Student Activism: At Home Activism

In this three-part series, students show how they are supporting the Black Lives Matter movement this summer. In part three, a family shares their thoughts on the movement and how they are showing support from inside quarantine.

 Meghana Ramineni, Editor-in-Chief, Grace Peng, Managing Online and Social Media Editor & Jennifer Xia, Editor-in-Chief

Students take to social media to spread awareness and support the Black Lives Matter movement.

Graphic by Melissa Liu, Managing Print and Design Editor

COVID-19 has taken the lives of more than 100,000 individuals in the United States alone, and as the Black Lives Matter movement increases in amplitude, more and more people fill the streets to protest for change in the system. However, as students at Northview are mostly minors, parents are concerned over whether to allow their children into these big crowds. Some students are choosing to support and make a change in their own homes. Parents are right behind them, fighting for justice.

Rising junior Zara Nevrekar actively supports the Black Lives Matter movement through signing petitions and donating to various organizations, while aiming to spread information and educate others as well as encouraging more people to take a stand and create change.

“I’ve had the opportunity to contact and communicate my views and ideas with multiple elected officials,” Nevrekar said. “I think that both communication and education are extremely important, especially right now. If we want to see change, we have to talk about it.”

Nevrekar feels that activism has taken on a greater meaning to her generation than it has to past generations. She recognizes that activism has evolved to encompass not only those who are part of the group that is being fought for but to also include allies to these social movements, a change which she believes is largely due to the diversity of her generation. To her, this diversity stems from exploring one’s identity and passions. 

"For a lot of fellow Gen Z members, activism is not so much [about] a matter of politics, it's more so a matter of morals and humanity. For many, activism can be a way to explore your own identity and find what you’re passionate about or what you feel your purpose in life is,” Nevrekar said. “Gen-Zers are nearly insatiable in their pursuit of purpose, you know, something greater than themselves to engage ardently in. And when they find a cause that moves them, they unapologetically pursue it with unmatched passion.”

Active on social media herself, Nevrekar feels the internet supports the mobilization of a larger group of people within a short period, and that social media has granted her generation access to more information and a larger variety of opinions. Nevrekar feels this expansion of resources allows her generation to learn and form personal opinions rather than basing one’s principles on the values and words of parents. 

Although Nevrekar is an activist already and has shown support wherever her passions take her, she understands that activism isn’t easy for everyone, and admits it is not supposed to be. Regarding those taking part in performative activism, Nervrekar seeks to bring attention to the positive impact it has on raising awareness; however, she urges those who stop there to realize it is only a starting point, and it is ineffective to not move beyond awareness. To her, activism is not only breaking the silence and speaking up but taking actions to back it up.

“In my opinion, the day we made being “woke” cool and began praising people for supporting ideas of basic decency, something they should have already been doing, we opened the door to performative activism,” Nevrekar said. “As a minority myself, I am more aware of how a great majority of people are so close-minded and people use difference to reduce the value of someone else’s humanity, and I think that this is the reason I also participated in praising people for being averagely decent human beings. It gave me hope. That was until I realized that we should expect people to be human, to have compassion, and to be understanding.”

As a person of color like the large majority of Johns Creek, Nevrekar strongly urges people to have conversations about race and current events, although they may be difficult and uncomfortable and acknowledges that the receptiveness of someone is influenced by the delivery of the message. She calls on others to recognize their privilege and educate themselves on how to use such privilege to amplify the voices of the unheard and establish proper benchmarks that lift all communities while paying close attention to those often dismissed.

“We must listen to the voices that have been silenced for so long because many of us have the privilege of not having been subjected to the same experiences,” Nevrekar said. “We must recognize our privilege and educate ourselves on how we can use our privilege to give the marginalized a larger platform and a louder voice.”

Nevrekar acknowledges the model minority myth of America, or the narrative that Asians are seen as a “model minority” as society holds them at a high level of success and hard work which promotes anti-blackness among model minorities and erases the prejudices felt by Asian Americans. She has seen the ideas surrounding it being spread by family members and friends; however, she does not feel personally affected by it. For example, her educational endeavors are not motivated by societal pressures or to be consistent with a stereotype of the myth. Instead, they are motivated by her personal goals and the desire to further educate herself. 

Despite the colorism and racism Nevrekar has seen at times within family social circles, she reveals that her family’s fundamental values are relatively similar. In regards to the current protests, she has learned about her parents’ experiences living in America from before her time and has found that she is able to make connections between modern and older issues while gaining some new viewpoints. 

Her mom, Zareen Nevrekar, out of concern for personal health and safety has not allowed Nevrekar to attend protests. Regardless, she is proud of Nevrekar’s ability to take charge, voice her opinions, and act as an ally to movements which she is passionate about through alternate methods of activism. 

“I have tried to raise my children with strong values regarding humanity, love, and fairness. For my husband and myself, it's really about what's right rather than who's right,” Zareen Nevrekar said.

Zareen Nevrekar reveals her own experiences as a member of another generation in comparison to the world now, from growing up in the South to where she is today. She admits her exposure to biases within family impacted her thoughts on how she can influence others through words and deeds, by being articulate and diplomatic.

“Growing up in the South, I learned that there are numerous topics we aren't supposed to openly discuss, but there are definitely ways to express your stand within those narrow spaces,” Zareen Nevrekar said. “Before 2016, I did think that knowing me was an avenue to opening minds and thoughts but was clearly disabused of that faulty notion when the US took off its mask and showed everyone just how prejudiced we are. Obviously, I have more work to do, to do my part in making things better.”

Zara Nevrekar refers to the principles of targeted universalism, or the suggestion that all members of a society should aspire towards the same universal goals, but groups within a society may require different policies to help them reach such goals. 

“It is not a devaluation of any other group or culture. Implementing policies to close disparities, known as ‘targeted universalism’, means improvements for all groups,” Nevrekar said. “Strongly racialized systems are costly and lower outcomes and life opportunities for all communities. Fighting for racial equity benefits everyone.”