I am a climate justice activist advocating for system change, a transitional dismantling of capitalistic, consumerist, anthropocentric, wealth-favoring, unjust, unsustainable (in general) society. But I say this as someone completely within the system. Don't get me wrong, I do have bipolar disorder ii manifesting as cyclical depression, I am Chinese American and don't take traditional pronouns (he/any btw, even though I'm basically cisgender and straight), I am introverted and a little awkward sometimes, but even with all of that I am situated exactly in the center of the system.
I am a student at Harvard
Harvard says it's an institution with a lot of diversity. Which is true. First generation college students, people from all races and backgrounds, learning together to be global leaders. Sounds fantastic. But then I hear things:
Almost half of [the Class of 2025] — 45.1 percent — reported that their parents make a combined annual income of more than $125,000 — nearly twice the median household income in the U.S. — Harvard Crimson
Additionally, while Harvard has helped educate hundreds of thousands of global leaders, many of which who have done the world a whole lot of good, it also has a whole lot of bad history. Women weren't fully integrated into Harvard until late in the 20th century. People like Henry Kissinger were educated here. Harvard was slow at divesting from South African apartheid, slow at divesting from fossil fuels, slow at all these things despite being the wealthiest and most powerful academic institution in the world.
Yet as a climate and social justice activist, it feels so strange, yet important being a part of this community. I attended a talk by Professor Cornell William Brooks, former CEO of the NAACP. He told us we could
advocate from the position of people outside the system within the system
And that is exactly what I want to continue to reflect on. I'll end this piece here, but I have so many more thoughts on this, and things to learn from communities outside of the system. For one, I live in the United States, which has its fingerprints EVERYWHERE throughout the world whether through corporations or the military. I'm also relatively well connected within the youth climate movement, all things that just make me want to make passing on resources, facilitating change from within, and help create this just future for black people, Latinx, poor folk, animals, nature, indigenous people, Asians (broadly HAHA that word is so confusing), neurodivergent folk, the disabled, (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER) and everyone else. From within, we can bring people from the outside into spheres of influence, we can share contacts (like people who are Harvard alumni for me) and resources, and so much more. Learning and acting on how we can advocate within the system is a key part to changing the system for all.
