Unless your head has been buried in the sand, you should be well-acquainted with Madison Kimrey by now.
Twelve-year-old Madison may not be old enough to vote, but she is old enough to make a difference. She is a regular participant in North Carolina’s Moral Monday protests, described by The Nation as “An inspiring grassroots movement [that] is fighting back against the GOP’s outrageous budget cuts and attacks on democracy.”
She is the founder of a youth organization called North Carolina Youth Rock that advocates the reintroduction of voter pre-registration for 16 and 17-year-olds. She is a writer here for Liberals Unite and has a political blog of her own entitled Functional Human Being. She has taken on Phyllis Schlafly in a recent open letter. She started a MoveOn petition requesting a sit-down meeting with N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory, “citizen to Governor,” to “discuss the part of H589 that deals with the ability of 16-17 year-olds to pre-register to vote.” Earlier this month she took on Sarah Palin in an article entitled: “Sarah Palin: Let Me Tell You What I See From My House.”
As Huffington Post put it back in April of this year, “If you’re feeling cynical about politics, look no further than 12-year-old Madison Kimrey for a reminder that the future is in good hands.”
Most recently, Madison gave a speech Friday night for the at the Elon Community Church United Church of Christ for the Alamance County NAACP kick-off meeting for its Moral Freedom Summer program. As The Times-News reports,
To mark the 50th Anniversary of the Mississippi Freedom Summer, the NC NAACP State Conference and Youth and College Division will lead a North Carolina Moral Freedom Summer, focusing on the Forward Together Moral Movement and placing volunteers within communities to support local work and “coordinate a long-term, issue-based voter empowerment campaign.”
You can watch Madison’s speech, below, followed by a transcript.
TRANSCRIPT:
Members of this General Assembly have attacked our health care, our environment, our education, our jobs, our economic security, and our voting rights. They don’t want young voters turning out in November. They know that young voters, regardless of party affiliation, don’t agree with their values, their motives, or their actions. Their answer in addressing the issues of young voters has been to diss us and dismiss our concerns. We have had enough. We will not stand silent and we will not stand still.
We’re tired of the party games. We want solutions. We’re tired of our future being sold to the highest bidder. We want public servants who work in our best interest, not the best interest of ALEC and Art Pope. We want policies that work in our best interest, not only in the best interest of corporations and the wealthiest North Carolinians. We’re tired of leaders who refuse to meet with us and who call us names. We want leadership who considers the youth of this state one of our greatest resources and treats us with the respect we deserve.
Our Governor and some of our elected representatives have shown that they aren’t taking us seriously. Well, here is my message to them.
We are not props;
We are not burdens;
We are not confused;
The light of truth is behind us;
The blood of those who came before us in this fight for justice is behind us;
We are fed up;
We are fired up;
We are ready to go;
We will stand for this no more;
We’re ready to shake things up;
We’re ready to get out there and work;
The revolution is here;
The future is now;
Forward together!
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