In 2013 Madison Kimrey was 12, when she schooled North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) for dismissing and belittling young people. She denounced the state's law’s prohibition of preregistration for young teens. When Kimrey asked the governor to meet with her, she said he called her “a prop for liberal groups.”
“I am not a prop,” Kimrey said. “I am part of the new generation of suffragettes and I will not stand silent while laws are passed to reduce the amount of voter turnout by young people in my home state.”
Madison Kimrey, from Burlington, N.C., knows way more than most of adult US Citizens and also, apparently, way more than a bunch of state senators and the governor when it comes to the topic of voter rights. Good thing she has never stoped.
Today Pat McCrory is history, having lost the 2016 gubernatorial election to Democrat Roy Cooper. and Madison Kimrey is, at 17 not a kid anymore, but young female activist and a role model for other teenagers. We bet that it's not the last time we will hear about her. She continues to promote the culture of positive civic engagement among young people in America
When we're dealing with so much: school shootings, threats to women's rights and health, discrimination against people of color and the LGBTQA+ community, attacks on voting rights, instability around the world, and so much more, it's hard to know what to do. It's easy to feel powerless, like no matter how hard we try, we're getting nowhere.
Today, let's start with the children. Let's talk to them about what makes us excited to be voters. Think about it. What feelings do you get when you go to your polling place? Do you have any special traditions at election time or special memories about voting? We can each play a part in creating generation of new voters to come.
I can't vote yet, but I always go with my parents. I think about how women getting to vote is a relatively new thing in terms of history. I get excited thinking about how this one vote could be the one that helps somebody win. We always have some kind of special food on election day at my house. For the Presidential elections, I bake a cake, as I've been doing since I was very little. When I was 3, I loved George Bush and I got really excited when I went to vote with my dad and could read his name on the ballot, so I shouted it out at the polling place. Filling out the form to pre-register to vote was such an emotional experience. After looking forward to that for so long, I will never forget how sacred the right to vote is and that voting is one of the most important responsibilities we have.
What feelings and memories can you share to help create a culture of positive civic engagement?
and here are some of her thoughts in between
and from 2014
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