Worker for the World: Niomi Markel (PJA Class of 2019)

Congratulations on your graduation from high school last June. You are certainly making the most of your gap year between high school and college (or whatever you plan to do next)! Describe the advocacy work you are currently doing. 

Most of my advocacy work is focused on environmental justice and youth representation within politics. Right now I’m the Logistics Lead for Portland Youth Climate Strike, a climate justice organization made up of high school students from across the Portland area. We advocate for increased and more diverse youth voices in local and statewide climate policy decisions, and as the Logistics Lead I lead a team of eight other students in planning all of our events (strikes, trainings, fundraisers, etc). I also organize with Sunrise PDX, another youth-led climate justice organization. Sunrise Movement is a national organization, and I recently went to D.C. to support the introduction of their Green New Deal for Public Schools bill into the House of Representatives. That was during the government shutdown crisis, so we also staged a sit-in inside Kevin McCarthy’s office (catch me on the cover of the Teen Vogue article. Ed Note: Niomi is on the far right in the top picture).

In addition to Sunrise and PYCS, I’m interning at a local environmental law firm to conduct legal research regarding fossil fuels and help construct legal arguments against fossil fuel expansion in Oregon. I also produce a radio show for XRAY.fm focused on youth activism, with the goal of shining a bigger and brighter spotlight on youth voices. One of the major issues apparent in politics today is stagnation– stagnation of ideas, perspectives, and plain makeup of our governing bodies. Climate change is a completely new and constantly evolving crisis. We need fresh voices calling the shots, who understand the urgency of the situation we’re in but also have the power of imagination necessary to envision a new world order.

What inspired you to take on this kind of work? 
I started organizing from a place of fear for my future, as well as guilt that I wasn’t doing more. In the climate movement we often hear narratives from politicians and older generations that “the youth will save us” and I drank the Kool-Aid, thinking it would be me and my peers who would bring about the revolution and usher in a just transition away from fossil fuels. While I haven’t given up on the revolutionary vision that I began with, and continue to build, I’ve learned that truly impactful community-centered organizing is not sustainable if it’s driven by fear. Now I organize out of love for my community and the natural places I call home, and I’ve learned that I don’t have to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders alone. It’s a burden that all of us share, regardless of age, and we also all share the joy of imagining– and working towards– a world where we are more connected with the earth and each other.

What has been the best part of the work you are doing?
I’m so grateful for the people I’ve met and the communities I’m part of! There are so many amazing people in Portland and around the world doing such innovative work– people building climate-resilient co-ops, people hosting teach-ins at high schools, and even the people buying pizza for meetings every week. I’m really happy that I’ve had the opportunity to learn so much.

What has been the biggest challenge?
Balance! Climate activism is a full-time job, and I’ve struggled to balance it with school, work, and life. I still haven’t figured it out and I don’t think I’ll ever find a perfect solution, but something that’s really helped me is being able to find paid climate work. All of the work I’ve done until this year has been in volunteer positions, but my law internship is paid which allows me to work less hours at my other job and devote more time to organizing.

What does a typical day look like for you?
Between everything else I’m doing, I also need to save for college. I’m working full-time at Next Adventure, a local outdoor gear shop, so I’m usually up and out the door by 9am. I’ll work until 7pm, grab dinner on the way home, and head to my desk to read up on legal briefs for my internship, edit an episode for my radio show, or hop on a zoom meeting to plan an upcoming climate rally. If I have a free night I’ll catch a concert or go rock climbing with friends! My boyfriend likes to give me a hard time for using google calendar to plan every single day but it’s genuinely the most essential app at this point.

Is there something that happened in your time at PJA that inspired you or gave you the confidence to get involved in activist circles? 
I can't think of one specific moment during my time at PJA that motivated me to begin organizing, but the premium that PJA places on community and tikkun olam taught me that we are all responsible for taking care of each other and the earth. I also appreciated how dedicated my teachers at PJA were to making sure we stayed aware of world events and current news despite how insular the private school environment is, and how supportive they were when we engaged with social justice in our own ways, like organizing a walkout after a school shooting or going to Salem to lobby for a genocide education bill. 

What kind of advice would you give someone your age or younger who is looking to do meaningful advocacy work?
Figure out what your personal stake is! It’s really easy to get burnt out if your work is driven by fear, because then it feels like there’s a giant doomsday clock hanging over your head. Try to find the positive things that motivate you to keep going, and get involved with communities who make the work fun.