PORTLAND, Ore. — Students across the Portland area walked out of class on Friday to participate in a climate strike.
Adah Crandall, a sophomore at Grant High School, and Jacob Glass, a junior at Ida B. Wells High School, are both student organizers with Portland Youth Climate Strike and have worked with organizations for the last three months to plan the upcoming strike.
Back in the fall, they organized a climate strike in about three weeks. They said roughly 2,000 people participated.
“We have leads at almost every Portland high school who are working to mobilize their peers,” said Crandall.
“Young people all around the world have been organizing climate strikes for the last several years […] But this time we are trying to extend that to all generations. So specifically calling on adults to join us in this strike,” Crandall added.
Students and other participants will meet at Portland City Hall at 11 a.m., begin marching at noon to arrive at Revolution Hall in Southeast Portland by 2 p.m. to participate in the Portland Climate Festival.
Portland Public Schools sent a note to families asking parents to talk to their kids about the strike, communicate with teachers, give permission for excused absences and make a plan to keep their kids safe if they do walk out.
“I think it's really time for us to unite and really come together as an entire city, as an entire global community, to push against the climate crisis,” Glass said.
He said he got involved in the climate movement a few years ago.
“I think mostly it’s just because I’m scared,” said Glass. “I think it really comes to, honestly, a personal fear for my life and fear for the people around me and fear for my possible future children.”
“We've identified four climate villains in Portland, which are the Portland Business Alliance, Zenith [Energy], Northwest Natural and the Oregon Department of Transportation […] I don't think there's an expectation that elected officials immediately cut ties,” said Crandall.
They said the actions of each contribute to climate change in some way.
“The goal is to put a lot of pressure that demands progress,” said Crandall.
They said it's important for adults to join them.
“Calling youth organizers ‘inspiring’ and ‘heroic’ is not enough. Young people are powerful, but we cannot win this fight on our own and we need you there, with us,” Crandall said. “If you're an adult and you're worried that the young people aren’t gonna want you in this movement because you drive to work or throw away plastic straws, we don't care about that. We care about attacking the status quo and stopping the climate crisis.”
Crandall said students plan to hold multiple protests and events throughout the spring and summer.