By Kate Stewart

“Activism is not something I do…it is part of who I am.” 
- Kate Michelman, Advocates for Youth’s  2009 Urban Retreat

Advocates for Youth recently held its 10th  Annual Urban Retreat in which 118 young activists from around the country as well as from Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Jamaica gathered in Washington D.C. for four days of training and workshops.  During the introductions of the retreat, I listened to the mostly high school and college students talk about their lives and what they are doing in their own communities.  As much as I tried to put into words the experience, I could only get out on paper –  WOW, amazing, terrific, courageous, outstanding. As I tried to craft these superlatives into full sentences, my words paled in comparison to what I was hearing and seeing. These young people are not only energetic and articulate but strongly passionate about their beliefs and the work they are undertaking in their communities.  I got the sense that I was witnessing just the beginning of their long lives of activism.

So, it was fitting that on the last day, during the closing session, they got to hear from Kate Michelman, another activists who has spent a lifetime of tireless work in support of women’s rights. As I listened to Kate speak about her own life, I was finally able to describe what I was seeing and hearing from the youth activists. These young people were not just activists, but activism defines who they are.

I started thinking of my own daughters and how in their own ways they also illustrate this point.

When my youngest was in pre-school, she learned about the endangerment of whales. As soon as we arrived home from school, she grabbed her crayons and made posters to “Save the Whales.” She insisted a poster go up on our front door and that we bring some to school the next day so she could hand them out and they could “march” to save whales.

I had a similar experience with my older daughter when she was about seven years old. One night after we had been to a friend’s First Communion she asked me why we didn’t go to church. I thought of all my reasons and decided the one she could relate to best was the Catholic Church’s stand on homosexuality – we live in a neighborhood with many families that have two mommies or two daddies. So I told her how the Church does not believe gay men and women should be allowed to marry and, in fact, believes that a man loving another man or a woman loving another woman in that way is wrong.  Her reaction was instantaneous. “We need to do something. That is so wrong. Let’s make signs and go protest in front of the Catholic Church and get them to change their minds.”

I thought about these two instances while watching Kate Michelman address a room full of young people who were probably much like my own daughters when they were six and seven.  Unfortunately, for many of these young people, their activism comes from personal experiences where they have been ostracized or victimized because of who they are and what they believe in.  And their conviction and courage sets them apart from other youth I know who have also faced discrimination and mistreatment.

So what is it that makes activism not something you just do but an integral part of your life?  What makes one person willing to take a stand not only for themselves but for others?

Is it what we experienced at home at a young age?  Was it something our mothers ate when they were pregnant? Was it something I ate while pregnant that has already turned my daughters into activists? Is there an activism gene?

Whatever it is, I am glad I had the opportunity to experience the energy that a room full of young activists creates. And I am grateful that so many young people had the opportunity to come together for a weekend to learn about how to turn the “activism” they have inside themselves into real change that will benefit all of us.

Read more blogs from Vision Matters