INITIATIVES
Montana Youth Action is a nonpartisan, youth-run organization with the purpose of promoting political understanding, advocating for progress, and providing opportunities for civic engagement among young Montanans.
PROMOTING POLITICAL UNDERSTANDING
Montana Youth Action provides nonpartisan educational opportunities for young Montanans, from Kindergarteners to college students. Informing youth in our state on issues, politics, government, and the impact of their voices is our central mission. From hosting panels of guest speakers to presenting Legislative workshops, we pride ourselves in providing accessible civic education, by Montana youth and for Montana youth.
ADVOCATING FOR PROGRESS
From a bipartisan approach, Montana Youth Action is about creating lasting positive change and tangible progress on the community level and across the state. Progress means improvement, and the goal of our advocacy is to improve Montana for us young people and generations to come. We achieve this by meeting with elected officials and lobbying in front of local government and the Legislature. While our platform is bill by bill, and not by issue, we still soundly represent the universal youth belief of equity, inclusivity, and justice for all.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Montana Youth Action encourages members to become civically engaged through a variety of ways. By connecting with campaigns, initiatives, nonprofits, and other areas of political involvement, we are able to coordinate a plethora of volunteering, advocacy, and organizing opportunities for our member youth. From phone banking, to signing petitions, to canvassing, to attending summits, our goal is to find a way for every young person to get involved.
CORE ISSUES:
Racial Equity in Montana
Montana Youth Action endorses Black Lives Matter protests and encourages attendance of these protests by our members, demanding justice for the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless more black Americans.
Montana Youth Action encourages supporting black-led and racial justice-focused organizations by donating or volunteering. Most prominently in our state is the Montana Racial Equity Project.
Montana Youth Action also encourages donating to support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in our communities. This can be done through the Montana BIPOC Mutual Aid Fund, operated by BIPOC in our state.
Getting Out the Vote
Montana Youth Action advocates for youth voices and understands the power of the youth vote. A healthy democracy is inclusive of all age groups and demographics, and Montana Youth Action has engaged in GOTV events and activities that have helped register voters regardless of political affiliation or beliefs.
Montana Youth Action has primarily hosted and participated in high school voter registration events and phone banks, and voter registration is made available at every single Montana Youth Action event.
Alongside voter registration, Montana Youth Action also believes in voting accessibility. Our organization knows that efforts to suppress voters, especially voters of color and working class voters, exist, and that they need to be fought. Montana Youth Action has held events with elected officials to discuss how better access to the ballot box can be accomplished.
Gender Equality in Activism
Montana Youth Action is an organization that celebrates and practices gender equality in activism. It is our belief that all genders deserve equal opportunities to be civically engaged, participate in events, get hired for activism work, get elected into office, have their voices heard, and much more.
Montana Youth Action’s participation in multiple Women’s March events has been to speak out about gender inequality in political spaces and encourage young women and girls to get involved.
Montana Youth Action has over 30 staff members between the working Board of Directors and local chapter staff, over 2/3rds of whom are women; 4 of 6 local chapters are Chaired by women as well.
To see Board Chair, Elsie Harrington’s 2020 Women’s March speech, click this link.
LGBTQ+ Youth Rights
Montana Youth Action has been a welcoming and uplifting space for LGBTQ+ youth and activism, and has taken specific stances on LGBTQ+ issues that will be taken up in the Legislature in 2021.
Primarily, Montana Youth Action supports Representative Kim Abbott’s bill from the 2019 Session, House Bill 465, generally revising the Montana Human Rights Act. This revision would increase protections for the LGBTQ+ community, extending anti-discrimination further into the workplace, housing, and other areas as well.
Studies have shown that nearly 1/3 of Generation Z identifies as not exclusively heterosexual or of the gender binary. Studies have also shown that Generation Z is the most tolerant and inclusive generation today.