Getting to the hearts of people with one’s activities in matters of environment is problematic because it is still a grey area. Nevertheless, the involvement of youths in environmental activism is shallow, if not unbecoming. Still, youths have a role in climate activism, and starting at young ages is beneficial both to the environment and to youths themselves because they would advocate for the wellness of their future world. Isra Hirsi is a youth who has broken the barrier to becoming a leader in climate activism, among other social justice issues. Hirsi sees herself as a defender of the vulnerable, which has also given her plenty of name tags and nicknames of which any black American is not proud. This essay explores the life and accomplishments of Isra Hirsi and illustrates why her background and unique understanding of social issues place her in the front rank as a future leader.
Environmental activism is a tall order for many people, even though activists have become commonplace recently. However, there are a few unique activists like Isra Hirsi. Hirsi is an African-American young girl of Somali descent. Hirsi’s mother is a congresswoman who is a staunch believer in gender and racial equality (Singh 1). Her mother’s politics undermined Hirsi’s works as an activist and presented her as a fairy girl between worlds.
On the one hand, she is a first-generation black immigrant who must work twice as hard to succeed. On the other hand, Hirsi’s parents came from Somalia, a country whose citizens have been seen under many terrorist stereotypes. Her involvement in strikes accentuated Hirsi’s journey from the shadows to the spotlight, most notably that of Jamar Mark when she was only 12. It is her experiences as a young first-generation African American that have shaped her perception of racial and gender atrocities, not to mention specific things about climate justice.
When Hirsi joined high school, she participated as a climate activist in the high school environmental club. Her perceptive nature led her to run for the presidency in school leadership when she noticed how underrepresented black children were. As a youth leader, Hirsi has always battled notions and stereotypes about young black student leaders. Young black student leaders, especially girls, are deified and instantaneously made celebrities in the digital media. Such student leaders, or young leaders in general, are never perceived as conventional leaders but are considered more determinist and persevering. These are racial perceptions of black leaders who manage to rise to fame in positions of power. However, as a young student leader, the thrill of climate activism was born in Hirsi’s mind when she noticed the proclivity of black people of low socioeconomic statuses to be victimized by having manufacturing industries constructed within arm’s length of their neighborhoods to expose them to harsh climatic patterns (Byrnes 2).
Isra Hirsi’s accomplishments speak louder than her age and show that social change and justice are possible. After realizing how suffering families were exposed to climate injustice, Hirsi co-founded the United States Youth Climate Strike, which she runs among other funders. As a child who grew up protesting, Isra understands that an asymmetrical response to climate injustices is the best way for the United States climate activists to advocate for the protection of the environment, which is certainly unique for a person her age (Singh 1). Not only does liberal capitalism play a significant role in climate-related atrocities, but the slumber of government concerning the inner workings of the free market means that people can inflict harm on the environment without being held accountable, or so Isra believes. All too often, Isra Hirsi experiences the downsides of being a young leader and climate activist. Isra Hirsi admits that ridicule and negative ad peddlers are her tiniest problems. Hirsi’s main downside is balancing classwork and the management of public events.
The most unforeseeable accomplishment of Hirsi is uncovering the reach of intersectionality on young black girls seeking change. Hirsi describes intersectionality as the interconnectedness of social categorization and how these categorizations impact the lives of marginalized communities (TEDx Talks 03:11). Isra sensed a prevailing cultural alienation that had been instigated by white communities when she joined college. Through her discovery of intersectionality, Isras’ strikes became more vehement as she incorporated the challenges black people face. Hirsi thought that the widening of racial injustice was necessary to include gender justice and climate justice (Mikulewicz et al. 2). By widening the conversations, she also admits that she was able to understand the myths and distortions surrounding the lives of black women, in ways that feminism had failed to capture. Hirsi acknowledges that these distortions risked being institutionalized in higher education.
Thus, it was not only about water or air quality, but Isra Hirsi began including several social justice issues in her strikes because of how interconnected they were. Hence, the primary definition for Isra Hirsi’s struggles is to achieve human dignity in a broader sense (Pollard 1). In these respects, she has received the Brower Youth Award for her contributions to climate justice and the Voice of the Future Award for being a leading proponent in the fight for justice, equality, and human dignity in all spheres. Some of Isra’s recommendations include going green and resorting to vegan diets to combat the heightened consumerism that takes a toll on human lives and livelihoods. Isra Hirsi intends to attend Harvard University one day and pursue a law course. Hirsi sees herself as a politician someday, not because of her mother’s influence but because she wants to invoke permanent change. To top it off, Hirsi sees herself running for the President of the United States one day, but all these dreams are in the future.
In summary, Isra Hirsi’s struggles border on the extraordinary because she is a young African-American leader. Hirsi’s perceptions about climate-related issues and intersectionality are a standard upon which many youths should wish to measure themselves. Hirsi, like her mother, disabuses white people from romanticizing black female experience as unique, determinist, or full of strength. The nature of her struggles does not show a girl who wants to become a celebrity but a young woman in the quest for human dignity in the broader sense. Isra Hirsi not only envisions a world where people live as unified beings but also an ecosystem where blacks are treated in the same breath as whites. The struggles that Hirsi and her family members portray are not to teach others about how black people should circumvent their struggles but to inform the broader community against insulating themselves against racism and racial and gender inequality.
Works Cited
Byrnes, W. M. “Climate Justice, Hurricane Katrina, and African American Environmentalism.” Journal of African American Studies, vol. 18, no. 3, 2013, pp. 305–314.
Mikulewicz, Michael, et al. “Intersectionality & Climate Justice: A Call for Synergy in Climate Change Scholarship.” Environmental Politics, vol. 32, no. 7, 2023, pp. 1275–1286.
Pollard, Diane S. “Race, Gender, and Educational Leadership: Perspectives from African American Principals.” Educational Policy, vol. 11, no. 3, 1997, pp. 353–374.
Singh, Vianka. “Isra Hirsi: The Young Voice of Change.” The Momentum | Sustainability Marketing & Publication, 13 Dec. 2023, www.themomentum.com/articles/isra-hirsi-the-young-voice-of-change.
TEDx Talks. “The Angry Black Girl | Isra Hirsi | TEDxWakeForestU.” YouTube, 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHvH6ArQV4o.
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