Middle School Students Block Power Plant Construction in Their Neighborhood
I was looking through some materials from the Principles of Peace class I taught at San Francisco's Martin Luther King, Jr. Academic Middle School back in 1996 and found this copy of a letter the students from that class (and from the school's dance troupe that I supervised) sent to then Mayor Willie Brown. (They all signed it at the bottom, but I did not include their names in the image to protect their privacy.) This letter reminded me that we can all be as brave as middle school students.
The students wrote this letter after learning that not only was a power plant slated to be built in their neighborhood but cancer rates in areas near certain types of power plants were remarkably high. They also noted that no power plant would ever be built in Pacific Heights, a neighborhood with very wealthy residents, and wondered why anyone would think it was okay to build something anywhere that they wouldn't want in their own neighborhood.
The students took it upon themselves to write to Mayor Brown multiple times; drafted petitions and had them signed by hundreds of residents, then mailed the petitions to then Governor Wilson; wrote to radio DJs; and invited Mayor Brown to our school for a Q&A on the issue (which he very bravely accepted). In the end, the power plant was not constructed in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood or anywhere else in San Francisco. The students could not know for sure that their actions had made a difference, but they also could not be sure that their actions had NOT made a difference.
Let these students bold action inspire you to do something. You cannot do everything, but that ought not to stop you from doing something. If you do something to help people, you will most likely help the Earth, as well. If you do something to help trees or bees or rivers, you will most likely help people, as well. Take action. Do it even if you cannot be certain that it will make any difference. Be brave. Be like middle school students.