[Applause]
I’m sitting in class right
the teachers droning on about eukaryotic
cells or something like that except no
one’s really listening because last
night I sent out a few hundred texts and
Instagram DMS for everyone to walk out
of their classrooms at 10:30 right on
the dog I told them to do this because I
was and still am fed up right up that
kids black men people 96 people are
dying every day due to bad people with
an insane amount of power in their hands
a power that can kill hundreds in
seconds
I’m fed up because I a 14 year old had
to think about how I look while walking
in my own neighborhood have to remember
were what my parents taught me what to
do while interacting with the police
officer that I have to think about where
I can run where I can hide in case
someone tries to come and shoot up the
17 people in my geometry class and that
I have to know that 40% of the people
Commission to protect us have records of
domestic violence and I’ve a gun
strapped to them at all times on the job
and not even on the anniversary of the
first major school shooting in the 1990s
rarely any governmental action has been
taken to prevent this problem that is
plaguing America there are little to no
laws that say that people who pose a
threat to themselves or other people
should not get guns that they can use to
kill themselves or other people there
are little to no laws that say that
people who have already hurts other
people cannot get guns that they can use
to kill hundreds of people in seconds
and those same guns that they can use to
kill hundreds in seconds that are used
in the military can be found in the
suburban home and Frisco McKinney Dallas
every single city in Texas so I told him
that and they listened we joined
thousands if not millions of other other
kids and walking out of our classrooms
send a message to our administrators the
government and even the world that we
are done with our voices being stifled
or even completely disregarded with
issues that involve us now more than
ever we need we have issues that need
fixing and policies that need to be
looked at with a detailed eye and eye
that most certainly belongs to our
generation our generation our generation
Generation Z is calling out the
government in ways that aren’t even
imaginable take the Parkland kids for
example kids that survived a terrible
tragedy kids like David hog and Jacque
and Joplin corn and my absolute queen
and absolutely idle gonzales kids our
age organizing marches walkouts Dian’s
and most importantly voter drives to get
their messages to the white house and
the only difference between you and
these kids is pretty much nothing what
you have in common with
already-established youth activists is
your youth your young so are 25% of
people in the u.s. so am i we’re young
that means we have a unique point of
view that means because we’re young most
these issues are going to be affecting
us most of our lifetime so we should
probably have a commitment to solving
these problems now right think about it
like this over half of the politicians
in office now will be dead by the time
it is most important to act in fact the
average age of in Congress is 60 years
old I’m not letting some old guy sit
around in his office making citizens
about me without me no way our youth has
power we are the power to use our voices
use the power of social media and
technology like I did and use the
undeniable fact the fact that we are the
future
but this is a big task for anyone to
understand the concept that our ideas
are going to be shaping the world of
tomorrow
that can be a little daunting so I came
up with a little equation for you guys
it’s called James’s three-step plan for
sticking it to the man as said in the
catchy title and this plan has three
steps so I’ll start with the first one
passion passion is something that makes
you feel something your I every single
one of you is passion about something I
can see it your passion about equal
rights their environment the arts every
single one of you has an issue that
makes you feel something passion is what
you’re driving me you and other young
people to be upstanding citizens in our
communities if you’re truly passionate
about something it lights a fire under
your butt to get up and do something
which brings me to the second part of
James’s three-step plan for sticking it
to the man action + passion + action yea
this fire in your butt and what are you
going to do about it
you can find a way to make your passion
do something for example if you’re
passionate about the environment make
like some kids in Canada that worked
with a major fast-food chain to make
their cups more environmentally friendly
passion about music read the studies
about music making older people happier
and play your music a poner at your
local nursing nursing home you can find
a way to make your passion do something
because what happens when you have a
bunch of kids putting their passion into
action you get real meaningful change
that’s some passionate in action and the
third step and James’s three-step plan
for signatu the man change this is so so
important because nothing gets better
without someone changing something and
generation our generations decisions our
actions now will shape how the world
will look 50 60 70 years from now this
happened with the civil rights movement
when kids march
Equal Rights in equal education as those
white kids on the other side of town and
happened in the 80s when people with HIV
eight people with hiv/aids marched to
have equal access to health care and
look at the progress they made look at
the changes they made I’m able to go to
school with my white peers and people
living with hiv/aids have access to
medicine that they can use to minimize
the symptoms and minimize the risk of
them passing on the virus to others and
I think Margaret Mead said it best when
she stated never doubt that a small
group of thoughtful committed citizens
can change the world indeed it’s the
only thing that ever has our generation
has moved mountains and will continue to
move mountains and improve the quality
of life for right now and in the future
so go out there grab your posters use
your pens your voices your instruments
whatever you need to make a meaningful
change in our community because our
world right now is like a bus in our
generation and our passions have taken
over the real and we’re not swerving off
the word of progress and the progress
starts with us the future it is us thank
you for coming to my TED talk
[Applause] you
I’m sitting in class right
