Across the country, students - from elementary school to high school - are speaking out against gun violence, racial discrimination, and bullying among other societal issues. And people, everyone from elected officials to corporate CEOs to journalists, are taking notice.
Historically speaking, some of the country's biggest social change originated with the acts of young people. From the four teenagers who sat at a Woolworth's counter in Greensboro, N.C., to college students' massive protest of apartheid in South Africa, to the Black Lives Matter and #NeverAgain movements of today, all are examples of the United States' rich tradition of young people being on the front lines of change.
Mary Beth Tinker
Free Speech Activist
Robyn Minter Smyers
President, Board of Directors, The City Club of Cleveland