Don't Wait Three Girls Who Fought for Change and Won

by Kohli, Sonali

• ISBN13: 9780807010952
• ISBN10: 0807010952
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780807010969
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2024-06-04
• Publisher: Beacon Press
• More Book Details

Summary

Follows the stories of 3 young women activists of color fighting for some of today’s most pressing movements of defunding the police, environmental justice, and arts education

Girls of color have always been on the front lines of the fight for equal rights—to vote, to learn, to live—even when they are the last to benefit from the outcomes of their work. In Don’t Wait, journalist Sonali Kohli follows 3 teenagers’ efforts to make their communities safer, healthier places.

Don’t Wait highlights what propelled the teenagers into their activism to their experiences organizing and incorporates Q&As with important lessons from activists who have led the way.

The 3 teen activists include:

• Nalleli has lived across the street from an active oil well in South Los Angeles and at age 7, developed serious health problems. Nalleli and her mother take on an oil company and become environmental justice activists.
• Kahlila, following the murder of George Floyd and looking to help fight back, becomes involved with Black Lives Matter movement in Los Angeles and fights to defund school police in one of the largest school police forces in the nation.
• Sonia, an accomplished singer who was grappling with finding an creative outlet in the pandemic, strove to increase access to arts education in schools across California.

As the young women are transitioning from teen to adult activists, Don’t Wait reflects the powerful lessons they’ve learned in their activism while building movements in their communities that will continue to live on as they move forward.

Author Biography

Sonali Kohli is a journalist writing about young people and the futures they are creating. Kohli was an education reporter for the Los Angeles Times for six years with a passion for covering youth movements and in 2020, was named the top education journalist in the nation by the Education Writers Association. She is currently a recruiter at URL Media, where she works with underrepresented folks in journalism and media to find jobs and workplaces that will treat them well. Follow her on her website (sonalikohli.com) and Twitter (Sonali_Kohli)

Table of Contents

Author’s Note

PART 1: THE CATALYST

CHAPTER 1
Nalleli

CHAPTER 2
Kahlila

CHAPTER 3
Sonia

Q&A 1
Critical Self-Reflection

Discussion Questions

PART 2: KNOW YOUR STORY

CHAPTER 4
Nalleli

CHAPTER 5
Kahlila

CHAPTER 6
Sonia

Q&A 2
Building Your Artistic Toolbox

Discussion Questions

PART 3: FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON

CHAPTER 7
Nalleli

CHAPTER 8
Kahlila

Q&A 3
Find Your Movement

Discussion Questions

CHAPTER 9
Sonia

PART 4: IN THE STREETS (AND BEHIND THE SCREENS)

CHAPTER 10
Nalleli

CHAPTER 11
Kahlila

CHAPTER 12
Sonia

Q&A 4
Resolving Conflicts Within Movement Work

Discussion Questions

CHAPTER 13
Nalleli

CHAPTER 14
Kahlila

CHAPTER 15
Sonia

CHAPTER 16
Kahlila

Q&A 5
Caring for Yourself amid Movement Work

Discussion Questions

PART 5: THE FIGHT CONTINUES

CHAPTER 17
Nalleli

CHAPTER 18
Kahlila

CHAPTER 19
Sonia

Discussion Questions

Acknowledgments
Notes
Image Credits for Insert