An Analysis of Youth Activism in America

The paper and analysis look at historic and contemporary examples of activism while paying specific attention to the role that students and younger demographics play. It will analyze the Civil Rights Movement, Black Lives Matter, and #MeToo as case studies, looking at the levels of involvement in younger groups of people and how this involvement differed from older generations. With this research, I will be studying the movement born in response to the Parkland school shooting, including legislative progress and the multiple Marches for Our Lives, as a case study. This case will be examined side-by-side with the previously mentioned movements to evaluate its development and to suggest what to do as the midterm elections in November draw closer. This paper will demonstrate which methods are most effective for involving young people in politics and in what capacity these groups can best be involved. I will examine a variety of “next steps” that allows students and teenagers to be involved in politics and their communities, even if they are unable to vote or run for office