On Friday, September 20, 2019, over 4 million people gathered in cities around the world in protest against inaction on the issue of Climate Change. In Boston alone, roughly 7,000 students, parents, and seniors walked out in protest at the Boston City hall.
The protest began at 10:30 a.m at the Boston City Hall Plaza and continued until 3pm. Even though the protest began at 10:30 a.m, formal speeches did not begin until 11:30 a.m. During that time, protesters made their agenda known, chanting “There is no Planet B!” and “The Sea are Rising and So are We!”
When the Formal Speeches began at 11:30, many people spoke at the Climate Strike. The speakers included Climate Strike Organizer Saya Ameli Hajebi, Hartman Deetz from the Mashpee-Wampanog tribe, Boston City Council Member Michelle Wu, Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina Mcarthy and many more.
Hajebi began her speech, announcing to the world that “[We] are striking for the era of the Green New Deal, and nothing, [she means] nothing, can stand in the way of the power of all of [our] voices combined.” Throughout her speech, Hajebi recounted her immigration process, and began to explain her reason for striking. Her reason? Family.
Hajebi explained that “we all lead different lives but every single one of us has one thing in common. We all have someone we love. And families take different forms but the love is the same.” Hajebi continued, explaining that it is “a connection [she] is sure that families in the Carolina’s, Bahamas, Florida, and Puerto Rico had before their communities were torn apart by hurricanes.”
Hajebi added that the fight against climate change is a “fight about people. It’s about protecting everything and everyone we love. It’s about protecting every single family in danger of losing their loved ones to preventable catastrophes.”
Later in the day, Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina Mcarthy came up and spoke. Now a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard, Mcarthy is an advocate for common sense strategies to protect public health and the environment. Macarthy came and told a cheering crowd “I know there’s been challenges. Duh. Let’s get moving! I am a climate optimist. We are going to do this!”
The strike ended with a march to the State House. The protesters marched down Tremont street before taking a right and continued up Park street.
Many protesters had joined the rally that was taking place outside of the State House while the rest had entered the State House to talk to their State Representatives. The protesters had entered through the Beacon Street entrance and the Bowdoin Street entrance. Outside of the State House, the protesters chanted “This is what democracy looks like.”
