An Interview with Kenyon Farrow

One of the three editors of Letters from Young Activists, Kenyon Farrow talks with The Fight! Project about youth activists and the future of activism.

What do you say makes someone an activist?
I’d say it’s anyone who is doing things to hopefully leave this earth better than they found it. Sometimes we think only people who are a part of organizations, go to demonstrations or are Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson types can be activists. But I think the woman who hides another woman in her home from an abusive spouse is an activist. The person who takes clothes to the kids next door who don’t have anything new is an activist.

What is the one overarching message young activists have for the world?
I don’t think there’s one overall message. I fight with a lot of activists about our differing messages and I think that is part of what it means to be an activist - to not only be willing to stand against the obvious injustices, but be willing to challenge the people who are close to you when you think they are not on point. But at the same time, you have to be willing to be challenged and not get caught up in having to be right.

What responsibility, if any, do older activists take on when it comes to younger activists?
I think older activists (and I am moving toward that category now) have a responsibility to be mentors. That means passing on history and being there to support younger activists you feel comfortable with or with whom you share a political vision. But I also believe in mentoring young people who are not activists and have no desire to be. Not everyone will be an activist. I think its important not to live in a bubble and be involved in the lives of a range of people.

With the pervasiveness of social networks like MySpace and Facebook, what is now possible for young rebels who utilize these technologies?
I think, in some respects, they have helped a lot of people connect with other folks on a personal tip–we live such isolated lives, not only as activists but as people in the US. The social networking sites and blogs have really changed the face of what activism and organizing looks like. But at the same time, it is important to remember, the internet is also very much a tool of surveillance, and you had better operate under the assumption that if you are doing political activism online, it is being watched.

If you had one message that could reach all of humanity, what would it be?
I think we live with such intense levels of violence and dehumanize each other in the most banal and the most grotesque ways on a daily basis. I don’t know that I have one message, but I would like for us to think about all of the varying ways we dehumanize one another.

Who is the young activist (10-31) to watch in 2008?
Hmm… Good question. I don’t know that there is one person to watch. I would say to anyone reading this, YOU be the one to watch next year!