Just Because We Can’t Yet Vote Doesn’t Mean We Can’t Make a Difference

How the youngest members of Gen Z are rising up against systemic injustice and fighting to hold elected officials accountable

Though we aren’t old enough to vote yet, many of us teen activists aren’t content with sitting on the sidelines like we are often expected to, watching others make the decisions that govern the rest of our lives.

For the past month, I have seen my friends and fellow high schoolers display incredible conscientiousness and empathy by educating others in our community, signing petitions, and emailing government officials to push for change.

I have seen teenagers nationwide rise up and advocate for their beliefs and stand in solidarity with the Black community. Some of my friends have held petition-signing livestreams to encourage others to act and condemn police brutality and systemic racism.

According to Pew Social Trends, Gen Z is more likely than other generations to prefer an activist government, with approximately 70% saying the government ought to do more to solve problems.

For evidence of Gen Z’s influence, look at the TikTok campaign launched by teenage K-Pop fans this past June, which resulted in a surge of no-show registrations to President Trump’s Tulsa rally, diminishing turnout. Efforts like that have inspired a sense of power within myself and my peers, since it offers proof that we can impact politics even though we aren’t old enough to vote.

We have been underestimated time and time again, to the point where officials were shocked that Gen Z had the power to destroy a rally without even attending (or rather, by not attending)!

There are also the Instagram education campaigns led by both local and national teenage activists to change people’s worldviews. I personally have talked to many of my friends to help them understand systemic racism in a way they have never thought about before. I’ve talked to non BIPOC adults and peers about their non-inclusive language and stereotyping. It’s not easy to call out peers and adults on their implicit biases, but it’s necessary and can often be done by gently explaining why their point of view is incorrect.

 It’s scary to think about the magnitude of systemic racism and the minute nature of a singular voice, but one voice can inspire so many others to rise up and fight for change. Most adults assume that serious conversations about race and equality don’t occur amongst teenagers, but in reality, teenagers are just as involved—even those of us who are under 18.

Instagram has become a hub for civil discourse regarding socio-political issues, particularly during the past month, as users began posting about social issues. Of course, Instagram isn’t meant to be a news outlet, but activists have circulated critical information for those who don’t check the news, to raise awareness in general. For instance, petitions to put pressure on police departments to fire officers who abused their power have circulated in story posts.

According to teenage activist Varsha Vasudevan from Virginia, activism has made her more empathetic and open towards others’ issues and has made her bolder in her opinions. By fighting for others’ rights, Vasudevan finds that she became more sensitive to struggles others face. She says information dissemination is crucial in combating the inequality in the rate and quality of information being circulated.

Case in point: Before the recent protests against police brutality in the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, I had always believed that systemic racism was a thing of the past since it was so rarely covered in school and so often ignored or minimized by bigger media outlets.

However, I was inspired by activists to educate myself after reading about these and countless other instances of police brutality. Now I’m horrified at the active silencing of Black voices and debilitating prevalence of systemic racism.

My friends and I have gone on petition signing sprees, and I know many teenagers who have emailed their local representatives to demand change. While the road to change is long, some state representatives have agreed to support defunding the police department, which spurred on the desire to take more action.

Many teenagers, like myself, who are not Black, have emerged over the last month with a greater understanding of the plight that our Black friends and community members face every day. We are now passionate activists who demand social change. We may not be old enough to vote yet, but we sure are old enough to make a difference.

Our country’s condition is far from ideal, and while many adults believe teenagers should be having fun and not worry about policies, the failure of those in power forces us to step up for our future.

We’ve been told to wait for our turn to vote before we get into politics. But I don’t want teenagers to learn complacency, to learn to value our comfort over the lives of others. I want our generation to be a force to be reckoned with. And the power of our generation comes from the voice of individuals.

Pallavi Vemuri is the Teen Editorial Director for Her Collective Voice, writer for the Humane Society of Loudoun County, Editor-In-Chief for Cards to Cure Corona, and a writer for Road to Balance, Health over Wealth, and Medical Wonders. She absolutely loves debating, and you can usually find her debating socio-economic implications of current events with her debate friends. When she isn’t writing or debating, she’s probably singing (terribly) in her room!