1.These adorable brothers who believe in gender equality.
2.This 9-year-old who wants to remind young girls that they are valuable and powerful. “Freedom to me means choice," she says.
3.This 5-year-old cutie who knows that diversity matters.
4.This 9-year-old who knows just how smart and strong girls are. “If I could give one piece of advice to other kids it would be: if you want to make a change in the world, go ahead. Nobody can stop you,” she says.
5.This fierce little girl who wants YOU to rise up.
6.These precious 5-year-old twins who believe in the power of resistance.
7.And finally, this adorable little guy with a hilariously cheeky sign.
Leila Sales, who edited and assembled The Little Book of Little Activists, told BuzzFeed about how the idea for the book came about:
A few dozen of my colleagues and I chartered a bus from our NYC office down to D.C. for the Women’s March. It was an extraordinary experience. I was particularly impressed by all the kids I saw there. After I got home and started seeing photos of activist children (including this BuzzFeed piece), I realized this needed to be a book.
There’s been a lot of pernicious messaging recently that a democracy means you should accept whatever the elected officials hand to you, and that if you don’t agree with your government then you’re some kind of un-American traitor. This is, of course, the exact opposite of what a democracy should be. Being a participatory member of a democracy requires holding your government officials accountable, and speaking up when you disagree with them, and using peaceful techniques to try to get them to change their minds. Nonviolent protest is one of the most democratic things you can do. So I wanted a book to counteract some of the “shut up and sit down” messaging that we’ve been getting, to tell kids instead: your opinions are valid, your voices matter, and you’re not doing anything wrong by trying to make yourself be heard.
The Little Book of Little Activists will be published in September 2017. To learn more, click here.
