We at Sunrise, we know that everyone has something to lose to the climate crisis and everything to gain by stopping it. We deeply respect and appreciate the wisdom, experience, and support of our elders in the organizing community and understand that we can learn a lot about social movements, fighting for justice, and what does and doesn’t work. That being said, Sunrise is a youth-led, youth-centered movement where we’re focused primarily on organizing young people: ~35 and younger. If you’re not a young person, but still want to support and organize with Sunrise, this document is the place for you!
Sunrise’s decision to be youth-led and youth-centered is both a strategic and cultural one. In the climate crisis, young people face an unfortunate reality: every one of us will see the devastating effects of climate change in our lifetime. We have inherited a crisis that we did not create— and there is a story to tell about a new generation of Americans who are standing up to protect their future. Throughout history, we have seen that youth voices hold a unique moral clarity, and the climate crisis is no exception. Choosing to focus on young people is a key part of our strategy to reach millions.
Sunrise is also filling a cultural gap for young people in the movement. Young people today have grown up knowing that the stable climate that human civilization has depended on for millennia could crumble within our lifetimes. Yet, we’ve seen political leaders continue to fail us, often laughing us off or calling us young and naive. That’s been deeply discouraging for many of us. In our society, there aren’t many spaces that trust and uplift the leadership of young people. Young people were searching for a space that would not only allow them to organize but would also give them the community they were searching for. Our youth-centered focus makes sure that we are building a community and an identity— vital ingredients to keep a movement together.
We need the support of all of you— it just comes in a slightly different form. We love the enthusiasm you’ve shown and appreciate the organizing that you’ve already done to help get us to this point! This 35+ Supporters document will provide key principles on how to be an ally with Sunrise, suggestions of how to uplift youth leadership, and roles to be taken on. We’re also in the process of putting together a #35+ Supporters caucus for Sunrise members that are older than ~35 and have set up a #35+supporters slack channel for our adult/elder allies to connect, coordinate and form a community.