Youth-led movements that advanced social change

Little Rock Nine photograph

The Little Rock Nine

In 1954, the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education outlawed segregation at public schools. Three years later, nine Black students, known as the “Little Rock Nine'', were the first Black students to enroll at Little Rock's Central High School. Violent mobs amassed in an attempt to prevent the Little Rock Nine from attending the school. The National Guard was deployed to ensure that the students could safely enter the building. Once inside, these students courageously endured brutal and unrelenting harassment simply for pursuing their right to an equal education and for paving the way for future Black students to do the same.

The Sit-in Movement

In 1960, four Black students sat down at the “whites only” Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. When they were denied service, the students refused to give up their seats, beginning what would become known as the sit-in movement. Within months, the movement had spread to over 50 cities across the South. The momentum that these four students started in Greensboro would contribute to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which would outlaw segregation in public places.

March for Our Lives

In 2018, following a mass shooting at their school, students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School connected millions of young people across the country via digital activism, galvanizing the movement against gun violence. Their efforts culminated in the March for Our Lives demonstration--one of the largest protests in our Nation’s history. 

The Sunrise Movement

The work of the Sunrise movement has propelled proposed legislation such as the Green New Deal into the mainstream media spotlight. As part of this movement, millions of youth have raised their voices through protests and school walk-outs to bring attention and urgency for lawmakers to take action on climate change. In the US, as part of the 2019 Global Climate Strike, youth planned 1,000 events and thousands of students left classrooms to call on adults and elected leaders to prioritize climate justice.