Growing Up Elizabeth May: The Making of an Activist
Recycle recycle recycle when you use plastic bottles Elizabeth was like a scientist She looked at the topic from every angle so she understood all the arguments for and against She didn’t just believe what she heard she had to confirm the evidence for herself Elizabeth was like a journalist She contacted everyone involved in an issue She phoned people wrote letters to people that was before emails and texting and met with people face-to-face Then she wrote down what she had learned and shared it with everyone do the right thing The time is always right to Martin Luther King Jr Elizabeth was like a linguist She learned big scientific words words most people don’t even try to say like strontium-90 and organophosphates She learned to use the right words at the right 6
Not a Superhero time so people took notice and realized that she knew what she was talking about Elizabeth was like a historian She studied the background of her topics how a problem got started and who was involved from the beginning She didn’t stop looking for information until she was certain she knew the whole story Elizabeth has been the only member from the Green Party in Parliament for years People say What can one woman do What can a tiny party do But that doesn’t matter to her She just keeps After all that you might think Elizabeth was a superhero because when she did all these things it was sort of like putting on a cape or picking up a wand When she stepped out to make change she was well prepared and ready for anything But Elizabeth wasn’t magical She had courage and determination and she didn’t believe anyone who told her she couldn’t make a difference the world a better place Joni Olsen W̱JOȽEȽP working to make Tsartlip First Nation ACT NOW We need to stop using plastics Stop polluting the ocean We can start by banning things that are not compostable I’m using reusable bags and metal straws I’m stopping the use of all soft plastics I recycle at school and at home Kate
It’s a Fact In March 1965 Martin Luther King Jr and his wife Coretta Scott King lead a voting-rights march for 50 miles from Selma AL to the state capitol in Montgomery Their march led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act Martin Luther King Jr was born in Atlanta Georgia in 1929 He was a Black American Baptist minister who believed in equal rights for all citizens and supporting those rights through nonviolent protest He was a leader in the civil rights movement and changed history by influencing hundreds of thousands of people He motivated the government to change racist laws and policies in the United States He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 when he was only 35 years old Sadly he was assassinated four years later SPARKS Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr are superstars in history They were activists who became famous for their work But Elizabeth knew they didn’t change the world alone They were the sparks They got other people concerned and excited about important issues Then together with regular people like you and me they made change in the world Each one of us can become sparks as well We can get other people excited one person at a time until there are millions of people fixing the world’s problems Elizabeth started to help change the world when she was a young girl and she has never stopped In elementary school she 8
Not a Superhero warned her friends about dangerous chemicals In high school she led protests and organized fundraisers for environmental issues As a young woman she led a resistance movement against the forest industry when it planned to spray harmful chemicals in Nova Scotia For 17 years she led the Sierra Club of Canada where she educated the public on environmental issues and petitioned government to make laws that protect the earth Elizabeth became a world leader on climate change Politicians and judges listened to Elizabeth Her activism helped make positive change happen After many years of It’s a Fact With the colors of the South African flag behind him former South African president Nelson Mandela speaks at a celebration of democracy in his country Nelson Mandela was born in South Africa more than 100 years ago When he was a young man his country had a racist law called apartheid that meant it was legal for the government to force Black people off their lands and discriminate against them because of their race Mandela traveled across Africa protesting against apartheid He was arrested and spent 27 years in prison for his civil disobedience While he was in jail he kept on writing letters and mobilizing people around the world to help Black South Africans When he was released he was elected the first Black president of South Africa and in 1994 he helped negotiate the end of apartheid
