- Activism is one of the most difficult jobs
in this country,
because to show up as your most authentic self
is a form of being a revolutionary.
- Right now, we have our first honoree,
24-year-old racial justice leader,
Chelsea Miller.
Chelsea is the co-founder of one of the largest
youth-led civil rights organizations in the country,
Freedom March NYC,
which is focused on protest and policy change.
She's joining us in the studio to talk about
her present actions and her future,
but first, someone special
wanted to give Chelsea her flowers.
- There's this idea that in order to make change,
you need a sophisticated PowerPoint deck,
big corporate backing,
or a fancy degree.
Those things don't hurt,
but the truth is
the world starts to change
when you are ready to change it.
All you need is passion,
determination,
and the willingness to take action.
Chelsea Miller has all that
along with wisdom beyond her years
and a commitment to justice that does not waiver.
Chelsea, you make us so proud,
we are ready to follow you wherever you lead us.
- We definitely want to reach beyond that archetype
of an activist with a megaphone
and really get into the meat of
what you do
and the impact that you've had so far.
- I've always been interested
in creating a difference in my community.
I've always been interested
in how do I make sure that I'm leaning back
and I'm pouring into the next group of young girls
who are coming up behind me.
- As we start to think about
how police brutality
and these incidents have really become more normalized,
how do we stay in the moment?
- When we think about this idea
of being tired.
When we think about ideas around our trauma,
it's really important to figure out sustainable ways
to create change.
Activism is one of the most difficult jobs
in this country,
because to show up as your most authentic self
is a form of being a revolutionary.
When I went outside on the front lines,
I had no idea what was going to happen.
I just knew that we needed to be outside,
because if we were silent,
then they would say that we were complicit
with our own oppression.
They would write the stories for us.
- Take me back to your first protest at Barclays Center.
What was the moment that really sticks with you?
- Well, you have to remember,
it was May 30th, 2020.
So, for a lot of people,
this was the time period
where so many protests
were breaking out across the country
and there was a narrative that were circulating in the media
that was focused so much on property
and the looting and the rioting.
There were people who were a part of the protest group
who decided to actually prevent agitators
from breaking into Target.
It was really important for us
to make sure that we were clear
on what is the message that we have for tonight.
The next day,
my friend reached out and was like,
I saw that you were outside last night.
Is there anything being organized?
And I was like, no.
And so, both myself
and my friend, Nialah Edari,
we came together and said,
well, let's organize something
and then, by 8:00 p.m.,
we had organized the largest nonviolent protest
in New York City that night.
- And that's Freedom March NYC,
the onset. - Freedom,
that's the birth of Freedom March NYC.
We wanted to make sure that as we were out there,
that we were centering that message
and I think that we have to ask ourselves as a country
and the world,
why did it take property being destroyed
for us to care?
Young people are the present.
Young people are now.
Young people are fighting
and creating change
and building new systems.
The question is whether or not
you are going to support them
or if you're going to continue to silence them.
- Now, tell me a little bit about your relationship
with Vital Voices.
- There was this leadership summit.
I applied.
I got it
and that changed my life.
It exposed me to the fact that
there are people out there
who believe in creating
and disrupting and re-imagining.
- So, what's next for Freedom March NYC?
- What's next is continuing to be unapologetic,
continuing to show up
and making sure that we center the message of this movement
and we will not be silenced
and we will not be pushed aside
and we will ensure
at the end of the day,
that there is a sisterhood waiting for them
to also be a part of this movement,
because we need all of the voices that we can get
and we absolutely cannot do this work alone.
- Thank you for joining us tonight, Chelsea.