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Neva Welton (left) and Linda Wolf
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All my life, I
could never keep my mouth shut. In elementary school, it was
a problem for my teachers. They would write on my report cards,
"Linda speaks out too much." However, it wouldn't
be until my teenage years that I would begin speaking out with
clear purpose.
In the '50s, my parents would take me to the drive-in and let
me play in the children's playground before the movies started.
One evening, I was playing with a little boy, when a man walked
by and hurled some racist words at him. It was a stunning moment
that has haunted me since. Looking back, I think that experience
marked the end of my innocence and the beginning of my desire
to actively change things that I knew were wrong.
Over the past 40 years, my life as an activist can be mapped.
What distinguishes the highest times was the collective nature
of working together, struggling for a cause, and no longer feeling
so alone and powerless. I was in sympathy with the Civil Rights
Movement, protested against the war in Vietnam and the proliferation
of nuclear power, and participated in the women's liberation
movement. Later, I lived in France, where I learned the fine
art of debating and digesting at the same time. Around the table,
I developed a deeper analysis of politics and later, as a photographer,
to speak out even louder to shake up people's perceptions.
In the '80s I became an earth mother: my daughters had home
births, a family bed, and long-term nursing - all revolutionary
at the time. As they grew older, I got involved as an activist
with them at school, boycotting school testing and convincing
the school district to fly an Earth flag and offer vege-burgers
as an alternative to meat on the lunch menu.
As my daughters approached the teen years, I recommitted to
the women's movement through developing girls' empowerment programs
and wrote a book for teenage girls, as much for them as for
my own healing. This was a turning point for me. It marked a
time when my being an activist no longer stemmed so much from
being reactivated but from a deeper, more personal place.
In February 1999, I was invited to attend one of the first Seattle
planning meetings for the protest against the WTO. I had never
heard of the WTO before. I really didn't know what implications
it had on my life or the lives of others. Yet, with each meeting
and teach-in I attended, my understanding grew exponentially.
I began to see the ways that all the issues I care about intersect
with the issues of globalization and the many forms of our current
global crises. Participating in the four days of protest was
life changing. I don't think any of us was fully prepared for
the shock of seeing the response of our government to the concerns
of civil society. This has fueled my resolve to stand up and
speak out even more against injustice and ignorance and to contribute
to creating a vision for a more humane, equitable, loving, and
compassionate world. I can't think of anything more important
to do with my life.
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Like countless others, the WTO protests in November 1999
changed my life forever. All of who I am was called into service
after a lifetime of being on the periphery of activist work.
In the '60s, I was too young to participate in the anti-Vietnam
War protests, but the daily televised reports of the war and
the courage and conviction of protesters working for peace
and justice left an indelible mark on my psyche.
Indeed, four decades of rich social and political movements,
from civil rights and the antiwar movement to women's liberation,
gay rights, free speech, consciousness-raising, and environmental
activism, shaped my worldview. My values became grounded in
freedom, justice, peace, and respect for all living things;
and in community and sustainability - despite the influences
of a burgeoning corporate culture.
As a young adult, I chose to focus my energies on raising
my daughter, living lightly on the planet, being of service
to individuals through community work, and paying the bills.
I challenged myself to be more responsible for the well-being
of Earth and her inhabitants and to find alternative structures
to the mainstream paradigm of more, better, faster, now.
Eventually, I earned a Master's degree in Psychology and spent
several years working with youth. During that time, I witnessed
the crisis of meaning that was pervasive in the lives of young
people - a crisis manufactured in large part by the empty
values of a toxic popular culture. I became more committed
to working to change the systems that bleed the very life
out of people and the Earth. I sensed that my true calling
was to facilitate transformations - not on an individual basis
but as an activist in 'the world channel.'
In September 1999, my daughter went off to college and my
daily responsibilities began to shift. Having the WTO stage
their trade talks in Seattle was a blessing. It's as if the
universe knew that I could finally step fully into activism
as a way of life and said Okay, here's the WTO right in your
own backyard.
The rest, as they say, is history. I am a committed activist
- organizing, learning, voicing, protesting, writing, and
finding as many ways as I know how to be a vehicle for others
to do the right thing. Global Uprising is very much
an expression of my work to build a strong movement for the
future of this planet.
Being an activist, I've come to believe, isn't something special.
As Anita Roddick says, "Activism is the rent we pay to
live on the planet."
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Linda Wolf
is the cofounder and
director of the Daughters
Sisters Project, whose
mission is to educate,
inspire, and empower young
women, foster understanding
between the genders and
generations, and support
youth in conscious
self-expression
and social action.
She is the coauthor of the
award-winning book
Daughters of the Moon,
Sisters of the Sun (New
Society Publishers, 1987) and
a respected photographer for
over 30 years. Her work is
collected in museums
worldwide, including the
Musée het Sterckshof, the
Musée Reattu, the
Bibliotheque Nationale, and the Smithsonian Institute.
Neva Welton
Neva has a Master's degree
in Counseling Psychology.
She has worked with
youth through community
mental health programs,
private practice, and nonprofit organizations. She facilitates
groups in Rites of Passage journeys through the
Institute for Cultural Affairs
and works with the Daughters Sisters Project, facilitating workshops
for adults and
young women. Currently, she devotes her energy to
social transformation, as a community organizer,
activist, and writer.
The Daughters-Sisters
Project
and youthactivism.org
PO Box 4492
Rolling Bay, WA 98061
(206) 842-3000
email: youthactivism@aol.com
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