the teachers droning on about eukaryotic
cells or something like that except no
one’s really listening because last
night I sent out a few hundred texts and
Instagram DMS for everyone to walk out
of their classrooms at 10:30 right on
the dog I told them to do this because I
was and still am fed up right up that
kids black men people 96 people are
dying every day due to bad people with
an insane amount of power in their hands
a power that can kill hundreds in
seconds
I’m fed up because I a 14 year old had
to think about how I look while walking
in my own neighborhood have to remember
were what my parents taught me what to
do while interacting with the police
officer that I have to think about where
I can run where I can hide in case
someone tries to come and shoot up the
17 people in my geometry class and that
I have to know that 40% of the people
Commission to protect us have records of
domestic violence and I’ve a gun
strapped to them at all times on the job
and not even on the anniversary of the
first major school shooting in the 1990s
rarely any governmental action has been
taken to prevent this problem that is
plaguing America there are little to no
laws that say that people who pose a
threat to themselves or other people
should not get guns that they can use to
kill themselves or other people there
are little to no laws that say that
people who have already hurts other
people cannot get guns that they can use
to kill hundreds of people in seconds
and those same guns that they can use to
kill hundreds in seconds that are used
in the military can be found in the
suburban home and Frisco McKinney Dallas
every single city in Texas so I told him
that and they listened we joined
thousands if not millions of other other
kids and walking out of our classrooms
send a message to our administrators the
government and even the world that we
are done with our voices being stifled
or even completely disregarded with
issues that involve us now more than
ever we need we have issues that need
fixing and policies that need to be
looked at with a detailed eye and eye
that most certainly belongs to our
generation our generation our generation
Generation Z is calling out the
government in ways that aren’t even
imaginable take the Parkland kids for
example kids that survived a terrible
tragedy kids like David hog and Jacque
and Joplin corn and my absolute queen
and absolutely idle gonzales kids our
age organizing marches walkouts Dian’s
and most importantly voter drives to get
their messages to the white house and
the only difference between you and
these kids is pretty much nothing what
you have in common with
already-established youth activists is
your youth your young so are 25% of
people in the u.s. so am i we’re young
that means we have a unique point of
view that means because we’re young most
these issues are going to be affecting
us most of our lifetime so we should
probably have a commitment to solving
these problems now right think about it
like this over half of the politicians
in office now will be dead by the time
it is most important to act in fact the
average age of in Congress is 60 years
old I’m not letting some old guy sit
around in his office making citizens
about me without me no way our youth has
power we are the power to use our voices
use the power of social media and
technology like I did and use the
undeniable fact the fact that we are the
future
but this is a big task for anyone to
understand the concept that our ideas
are going to be shaping the world of
tomorrow
that can be a little daunting so I came
up with a little equation for you guys
it’s called James’s three-step plan for
sticking it to the man as said in the
catchy title and this plan has three
steps so I’ll start with the first one
passion passion is something that makes
you feel something your I every single
one of you is passion about something I
can see it your passion about equal
rights their environment the arts every
single one of you has an issue that
makes you feel something passion is what
you’re driving me you and other young
people to be upstanding citizens in our
communities if you’re truly passionate
about something it lights a fire under
your butt to get up and do something
which brings me to the second part of
James’s three-step plan for sticking it
to the man action + passion + action yea
this fire in your butt and what are you
going to do about it
you can find a way to make your passion
do something for example if you’re
passionate about the environment make
like some kids in Canada that worked
with a major fast-food chain to make
their cups more environmentally friendly
passion about music read the studies
about music making older people happier
and play your music a poner at your
local nursing nursing home you can find
a way to make your passion do something
because what happens when you have a
bunch of kids putting their passion into
action you get real meaningful change
that’s some passionate in action and the
third step and James’s three-step plan
for signatu the man change this is so so
important because nothing gets better
without someone changing something and
generation our generations decisions our
actions now will shape how the world
will look 50 60 70 years from now this
happened with the civil rights movement
when kids march
Equal Rights in equal education as those
white kids on the other side of town and
happened in the 80s when people with HIV
eight people with hiv/aids marched to
have equal access to health care and
look at the progress they made look at
the changes they made I’m able to go to
school with my white peers and people
living with hiv/aids have access to
medicine that they can use to minimize
the symptoms and minimize the risk of
them passing on the virus to others and
I think Margaret Mead said it best when
she stated never doubt that a small
group of thoughtful committed citizens
can change the world indeed it’s the
only thing that ever has our generation
has moved mountains and will continue to
move mountains and improve the quality
of life for right now and in the future
so go out there grab your posters use
your pens your voices your instruments
whatever you need to make a meaningful
change in our community because our
world right now is like a bus in our
generation and our passions have taken
over the real and we’re not swerving off
the word of progress and the progress
starts with us the future it is us thank
you for coming to my TED talk
[Applause] you
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