#StrikeWithUs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 13, 2020
CONTACT: Dillon Bernard | media@strikewithus.org
Youth Announce Three Day Climate Strike Launching On Earth Day
Across the U.S, the Events Will Take Place From the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, until April 24
In 100 days, young people and adults across the United States will come together for three days of youth-led climate action. The 50th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, will kick off three days of nationwide events, including strikes, marches, rallies, and teach-ins.
The US Youth Climate Strike Coalition, comprised of nine youth-led climate organizations, announced the plans for the three days of climate action through an op-ed signed by over 80 adult allies, including Jane Fonda, Secretary John Kerry, and Bill McKibben. The op-ed also highlights the importance of centering indigenous youth and youth of color, the need for multigenerational support in the climate movement, and the significance of uniting across movement during this critical election year.
The announcement comes as wildfires scorch Australia, killing 28 people and over a billion animals, and while floods blanket Indonesia, killing 66 people and displaced 400,000 more. Both ongoing events represent the role climate change has in intensifying disasters.
The three days of climate action, from April 22 to April 24, build on the momentum of the largest youth-led climate mobilization on September 20, 2019, when 650,000 people across the United States led strikes to call on elected officials to rise up and address the climate crisis. Across 1,300 events, September 20 was a call for elected officials and world leaders to address the climate crisis with swift and effective policies.
“Last year, we mobilized hundreds of thousands of people around climate action, making it clear that if our demands were not met, we would take our movement to the next level. We meant it. 2020 is the year we must usher in the decade of climate action to save the future of our generation, and every generation to come,” said Feliquan Charlemagne, Executive Director of US Youth Climate Strike.
On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, youth and adults will our collective power and unity, with millions of young people and adults participating in thousands of strikes across the country. On this historic day of climate action, we will center and hear from Indigenous people and people of color and reflect on our personal connections to the earth.
On Thursday, April 23, we will participate in community action, with young people on college campuses demanding their schools divest from fossil fuels while adults target financial institutions with a clear ask: quit profiting off the destruction of our planet.
On Friday, April 24, we will focus on escalated actions targeting elected officials, with a demand that the climate crisis is addressed urgently. As the finale of the three days of climate action, a central focus of the day is on voter registration, with an ask that eligible voters register to vote and pledge to use their voice and vote in 2020.
“Across these three days of climate action, we are sending a clear message to the powerful about the need to prioritize our future over greed. To send the loudest message, we are asking everyone who can to join us for these intergenerational actions. Climate action must be a priority as we head into the 2020 election, and we are determined to carry the momentum of these multiple days of action into the voting booth,” said Marlow Baines, Youth Director of Earth Guardians.
Coordinated by Future Coalition, the Youth Climate Strike Coalition includes organizations such as DivestEd, Earth Guardians, Earth Uprising, Extinction Rebellion-Youth, Fridays for Future USA, International Indigenous Youth Council, Sunrise Movement, US Youth Climate Strike, and Zero Hour.
The Climate Strike is a multigenerational and intersectional movement, with youth coalition leading national organizing efforts with support from an adult coalition, including organizations such as 350.org, Alliance for Climate Education, Center for Biological Diversity, Climate Hawks Vote, Earth Day Network, GreenFaith, Greenpeace, Hip Hop Caucus, Interfaith Power & Light, Labor Network for Sustainability, March On, Mothers Out Front, MoveOn, National Wildlife Federation, NextGen America, NRDC, Planet911, Our Children’s Peace, Oxfam, Sierra Club, SEIU, The Center for Popular Democracy, and The League of Conservation Voters. The Strike With Us campaign is supported by a network of more than 300 movement partners who mobilize their networks and amplify the Climate Strike actions.
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The Youth Climate Strike Coalition is composed of the following organizations:
Divest Ed is a training and strategy hub working to resource, vitalize, and broaden the fossil fuel divestment movement one campus campaign at a time.
Earth Guardians is an organization that empowers young environmental and social leaders through education, tools and resources, in order to become effective leaders in their communities.
Earth Uprising is a global, youth-led organization focusing on climate education, climate advocacy and mobilizing young people to take direct action for their future.
Extinction Rebellion Youth is led by a community of young people within Extinction Rebellion, a network focused on coordinating national civil disobedience actions to draw attention to and persuade governments to act on the climate and ecological emergency.
Fridays for Future USA is a people-led movement around the climate crisis. Founded in August 2018, Fridays for Future was inspired by teen activist Greta Thunberg, who sat in front of the Swedish parliament every school day for three weeks to protest against the lack of action on the climate crisis.
Future Coalition is a national network and community for youth-led organizations and youth leaders. Future Coalition works collaboratively to provide young people with the resources, tools, and support they need to create the change they want to see in their communities and in this country.
The International Indigenous Youth Council is an organization that seeks to organize youth through education, spiritual practices and civic engagement to create positive change in our communities.
Sunrise Movement is a youth-led movement of young people committed to stopping the climate crisis. Sunrise Movement is currently leading actions around a Green New Deal, including by planning hundreds of launch parties across the country in January 2020.
US Youth Climate Strike is a youth-led movement that helped organize over 424 student strikes occurring in at least 45 states on March 15, 2019. US Youth Climate Strike recently announced plans for youth-led “primary strikes” around the primary and caucus process in each state.
Zero Hour is an intersectional movement around climate change. In 2018, Zero Hour organized the first official Youth Climate March in 25 cities around the world and laid the groundwork for the climate strike movement.