THE K W NO

ONE FAMILY, THREE GENERATIONS: A CONVERSATION ON LGBTQ+ TOLERANCE IN AMERICA

CONCENTRATION CAMPS: FROM JAPANESE INTERNMENT TO TODAY’S DETENTION FACILITIES

HOW YOUNG PEOPLE ARE LEADING A NEW AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY

In the past decade, there have been countless articles published about the millennial and Gen Z populations and their apparent disregard for how things have always been done. These groups, roughly defined as young people born anywhere from the late 1980s to the mid-to-late 2000s, are constant targets of derision from older generations because of their focus on self-care, on being politically correct, on valuing personal lives over work and for not getting married and having children.

While these same criticisms happen as every new generation comes of age, the young people living in the world of 2019 are pushing back against a society at the brink of collapse. From mass extinction, to climate change, to concentration camps and the spreading of hate, these youth have grown up in a world of extremes. But instead of letting this force them to conform and accept the status quo, they are fighting back.

With young people like Greta Thunberg and Emma González leading the way, today’s youth are taking it upon themselves to enact change. They are speaking out and fighting for laws around climate change to address the real threat we are all facing. They are pushing for gun control and safe schools. They are refusing to accept that “immigrant detention facilities” are anything other than American concentration camps and they are no longer subscribing to heteronormative ideologies that are simply not reflective of the complexitities of human identity and sexuality.

Even more importantly: they are pushing older generations to do the same.

By leading by example, they are dragging the rest of the country into a more accepting and equitable society. They are truly creating the path to “Awakening.” In this publication, the young people of The kNOw demonstrate the different ways they are continuing to fight for this awakening with examples from their own lives. As you read about their struggles with LGBTQ+ acceptance, their fears about mass extinction and their fight for more inclusive and comprehensive sex education, I have only one ask of you: Hear them.

Let go of your own political leanings and prejudices and listen to what they are saying. I promise you, you will not regret it.

Kody Stoebig Program Manager & Editor

The kNOw Youth Media is a program of Youth Leadership Institute. At Youth Leadership Institute, young people realize their power by learning to use their voices to create meaningful change. We work within coalitions and with elected officials to promote policy change that makes our communities more equitable for young people, especially young people of color. To learn more, visit yli.org!

One Family, Three Generations: A Conversation On LGBTQ+ Tolerance In America

04. ZOFIA TREXLER America

06. AN AMERICAN To Earth, From Earth

06. MARIA TORRES

07. IZZY RODRIGUEZ

The Reality of Reproductive Rights In The U.S.

08. RAYMART CATACUTAN

Concentration Camps: From Japanese Internment To Today’s Detention Facilities

10. JOHNSEN DEL ROSARIO

How Young People Are Leading A New Agricultural Revolution

12. ERIC ESCAREÑO

How Mandated Sexual Education Is Failing Our Children

13. IVAN VICENTE MANRÍQUEZ

Fresno Weighs In: LGBTQ+ Inclusive Sexual Education

14. ULONIE GARZA

What Animal Extinction Means For Our Own Extinction

14. MARIA TORRES

Recycling For Dummies

16. MELISSA ANDRADE

Too Much Change Is Not A Good Thing. Ask The Climate.