By Abby Bressette
Heather Belfort is the organizer of BLM NOVA, a student activism group in Northern Virginia. Belfort says that the group runs mainly on social media and is used to spread information about local protests and petitions relating to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
Belfort says that many of the BLM protests in June were student-led, which shows Gen Z’s willingness to advocate for change.
“It’s our youth that wants to make a change, not our adults. We’re educating the adults,” said Belfort. “And that just shows how backwards everything is. It should be the other way around.”
Belfort also said that her group informs people on how to support Black Lives Matter in their everyday lives; for example, by supporting black-owned businesses. Additionally, she said that teachers should further educate their students on black history.
Group organizers and activists have increasingly used social media as a platform. Similarly to Belfort, Gabrielle Zwi runs D.C. Teens Action mainly on social media.
“The thing that we’re known for is amplifying information about protests, fundraisers, petitions, and other civic engagement opportunities surrounding [Black Lives Matter],” Zwi said. She also said that D.C. Teens Action helps bring students together for a common cause.
Zwi said that to create change in America, the voices of black people and people with disabilities should be amplified, as these groups are often targeted by the police. She said that as someone who has a brother with autism, her family has had negative interactions with the police.
“More people from affected communities need to be listened to,” Zwi said. “We should start by identifying the communities that really have the most experience [with police violence] and the most need [to have their voices heard].”
Zwi also said that resource officers need to be removed from schools. She said that the presence of police officers in schools “contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline” and instills the belief that students should be punished rather than rehabilitated.
In recent years, students have become more civically involved. According to a survey conducted by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), school counselors and college admissions officers have seen an increase in student activism to around 52% of all U.S. secondary schools. The NACAC attributes this to the current turbulence of America’s political climate.
Student activism has also become more widespread nowadays with the help of social media. Social media allows information to travel quickly; in this case, such information would help students organize and attend activism opportunities such as protests.
Both Zwi and Belfort have continued to support the Black Lives Matter movement. In mid-June, Belfort led a protest to defund the Fairfax County Police Department, meaning that government police funding would be redirected toward other causes. Zwi held a student protest workshop in mid-July, which helped students organize their own protests.