Young activists from across Vermont on Friday called on state legislators to pass policies that fight the impacts of climate change — including those in the state’s Climate Action Plan — and that promote equity and antiracism in schools.
Speakers at a press conference representing the Vermont Youth Lobby and the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network, which both hosted the virtual event, also said they plan to organize weekly activism work on Fridays in schools and at the Statehouse to make their voices heard.
“The people in the Statehouse have made some movements in the right direction. They’ve talked a big game,” said Django Grace, a sophomore at Brattleboro Union High School. “I want them to show me that they can play the big game.”
Speakers on Friday said Vermont needs to end its reliance on fossil fuels, especially for transportation and heating and cooling buildings. Legislators should boost incentives for residents who want to purchase electric vehicles and ensure more homes are weatherized, Montpelier High School sophomore Willow Sterling-Proulx said.
The Legislature also should update the state’s “bottle law,” speakers said, which tacks return incentives onto some disposable beverage containers. Last year, the House passed sweeping reforms to the law that would have doubled the number of containers eligible for redemption, and then recycling, in the state.
Speakers also called on legislators to create an environmental justice policy, and in general, take action on the recommendations in the state’s Climate Action Plan.
“We don’t need to invent more solutions. It’s all here,” Grace said. “We just need to implement them on a large scale.”
To ensure racial justice, lawmakers should create policies that make housing and the criminal justice system in Vermont more equitable, and remove armed police officers from schools, said Addie Lentzner, an Arlington Memorial High School senior.
Lentzner and Sydney Allyn, a sophomore at Colchester High School, also said the state should establish antiracism standards for education. Schools could be certified as antiracist if they meet certain guidelines, they said, such as addressing racist incidents, offering diverse literature and holding anti-bias training.
“We can choose to accept antiracist education in our schools, but marginalized groups can’t choose the identity they were born into,” Allyn said.
The House and Senate passed a resolution last year vowing to eliminate systematic racism. Now, Lentzner said, they need to back that up with action.
“One year later, it’s the beginning of the legislative session, and we must hold our public officials up to the task,” Lentzner said.
Speakers also said the Vermont Youth Lobby is launching a “Fridays for Future” program through which students across the state can engage in legislative activism.
Gabe Groveman, a senior at Montpelier High School, said that activism could look like a letter-writing campaign, making signs and posters or coming to the Statehouse to speak with legislators directly about issues important to young people.
“I see more and more young people looking to get involved, and more and more organizations working together to help,” Groveman said. “But we cannot do this alone.”
