Hello Everyone!
My name is Tabia Smith, and I am I sophomore at Wellesley College. I am pursing a Media Arts and Sciences and Spanish double major. I am from Charlotte, North Carolina, and having attended a very conservative private school, activism and social issues were always an interest of mine. Even from a young age, it was easy to see the administration’s desire to stop any progressive efforts at our school (like having a GSA, a more gender equal dress code, etc). And being from the south, students were also conservative and often racist or ignorant about social justice issues. This motivated me to learn more about social issues and join my YMCA’s Youth and Government program. Now at Wellesley, I try to keep myself updated on current events, and I am a writer and talent on Wellesley’s satirical news show.
I find bouts of activism to be especially inspiring when they are started by children. Child activists make me forget my hopelessness or cynicism about the effectiveness of activism in our country, especially when the power of conservative, oppressive officials seems too powerful to challenge. They remind me that if people that young can do something, I most definitely can. I especially like the story of Little Miss Flint. An 8 year old from Flint, Michigan, Mari Copeny became the face of the Flint water crisis after writing a letter to President Obama requesting meeting to discuss the effects of the water crisis during her trip to D.C. Copeny’s work didn’t end with her meeting with Obama, since then, she has raised awareness of the water crisis on social media, organized toy drives, and even meet with Donald Trump.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/22/little-miss-flint-water-crisis-amariyanna-copeny