Sunrise Movement, a climate crisis organization with branches across the US including the Palouse, organized a walkout outside the University of Idaho Library on Nov. 8. It was titled, “Walkout and Rally Against Trump; Democratic Party: You Failed Us.”
Led by UI students and activists from across the Palouse, the group organized in front of the library at 1:15pm and wore Sunrise Movement shirts, held handwritten signs and spoke about various topics.
Nick Koenig, a Ph.D. candidate and climate change advocate, is a local leader of this movement and one of the front runners of this walkout. The message the group was aiming to spread was of building the community up through helping those in need.
“Today, we were here to coalition build, and that’s what we’re going to be doing no matter what. We will keep building coalitions, we will keep providing free food through the local groups here,” Koenig said. “We’re going to keep fighting for worker rights no matter who the worker is.”
This walkout is not Koenig’s first experience with this movement. Months ago, they were arrested after they traveled with a group of Sunrise members from various areas down to Phoenix, Arizona to protest at a Trump office. That experience shaped how they approached this walkout and movement.
“There’s one thing to say that you’re going to put your body on the line for a movement, and then there’s another thing to actually do it,” Koenig said.
The Sunrise Movement was started in Washington D.C. in 2017 and has since dedicated their branches to advocating for the earth in a variety of ways, from climate crisis awareness to human rights. Branches and chapters of the movement span across the nation and protests similar to the one on UI’s campus have been led by the same types of passionate people.
Amongst the advocates, student onlookers watched as the crowd grew throughout the afternoon.
One interested onlooker was Sadeed Ehsan, an Economics and International Studies student at UI.
“This is something that’s going to be affecting everyone, no matter what your political inclination is,” Ehsan said.
As the protest grew in numbers, so did the opposition. At one point, a large group of students joined the circle around the Sunrise Movement advocates and began playing music through a speaker. Some of the songs included Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA,” and the national anthem.
The impact and controversy of a topic such as this has been seen across the nation as the Sunrise Movement has gained ground.
Lauren Olsen, a student and a member of the Sunrise Movement Palouse team, was handing out flyers at the event. Olsen said joining the Sunrise Movement Palouse team made her feel like she has more power to make change.
“I feel like it’s given me more power over the issue. When we feel like the only thing we can do in democracy is vote, it can make us feel really helpless; it makes us feel really worried,” Olsen said. “When you know that you can organize, when you know that you can find power through solidarity and through direct action, it gives you a lot more agency in your democracy.”
Although a topic that many find controversial, Koenig explained that the target audience of this movement are all those who want peace and hope in a time of uncertainty.
“People that might be scared, we’re here to offer compassion to them and community for them, and we want anyone who wants to get involved in local coalition building to join us. Whether that be fighting for food access, or worker rights, or intersectional climate justice, it’s just a time for us to get connected,” Koenig said. “I think it bares testament that we saw a lot of people here, and they’re all ready to get involved so we can build a more livable future.”
Paige Wilton can be reached at [email protected].