The status quo is not working for young people. As youth, we are witnessing and experiencing a myriad of crises: exploding cost of living, fascism, erosion of democracy and rule of law, suppression of free speech, environmental catastrophe, raging xenophobia and racism, unbridled homophobia, misogyny and transphobia, and our government funding ongoing wars and genocide. So many of us feel unsafe and disillusioned as a result of growing up in this climate.

We know just how devastating these issues are: we are living them.

In these circumstances, we have no choice but to act: it is our responsibility to organize and fight for a better future. We believe that through community organizing, we are stronger together, and that we have the capacity to transform our state and the world to be a more just and livable place.

Our Take:

How We Organize:

  • We challenge existing structures and the status quo, both in government and beyond.

  • We foster civic engagement to influence political discourse and to drive policy and electoral wins.

  • We organize nonviolently because we recognize the violence of the current system and that nonviolence disrupts it.

  • We utilize relational organizing to bring young people together through existing social connections and to promote a collective purpose.

  • We are building a movement, not just a campaign. We are committed to building grassroots power and trust year-round, not only during election cycles.

  • We create space for youth to lead and equip them with the skills to build our movement.

  • We build a movement accessible to young rural Mainers from across our state through both virtual and in-person organizing. We meet people where they are at.

  • We are adaptable and invite shifts of strategy to meet the present organizing landscape. This is a living document that grows with us. 

  • We welcome everyone into our movement. We believe power-building spaces should be inclusive. We reject excessive jargon and insular movement behavior.

  • We organize with intention. Every aspect of our work is driven by our values, goals, and long-term vision for Maine’s future.

  • Our voice is our power. We tell our stories and we listen to our communities. 

Who We Are:

  • We come from a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences and we know that everyone’s voice has value. We thrive in our differences, knowing that there are stronger barriers for some, and embrace how our experiences inform our perspectives. Through elevating each other’s voices, we broaden our visions for a better future and continue to grow in the field of youth organizing.

  • Youth-led movements access and understand young people because that’s us!      Our lived experiences as young Mainers sculpts our strategy and decision-making. We are geographically diverse, coming from rural and suburban areas. We work with allied organizations as collaborators advocating for youth, not as the single, representative youth voice.

What We Believe In:

  • People with privilege benefit when others are oppressed. Our struggles are bound together and dismantling oppressive systems will liberate all of us. We work in solidarity with movements for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ rights, class struggle, and human dignity.

  • We seek to deepen our understanding of our individual and collective positioning in our communities as it relates to the broader context of power and race. We know it is our responsibility to unlearn white supremacy embedded in society. We engage in conversation and action to contribute to dismantling internalized and structural racism.

  • We believe in climate action and the need for a just transition and the transformation of our extractive economy into a regenerative one. We are growing a sustainable movement for our generation and for those who will come after us.

  • From gender identity and pronoun use, to sexual orientation, to race, to class background and heritage, we respect what each of us brings. We respect our work outside the movement space as well.

  • We are committed to affordable housing, childcare, healthcare, and infrastructure for all.

  • We organize on Wabanaki land, land whose rights were never ceded. We act in solidarity with Wabanaki people today—the Mi’kmaq, Maliseets, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot—in their ongoing fight for equal rights to water, land and tribal sovereignty.