Rock the world as a ‘Young Revolutionary’

From the front lines of youth activism, 17-year-old Dallas Jessup delivers a how-to guide for any teen who wants to change the world. She shares inspiring stories of teen activists and her own community service project, which grew into a worldwide revolution against predators. An excerpt.

Americans love a good Revolution. In fact, Thomas Jefferson once said, “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.”

Maybe one starts with dumping tea in a harbor to start a Revolution for Freedom; perhaps another starts with an inspiring speech, challenging the citizens of a great nation to judge people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin in a Revolution for Civil Rights; and just maybe a new revolutionary change in the world starts today in this library, in this study, in this living room, in this cozy chair by the window — with you reading this book, one page at a time.

Revolutions, after all, aren’t always fought by large armies or entire nations. They don’t even require gunfire, violence or bloodshed. In fact, the most important revolutions start small; one person at a time. An idea, an observation, a thought or even just a feeling can all give rise to the power of a revolution.

That’s why I’m here: I want to challenge you to start a Revolution of your own and to let you know just how to make that happen. Anybody can be the catalyst to a fundamental change in our society, even kids.

The younger you are the more power you actually have to act on your thoughts, feelings and emotions. Think about it: you grow up, get married, buy a house, have kids of your own, and get bogged down with bills and responsibilities. How are you going to start a revolution then? We have the freedom, the power, the energy, the dreams and the courage to start revolutions. All we need is a little push. I’ve met about ... kids that have done just that with a hundred separate causes and I’ve heard about, and that doesn’t include the few thousand I haven’t heard about.

If you’ll join us I think we’ll see a very different and far better world five years from now; a better world created by Revolutionaries like you and me.

You have the right to take back your power
Since I started the Just Yell Fire Revolution a few years ago, I’ve met a lot of rape survivors and near-rape avoiders. They’ve all told me horror stories that I hope you never have to hear or experience. And the one thing all rape victims — all victims in general — have in common is a feeling of powerlessness. Whether it is by surrendering your power unwillingly, the taking of your power without permission, or purely a lack of personal power, being victimized is a horrible feeling.

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Do you know how that feels? I bet you do. Kids are some of the most powerless people on the planet; or so we think. When you are bullied and afraid to leave the house, that’s powerlessness. When you are singled out because of your race, religion or sexual orientation, that’s powerlessness. When you are punished by parents, principals and the powers that be, that is powerlessness in its simplest form.

When you can’t play on this team because you’re a girl or cheer on that squad because you’re a boy, that’s the powerlessness of inequality. When you can’t walk to school because bigger kids might hurt you, that’s the powerlessness of injustice. When you turn on the evening news and see hunger and earthquakes and tornadoes and hurricanes and bombings and are frustrated by the inability to help — that’s powerlessness pure and simple.

But I want you to know that you can turn that powerlessness around and into real positive power; many a revolution began by turning powerlessness into power. When settlers braved hunger and thirst and wild animals to colonize America, they did so because they felt powerless back home in England. When England began persecuting settlers all over again in their new country, they felt powerless once more. They were tired of feeling powerless and so they did what no one thought they could do: they started a revolution.

I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to be powerless anymore.

It’s time for you to take back your power.

It’s time for your Revolution!

You have the right to be a revolutionary
When I first saw the video footage of eleven-year-old Carlie Brucia being abducted in front of a car wash in broad daylight several years ago, I was outraged. When I learned that Carlie had been raped and killed, I was sickened. When her killer was put in jail, I felt that Carlie had been vindicated. That feeling lasted only a moment, and I only felt slightly satisfied. I knew that a woman is raped every two minutes in the United States. I knew that there are over 114,000 attempted abductions every year. I knew there would be more Carlies later that day, and the next, and so on and forever. But I knew something else: I knew I had the right to try and stop it. I knew I was powerful enough to overcome these feelings of powerlessness.

I knew I could start a Revolution of my own; I just had to figure out how.

So I started the Just Yell Fire movement and made a film about how to avoid being abducted or raped — and as of this writing 600,000 people have downloaded it from every corner of the world. I started speaking at schools all over the United States, and now I operate the Just Yell Fire non-profit organization, which has helped empower girls in 41 countries.

But what about you?

What can you do to turn your anger into action? What are you concerned about that you care enough to start a Revolution? What can you do to start changing the world, one kid at a time?

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