Radical Imagination in Motion: Kevin Patel on Building a Youth-Led Movement

How do we empower youth to take action on the climate crisis without losing hope? Remember that Whitney Houston song about children being the future? If we know they're the future, why aren't we giving their voices credit? And how do we use radical imagination to inspire real action? OneUpAction founder, Kevin J. Patel, is here to inspire with his story of fighting back against climate injustice and how that work motivated him to help other youth speak up. Kevin shares how he began climate organizing in middle school in South Central Los Angeles after witnessing inequities like a lack of green space and healthy food and experiencing severe smog-related illness.Warning: “hope” will be a consistent theme on this podcast. I didn’t plan it, but thankfully, it keeps coming up. Kevin describes hope as a community-based practice tied to action, empathy, and joy. The reports are in (again), and Kevin shared that social media is not helping us radically imagine a new future. Agreed.Not only in OneUpAction but in everything Kevin does, he focuses on what comes after protests and rallies and uses radical imagination to achieve it. Kevin describes radical imagination as turning visions into practice. Don’t stop at the dreaming. Imagine something bigger and then figure out how to start making it a reality. Kevin did this when he created the first Youth Climate Commission in LA County (incredible!!!) and is now inspiring youth worldwide. Kevin is about doing the WORK! And you know we love to see it.Listen now to find out how Kevin has been unwinding lately! Find out more about Kevin's work: imkevinjpatel.comSupport the podcast: unwindmovementmedia.com/unwind-shop-membershipFind zines, take classes with Carly, and more: unwindmovementmedia.comFollow on Substack: unwindmovementmedia.substack.comMusic produced by M Baxley of Bear Witness Media