Submitted by Ande Finley

From July 29-31, the Sunrise Movement will be sponsoring a “People’s Stage” outside the Democratic debates in Detroit. To support its mission of a bold, resilient future for our islands, Transition Lopez Island is committed to sending two to five people, 18-35 years old from San Juan County, to be part of the growing number of young people stepping forward to change the trajectory of the climate crisis.

Sunrise Movement’s #Change the Debate webpage pulls no punches. “[Politicians] have doubled down on the same corporate-driven policies that have failed for decades. This approach is a death sentence for our generation,” the site states. “On July 30-31, 20 [presidential] candidates will walk on stage in Detroit. They’ll ask for our votes. We’ll ask them to give a damn about our lives.”

To earn their support, Sunrise has a three-pronged demand for all political candidates: reject fossil fuel money, support a “climate debate” and make the Green New Deal a Day 1 priority.

The People’s Stage will be set up outside the official presidential debate venue to challenge each of the candidates to speak with the thousands of young people who will be at the event.

Organizers have hopes that presidential contenders will hear a new perspective from this group: “We’ll tell our own stories. We’ll hold vigil for the people and places we have already lost, and the ones that will be lost. We’ll express our fear for the future, and the anger of our generation to have been abandoned by the adults in the room.”

If you are between 18 and 35, you share the Sunrise Movement’s mission and would like to attend #Change the Debate in July, please send an email about yourself and your interest to info@TransitionLopezIsland.org.

If you want to offer support to send young people from San Juan County to Detroit, contact info@TransitionLopezIsland.org for more information, or donate online at https://transitionlopezisland.org/.