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Activists Around the World: Jamie Margolin · Stuff Mom Never Told You

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  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie. And Samantha. And welcome to Stuff
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  Speaker 1: Never Told You, a production of iHeartRadio.
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  Speaker 2: And for today's activists around the world, we are talking
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  Speaker 2: about young climate activist Jamie Margolin. So Margolin is a
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  Speaker 2: Colombian-American organizer who has started her own youth-led organization called
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  Speaker 2: Zero Hour, as well as Playa Movement, which we're going
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  Speaker 2: to talk about in a bit. But before we get
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  Speaker 2: into the organizations, let's talk about Jamie. So in 2017,
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  Speaker 2: Jamie had already started getting attention for her activism and
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  Speaker 2: her works in climate justice. And with that, she has
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  Speaker 2: talked about being underestimated. So in 2018, she was already
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  Speaker 2: getting accolades from publications like Teen Vogue, who named her
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  Speaker 2: one of the 21 under 21, which I want to say,
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  Speaker 2: I think she was in junior high school when she
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  Speaker 2: was getting these kind of accolades.
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  Speaker 1: Lord have mercy.
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  Speaker 2: So here's a bit from the article. As a teenager
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  Speaker 2: of Hispanic descent, Jamie has often felt underestimated. Quote, I
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  Speaker 2: took a day off from school to lobby with other
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  Speaker 2: youth activists and spent the day in a hearing room
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  Speaker 2: surrounded by old white fossil fuel executives. They talked about
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  Speaker 2: how there isn't any proof that fossil fuels are damaging
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  Speaker 2: the environment. After the hearing, I confronted them. What they
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  Speaker 2: said was a lie. And one of the men squeezed
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  Speaker 2: my shoulder and said, sweetie, don't worry yourself so much
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  Speaker 2: about the environment thing because corporations are actually the ones
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  Speaker 2: who do the most for the environment.
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  Speaker 1: We got it covered. Just focus on school.
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  Speaker 2: And in that column, she talks about how if she
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  Speaker 2: had made money off every time someone said something condescending
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  Speaker 2: like this, she'd be so rich. She's like, I could
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  Speaker 2: pay off college. It'd be amazing. And she was just
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  Speaker 2: talking about how she had to push forward and fighting
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  Speaker 2: jerks like this who would rather be condescending and insult
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  Speaker 2: her than actually listen and listen to facts. But again,
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  Speaker 2: she did not listen to the fools that said focus
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  Speaker 2: on school. She does focus on school. But of course,
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  Speaker 2: she's still with her activism. Instead, she went on to
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  Speaker 2: organize and create the youth-led organization. So she talks about
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  Speaker 2: how the 2016 election really pushed her into activism. She
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  Speaker 2: talks about being devastated with the reality of what would
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  Speaker 2: happen after the elections. And she wanted to do something
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  Speaker 2: bigger and how she had been influenced by other activists,
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  Speaker 2: young activists. to do similar to them. So in Inverse.com,
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  Speaker 2: she talks about what made her begin Zero Hour, which
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  Speaker 2: is the organization that she founded. Margolin founded Zero Hour
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  Speaker 2: when she was 15 after processing two disheartening events. One
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  Speaker 2: was the destruction of Hurricane Maria, the Category 5 hurricane
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  Speaker 2: that devastated Puerto Rico. The other was experiencing the struggle
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  Speaker 2: it took to breathe in Seattle after the city was
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  Speaker 2: covered in smoke from Canadian wildfires. The Washington negative, already
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  Speaker 2: a community organizer, said enough is enough. So it continues
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  Speaker 2: with her saying, Watching the incredible racist non-response toward Puerto
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  Speaker 2: Rico after Hurricane Maria, which was clearly a climate crisis,
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  Speaker 2: yet the media acted like it wasn't climate-caused, and literally
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  Speaker 2: not being able to breathe clean air for two weeks
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  Speaker 2: were the catalyst, Margolin says. So, yeah, it feels like
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  Speaker 2: it was so... It was yesterday with these events because
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  Speaker 2: we know that the events have left And Puerto Rico
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  Speaker 2: has not recovered since then and has had even more
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  Speaker 2: storms and have no access to clean drinking water currently.
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  Speaker 2: So I'm sure with all of that, it was something
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  Speaker 2: that was devastating for her to see, especially with the
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  Speaker 2: new current administration coming through. And we are where we
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  Speaker 2: are because I believe these articles were from 2018.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: And from their site, thisiszerohour.org, they write this about their organization.
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  Speaker 2: They are empowering youth for a sustainable future. Quote, the
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  Speaker 2: mission of Zero Hour is to center the voices of
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  Speaker 2: diverse youth in the conversation around climate and environmental justice.
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  Speaker 2: Zero Hour is a youth-led movement creating entry points, training,
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  Speaker 2: and resources for new young activists and organizers and adults
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  Speaker 2: who support our vision. Wanting to take concrete action around
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  Speaker 2: climate change. Together, we are a movement of unstoppable youth
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  Speaker 2: organizing to protest our rights and access to the natural
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  Speaker 2: resources in a clean, safe, and healthy environment that will
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  Speaker 2: ensure a livable future where we not just survive, but flourish.
