Not Old Enough to Vote, But Still Making Their Voices Heard
Monday, July 06, 2020
Jaychele Nicole Schenck and Isabella James Indellicati do not spend their weekends like other 15-year-olds.
While girls their age may escape the summer heat at the beach or a shopping center, these two Rhode Island natives embraced it on the hot pavement of Francis Street on a recent Sunday during a protest against the killing of George Floyd and other Black men by white police officers.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSchenck and Indellicati were not simply participating in the protest. They organized it, held a news conference a week in advance, and mobilized more than 1,500 people to rally in front of the statehouse.
“We are Black young women. We mourn, we feel, we are angry, we are upset. And we don’t want to let this pass by as a trend because this is our lives,” Indellicati said.
Schenck and Indellicati belong to a generation that has witnessed mass school shootings and the killing of Black men by white police officers through their smartphone screens. The youth-led protests against gun violence in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, ignited Generation Z’s political engagement during 2018’s election cycle, according to Tuft University’s civic engagement research center CIRCLE.
But underage activists such as Schenck and Indellicati are not waiting until they are eligible to cast a ballot to make their voices heard.
“You don’t have to be able to vote in order to make policy change,” Schenck said. “We are in Rhode Island, we are easily able to contact politicians, people who are able to make change. It’s using connections, using our voices, not only what’s happening when you are voting.”
Like other Gen Zers born after 1996, Schenk and Indellicati are more sympathetic toward LGTBQ rights, believe the government should do more to solve social problems and are more likely to say Blacks are treated unfairly in the U.S., according to Pew Research.
The two started “Gen Z: We Want to Live,” a youth-led activist group that launched with a protest against police brutality on Sunday, June 14, and has since hosted virtual workshops on issues such as LGTBQ rights and a discussion on Juneteenth about being young and Black in America.
“We are advocating and educating,” Indellicati said.
Beyond rallies and digital events, Schenck and Indellicati are advocating for Black history to be taught beginning in elementary. The Rhode Island Department of Education appointed a commission in 2014 to develop a “comprehensive African American history curriculum” for K-12, which is available online, but it is unclear whether the state requires schools to teach it. A recently announced plan to overhaul Rhode Island’s school system proposes hiring more teachers of color but does not mention Black history curriculum.
Schenck’s mother, Michelle Schenck, 57, sees her daughter’s involvement as the next generation picking up the mantle of activism.
“In the past, the youth were never involved,” Michelle Schenck said. “The youth have more energy, more resources, more people they can talk to. More people are aware of what’s going on, so they have a better chance at getting where we want to be than we did.”
She said their youthful energy is breathing fresh air to baby boomers such as herself who have spent decades protesting against racial injustice.
“They are so young, and what they are doing, they are making adults want to stand up and say, ‘Wow, I’m slacking,’” she said.
Jonny Williams is a freelance writer and editor based out of Rhode Island. He is finishing his master’s in journalism at Georgetown University.