NYC mayor faces teens’ tough questions

New York City Major Bill de Blasio was asked some tough questions by two teens who attended his talk held on February 9 at the Eastport Arts Center (EAC). Their questions about climate change, voter suppression and gerrymandering followed on the heels of his 45‑minute talk examining Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy.
Hope McGlaughlin, 13, of Baring read her prepared question to de Blasio. "A few weeks ago the UN [United Nations] released a report that says if significant worldwide efforts to address climate change are not adequately carried out, in 12 years we will be beyond the point where widespread global catastrophe can be avoided. In 12 years I will be 25 years old." She continued, "As things are today, it is likely I will be faced with a possible disastrous and hopeless future. I don't understand how something of this magnitude does not have every person, every corporation, every politician and every news outlet out there afraid and screaming and fighting for our future. How can you and I get the rest of this country and the world to wake up and give this crisis the attention and resources it needs when everyone in media and politics seems to be continuously wrapped up in comparably minor 24‑hour headlines?"
Expressing appreciation for Hope's sense of urgency, de Blasio assured her that there is "time to win the day" in the realm of climate change. "But only if," he continued, "tangible changes take place," changes that are highlighted in the media. "If I were building a movement with you, it would be about tangible things," de Blasio counseled. Examples of changes he offered were nationwide mandates to retrofit all buildings and use electric public vehicles wherever possible, establish readily available electric charging stations, completely divest from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy.
Devon Hunter, a 14‑year‑old John Bapst High School student, raised concerns about gerrymandering and voter suppression and cited the redrawing of legislative districts following the 2010 elections and suppression in Georgia's 2018 governor's race as examples. Challenging de Blasio he asked, "What should the Democratic Party do about these issues?"
While he suggested the courts could have some impact, de Blasio hesitantly admitted the situation is "a total catch-22. The only way to stop oppressive systems is to organize people and win elections." He warned this is a gradual process, with mobilization as key. "One day you will get to a point where you can reverse laws," he encouraged Devon.

Learning from the MLK legacy
This was the second consecutive year de Blasio offered to speak to raise funds for the EAC during his traditional mid‑winter trip to celebrate his "aunt Jean's" birthday. Aunt Jean is Eastport's 92‑year‑old Jean Wilhelm who, after over two decades of devoted service to EAC, remains one of its leadership team's driving forces. Describing Wilhelm, who was seated in the audience, and his relationship with her since his youth, de Blasio said, "I hope all of you in your lives had an aunt or an uncle or some older relative who was the cool aunt or the cool uncle, the iconoclast, the change agent, the free thinker in their family. It's a blessing, it's an amazing thing when there is someone you can look up to who makes you feel hopeful and inspired and opens your mind in so many ways. For me that was my aunt Jean."
Examining Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy, de Blasio said, "The half century mark is a logical time to say, 'What's happened? Where have we come since then? What's worked? What hasn't worked? What did we learn, and are we carrying on that vision as a movement, as a people?'"
Although Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday now is celebrated nationwide each January, de Blasio pointed out this was not always the case. Calling Dr. King "one of the greatest leaders in true American history," de Blasio contends there was a "desecration of who Dr. King was. Honoring his achievements in civil rights became a 'mom-and-pop, apple-pie thing,' avoiding the fact that Dr. King was a movement maker, a change agent, someone who believed the status quo was unacceptable," said de Blasio.
Dr. King's efforts included opposing the war in Vietnam and global imperialism, and he was a leader in the poor people's movement. The latter, according to de Blasio, "is what troubled the powers that be. Dr. King called out economic inequality and showed it is inconsistent with American values and values of faith."
What de Blasio sees today is "a growing recognition of the fullness of what Dr. King stood for, why it was so necessary in its time and why it is just as resonant today even if some of what we face now is different."
Calling recent political victories by Democrats "the biggest change since after Watergate in 1974," de Blasio maintained this indicates "people are starting to see through an unacceptable state of affairs" and suggested people are beginning to understand the limitations of trickle-down economics and the American healthcare system. Dr. King, said de Blasio, "foresaw that we'd have to come to grips with these fundamental inequalities that are profoundly economic."
Following his talk, de Blasio opened the floor for a 75‑minute question-and-answer session. Questions and comments ranged from the personal to the political, including tips to influence family member's political opinions, a Canadian view on immigration and qualms about New York City's future in light of climate change. Although most audience members were mature adults, a handful of teenagers and young adults listened in.
In both young and old in the audience, de Blasio strove to instill his hopeful vision for "a more humane, progressive society for all." He bases his optimism, in part, on the activism still being carried on by those who worked in movements in the 1960 and 1970s. "History teaches us," said de Blasio, "the most profound changes come from the grassroots and peoples' movements. People who cared don't stop caring, values and impulses don't go away, rather they grow and deepen."