperatures, are
demanding. According to Thunberg,
global leaders have a chance during the
climate summit to prove their solidarity
with the young climate strikers rather
than pay them lip service.
A human chain that was created by organizers to protect young protesters
from the media and others.
20 September 26, 2019 TVG Schneps Media