This is a transcript of a speech I gave to the Broward County Commission in support of lowering the voting age. The Commission is now supporting a resolution to lower the voting age to sixteen. Watch video here. The Fight for Youth Suffrage By Elijah Manley Dear Broward County Board of County Commissioners, Good Morning, My name…
It is a great honor to serve as a NYRA fellow and I am excited to help out as much as I can. Orientation was an amazing experience full of reflection and insight. I really appreciated all the great discussions I had with my fellow activists and with NYRA members. The combination of lectures, discussions,…
My name is Keoni Orlando Scott-Reid and over the weekend I attended a 3 day orientation program for the National Youth Rights Association. I was exposed to a mountain of youth rights stances and and the various types of oppression youth as a whole face every single day. As a youth, I can say to…
I was completely unfamiliar with youth rights before getting involved with NYRA. As a youth myself, I experienced discrimination and ageism but always assumed society would drop its attitude toward me when I became 18. I never once thought that youth could be treated as equal citizens in my community. The idea simply never occurred…
This past weekend NYRA held a 3-day orientation for this year’s NYRA fellows. The orientation, held in Washington, DC, covered a wide range of topics including NYRA issues and strategies for going forward. The lecture sessions were integrated with great discussions about youth rights — their individual importance as well as their impact on each…
Jordan Riak, founder of Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education (PTAVE) and long-time ally of NYRA in the campaign against corporal punishment died this week. Jordan Riak has devoted his life to stopping corporal punishment since 1974. He was a major force opposing the brutal practice both in the United States and in Australia,…
Until very recently, I thought neuroscience had put up barriers to youth rights that no argument could cross. If the teenage brain is physically incapable of handling freedoms, then that’s the end of the discussion. It doesn’t matter how much we argue about the Constitution and equality under the law—no amount of arguing can make…
@YouthRights Know what time it is?!?! Time for #16tovote on the 16th!!!! Saturday edition! https://t.co/3xNU00veb5 @YouthRights For those new to the tradition, we are about to blow up Twitter with news, arguments, facts & memes about lowering the voting age! #16tovote @YouthRights Maturity and experience are neither objective nor measurable. Thus supposed lack thereof is…
I was pleased to come across this article in the Washington Post today about the struggle against ageism. The article profiled Ashton Applewhite, an author and advocate, who runs a site called This Chair Rocks. Applewhite focuses primarily on discrimination against the old, but she doesn’t do so myopically. Her website, and the Post article,…
On April 7, NYRA-Hudson County chapter president, Mahsiah Imes and NYRA President Alex Koroknay-Palicz appeared on Al Jazeera America with host Erika Pinzi to discuss lowering the voting age. Both were joined by other high school students on both sides of the issue. The segment appeared on the final 7 pm news hour for Al…