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  Speaker 2: And yeah, she says that repeatedly about how this is affecting,
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  Speaker 2: this is going to affect her life. And like, after
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  Speaker 2: all the old people who seem to not care about
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  Speaker 2: the environment is gone, this is what they're left with,
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  Speaker 2: this disaster. And back to their site, a bit about
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  Speaker 2: their overview. They write, Zero Hour was born in the
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  Speaker 2: summer of 2017 when Jamie Margolin, Nadia Nazer, Madeline Tu,
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  Speaker 2: and Zanagi Artis came together. Frustrated by the inaction of
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  Speaker 2: elected officials and the neglect of youth voices in the
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  Speaker 2: climate change conversation, Jamie, Nadia, Madeline, and Zanagi came together
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  Speaker 2: from all different places across the country to build a
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  Speaker 2: global youth climate movement. Recognizing the need for a National
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  Speaker 2: Day of Youth-led mass action, They set out to ensure
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  Speaker 2: young voices took center stage. After a year of organizing
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  Speaker 2: online after their initial meeting, they led the Youth Climate
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  Speaker 2: March in Washington, D.C. and 25 cities around the world.
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  Speaker 2: What started as an idea to lead a mobilization by
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  Speaker 2: youth and for youth became Zero Hour, a global youth-led
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  Speaker 2: movement for climate justice. And they are still active, so
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  Speaker 2: you can go look at that. And this is what
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  Speaker 2: they write for their vision. We are committed to driving
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  Speaker 2: meaningful action and creating real impact through advocacy, education, and
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  Speaker 2: grassroots initiatives. We strive to, one, amplify youth voices. We
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  Speaker 2: want the voices of young people to be heard, but
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  Speaker 2: also considered in decisions affecting our planet's future. Two, advocate
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  Speaker 2: for climate action. We work tirelessly to hold decision makers
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  Speaker 2: accountable for implementing effective climate solutions. Three, foster community engagement.
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  Speaker 2: We create meaningful spaces for dialogue and collaboration, empowering local
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  Speaker 2: communities to take charge of their sustainable future. Four, promote
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  Speaker 2: environmental justice. We stand alongside marginalized communities disproportionately affected by
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  Speaker 2: climate change and advocating for equitable solutions. And five, urge
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  Speaker 2: elected officials. We want all elected officials to use this
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  Speaker 2: platform as our guide to take immediate and meaningful action
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  Speaker 2: on climate change. So we love to see it. And
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  Speaker 2: they're doing a lot of work all over the country
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  Speaker 2: and trying to get their voices out and bringing youth
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  Speaker 2: to really be active in these types of organizations and protests.
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  Speaker 2: I love to see it. It's these youths.
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  Speaker 1: It's the youths. I love them.
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  Speaker 2: Going back to Margolin, she's actually now a part of
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  Speaker 2: and have founded a Pelea movement and Pelea animations. And
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  Speaker 2: this is from their site, Peleainimations.com. As a purpose-driven animation studio,
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  Speaker 2: we craft visually bold narratives that spark emotion, amplify voices,
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  Speaker 2: and drive change. At Palaya Animations, we believe storytelling can
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  Speaker 2: shift culture. Through visually rich worlds and emotionally resonant characters,
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  Speaker 2: we bring to life the ideas and movements that matter most.
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  Speaker 2: So if you go to their Instagram, Palaya Movement, they
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  Speaker 2: write this, that they are a non-profit organization building a
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  Speaker 2: reality where war, colonialism, patriarchy, and Racism and capitalism are
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  Speaker 2: a distant memory. And they are under the Palayam Animation.
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  Speaker 2: It's really interesting because if you go to their site,
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  Speaker 2: the animation is gorgeous. And they seem to be partnering
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  Speaker 2: with a lot of indigenous communities to sell artwork or
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  Speaker 2: at least bring attention to the artwork and get money
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  Speaker 2: and fundraising for the communities. So I love seeing that.
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  Speaker 2: So back to the PalayamAnimation.com, they'll continue with this. Quote,
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  Speaker 2: Where animation meets advocacy animation is more than just an
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  Speaker 2: art form. It's a vehicle for impact. At Palaia Animation,
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  Speaker 2: we merge creativity with purpose using hand-drawn 2D animation to
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  Speaker 2: shed light on urgent social and environmental issues. By collaborating
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  Speaker 2: with artists, activists, and storytellers from around the world, we
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  Speaker 2: craft visually stunning films that not only entertain, but also
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  Speaker 2: educate and inspire action. So this is a quote from
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  Speaker 2: Margolin about it. Apaleia Animation isn't just storytelling. It's a
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  Speaker 2: force for justice, connection, and cultural change. We bring hand-drawn
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  Speaker 2: narratives to life that inspire empathy, amplify underrepresented voices, and
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  Speaker 2: ignite impact through art. Also, she has released a book.
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  Speaker 2: It is called Youth to Power, Your Voice and How
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  Speaker 2: to Use It. It was winner of the 2020 Nautilus
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  Speaker 2: Gold for YA Nonfiction. Gotta put it on our list, Annie.
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  Speaker 1: Gotta put it on the list.
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  Speaker 2: And it looks like a fantastic book about how to
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  Speaker 2: be a voice in this activism. And she, of course,
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  Speaker 2: has gotten many accolades, including the Teen Vogue, as well
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  Speaker 2: as BBC 100. You know that list I love? I
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  Speaker 2: love that list. I believe from 2018. So go and
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  Speaker 2: check her stuff out. Pelea Animation is her current work.
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  Speaker 2: And if you look her up on Instagram or the
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  Speaker 2: animation site on Instagram, it's some amazing stuff. Definitely worth
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  Speaker 2: looking into and following.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 2: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: Add another book to the list. I love it.
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  Speaker 3: Well, listeners, as always, we would love to hear from you.
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• 9:45
  Speaker 3: as always, to our super producer, Rima, and our executive producer, Maya.
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