Today we’d like to introduce you to Hazel Johnston.
Hi Hazel, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Since I was little, I have been concerned about climate catastrophe and have looked for ways to take action against it. I have closely followed Greta Thunberg’s strikes and admired her organization, Fridays for Future. In March 2022, I noticed St. Louis had no official chapter for Fridays For Future, so I started one called Teensforclimatestl. I was fifteen without prior experience, but I organized my first protest outside City Hall. I invited speakers and photographers and encouraged other youth to come. Since then, I have made many more connections and hope the protests can grow. This past fall, I was honored to be invited to a climate and environmental justice meetup with U.S. Representative Cori Bush’s team. I even had the opportunity to meet Bush herself. Through my activism, spending time with people who share my passions and concerns has been great.
You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
Organizing my first protests came with a lot of nerves. I had yet to learn how many people would show up or if someone would shut it down. I gave a brief speech at each protest, and I am still getting used to public speaking.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
As a 16-year-old, I have just started getting into the work environment. I just started working at a political consulting firm, MOPC, as a voter contact specialist. This means that I knock on people’s doors, encouraging them to consider the central issues and vote for the candidate. I am also a junior in high school, so I am getting ready to take the ACT and apply to colleges. Outside of school, work, and activism, I play the violin and run cross country. So I have a pretty balanced life.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The years of the pandemic sparked my interest in activism. The murder of George Floyd happened in 2020, and I joined protests against his killing and celebrations of his life; living in St. Louis in the wake of Michael Brown’s death, I could see how racism has shaped our society. Some public outrages were clearly “performative activism,” and when the pandemic ended, many protests stopped. Regardless, I will continue to organize and go to protests. The time of pandemic gave me a chance to deepen my commitments and opened my eyes to these issues.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://actionnetwork.org/events/global-climate-strike-791?source=direct_link&
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teensforclimatestl/
Image Credits
Suzy Gorman and Jayla Thompson
