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Smart Talk: Author Michael G. Long writes about the legacy of kid activists

  • Scott LaMar
  • Merideth Bucher
Montgomery County parent Jennifer Singer attended a protest in November 2020 outside the home of Commisioners' Chair Val Arkoosh. Singer and others were in opposition of a two-week shutdown of in-person learning in the county.

 Ximena Conde / WHYY

Montgomery County parent Jennifer Singer attended a protest in November 2020 outside the home of Commisioners' Chair Val Arkoosh. Singer and others were in opposition of a two-week shutdown of in-person learning in the county.

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Airdate: Friday, March 26, 2021

Some of the most significant and historic changes in America came as the result of protests, demonstrations and voices raised by young people under the age of 18.

For example, fifteen-year-old Barbara Johns, who in 1953 organized a school strike protesting the poor conditions of her all-Black high school, paved the way for Brown v. Board of Education and began the process of school desegregation. More recently, students at a high school in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting three years ago, started a worldwide movement for stricter gun laws that resulted in more than 50 across the country.

In his just published book, Kids on the March, author Michael G. Long writes about 15 different instances where young people led the charge to make changes.

Long talks about his book on Friday’s Smart Talk.

From family trees to crime solving

When Eric Schubert took his personal interest in genealogy research and transitioned it to a part-time job, he never thought it would take on another angle.

Now, the Elizabethtown College sophomore is using those skills to aid law enforcement organizations with unsolved cases.

Schubert, originally from Medford Lakes, NJ, joins Smart Talk Friday to share his story and how his hobby turned into crime-solving. 

 

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