Madison Kimrey is, in a word, amazing. You might know her from the letter she wrote to Phyllis Schlafly a few months ago, but that's not the only thing she's done that's so fantastic. She contributes regularly to the online magazine Liberals Unite, and maintains her own blog as well: Functional Human Being. While her writing is elegant and thought-provoking, that's not the only form her activism takes; she's not afraid of participating in the occasional protest march, and is more than willing to add her name to a petition for a good cause. You can connect with her on twitter @madisworldofpie, or via her Facebook page, NC Youth Rock.
What got you interested in politics and activism initially? Was it a specific event or experience, or was it a more gradual process?
Being interested in politics was a gradual process. I grew up watching the news and I always went to the voting booth on Election Day and voted in the kids' elections online. Hurricane Katrina happened when I was 4, and when I saw the devastation and the people trapped at the Convention Center, I went and got a box and started packing toys out of my room because it resonated with me that those kids had lost all their toys. That was probably the first time I made a personal connection with something I'd seen on the news and thought about what I could do about it. Throughout my life I've participated in several typical volunteer opportunities such as the food bank, community yard sales, and afterschool tutoring.
Last summer, I was made aware that a children's museum in Jacksonville, FL, where my friend played when he was a little boy, refused to renew a family's membership at the family rate because that particular family had two moms. A lot of people I knew were working to raise awareness and to try to get the museum to change its discriminatory policies. That was when I was first really fired up to get involved in activism. I helped get the word out on social media and learned what a powerful tool that could be for connecting people. I saw how ordinary people coming together over this one event were also furthering the cause of equality as a whole. At the same time all that was happening, Moral Mondays were starting here in NC and that got me paying more attention to what was going on with my state legislature.
You’ve mentioned in several places that your activism is focused on women’s rights, LGBT rights, and the humane treatment of animals and, obviously, youth involvement in politics. Why those issues in particular? What is it about those topics that gets you especially fired up?
I grew up knowing members of the LBGT community and with kids who have two moms or two dads. I've also grown up in the South, so the issue with LBGT rights and discrimination is an issue I've always had an understanding of. It's also one of those issues that is easy for people to do something about. Anybody can make the choice to not treat bigotry as "a matter of opinion" and stand up for others when someone is doing things like using the word gay as an insult or is talking about denying the basic human rights of others because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
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Youth involvement in politics is necessary because my generation is going to be running things soon and we have to start now to build the kind of future we want. Also, we can't ignore issues that directly affect us right now, such as determining the sex education curriculum in our schools. We need to be heard and we have a place at the table in making sure the decisions that are made are made in our best interest.
Read the rest here: http://www.scarleteen.com/blog/karyn/20 ... son_kimrey