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Photo courtesy of Alba Ferko (11-1)
While 2020 did not start off perfect, it did start off with a vision. Since the beginning of the new year, Philadelphia’s chapter of the Sunrise Movement has been planning what could have been one of the largest activism events the city has ever seen. Masterman’s own Alba Ferko (11-1) and Carmen Siftar (11-3) were part of the group preparing the event, centered around this year’s Earth Day, which would bring three days of what Siftar described as “massive striking”. While the presence of COVID-19 has taken away the possibility for this gathering (projected to be quite larger than 10 people), the preparation that went into was a meaningful journey for those who left it, leaving them with new experiences.
Unless the workers in Presidential Candidate Joe Biden’s Philadelphia headquarters typically experience an encampment of youths singing, displaying banners, and engaging in arrestable actions, Earth Day would have been a much different day at the office for them. “We were going to shut it down,” Siftar explained. The encampment was planning to stop anyone from getting in and out, using this opportunity (along with signs and speakers) to let Biden know that they believe his current policies on climate change are inadequate. Biden’s office wasn’t Sunrise’s only target for civil disobedience. The three day event was supposed to be prefaced by weekly “hype actions.” In the three week period leading up to the main event, each Friday would have featured a group of around 10 people engaging in arrestable action; these individuals hoped their actions would be a beacon for media coverage, therefore raising awareness for the coming events. These events (planned with help from Ferko and Siftar) meant a lot to Ferko, enough that she was willing to be arrested three weeks in a row. “It was in my agenda to do, just like my homework,” Ferko explained. Due to COVID-19, the hype actions had to be canceled as well.
"These photos were taken at a protest we skipped school for back in late January. We were with Philly Thrive there protesting the reopening of the PES Oil Refinery. And the best part is that it's not going to reopen as a fossil fuel plant anymore!" - Alba Ferko
These events would not have been Ferko and Siftar’s first experience with potential arrest. This year’s President’s Day Weekend, the two spent their time in Washington D.C., attending a program led by Sunrise on civil disobedience, social activism, and the history of the two subjects. While there, the group of over one hundred and fifty people went to the visitation center of the Capitol building to protest their feelings of being not listened to by their senators. The group ambled around the floor for a while, inconspicuously, pretending to be a school on a trip. After a while, they split up into three groups organized by risk of being arrested; Ferko and Siftar were in the lowest risk group. All three groups engaged in civilly disobedient activities, but Ferko noted the most disruptive activity (which would lead to the arrest of those who carried it out) was a dropping of a banner that read “senators, stand up or stand aside.” Ferko and Siftar remained in the group which had the least likely chance for arrest, wanting to avoid it as best as possible as they did not want to inconvenience their parents (who would have had to travel to Washington D.C. to pick them up from jail). Ferko remembers that although she would most likely avoid arrest, she was still scared. She was scared not just for herself but for the younger members of her group as well–the youngest of them a pair of ten-year-old twins. Despite the fear, Ferko also recalls the experience being incredibly inspiring and empowering; so much so that she almost started crying. “I’m just so grateful for Sunrise in general. It makes me have hope and makes me feel like I can do something. The power that youth has when they’re united is incredible.”
Earth Day was only supposed to be the start of the planned event. The next two days were supposed to be packed with speakers along with a march the Sunrise Movement was anticipating to be Massive. “People are already thinking about the climate on Earth Day,” Siftar said. While those thoughts may just be a second glance at the recycling bin when a carton of chocolate milk is finished, they’re still in people’s heads. The Sunrise Movement’s goal was to harness those sentiments and use them to push people’s care for the environment past just one day, potentially further after the next two days of activism were finished.
The cancelation of what Sunrise began calling “Earth Week” was not the only loss the Sunrise Movement has experienced recently. Senator Bernie Sanders, who has been heavily supported by Sunrise for a long time, announced the suspension of his presidential campaign. This is a loss for the Sunrise Movement as Joe Biden, the remaining presidential candidate, does not support the Green New Deal (Sunrise’s main focus for its support). Still, Ferko holds out hope. She explaind that Sunrise doesn’t specifically want Sanders, but more so the movement he inspires and the ideals he represents. Ferko thinks that Sunrise can still attain their goals by supporting what they refer to as “Green New Deal Champions” (people who support the Green New Deal), such as candidate for Pennsylvania State Representative Rick Krajewski. “Just because Bernie is gone doesn’t mean the movement is done. Sunrise will continue. The movement will continue. Young people will be mobilized.”
Faced with these non-favorable circumstances, Siftar summarized her feelings with four words. “It just sucks. Period.” Ferko shares similar feelings.
“I felt really small. We had worked so, so long to plan everything out. And it was really exciting to see everything be pieced together after all that time”. Despite this, the two have maintained their own positive outlooks. Siftar believes that the time they spent planning gave them a lot of new experiences that will be beneficial for the next time they plan a protest. Siftar also believes that the movement can still be productive by focusing their attention on the People’s Bailout, a new plan very similar to the GND meant to be a relief and recovery package for the common people rather than for big corporations. Ferko believes that the fallout from COVID-19 will expose what she believes are the faults of the current government. If the world is pandemic-free by next Earth Day, Sunrise Supporters can be expecting an event planned by two people who have been spending months receiving qualifications and skills to pull it off.
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