Wright is a youth leader at NM CAFe.
Politicians often proclaim that “youth are the future,” but they don’t listen to our voices or consider our opinions when making policies that will shape the future. The reality, however, is we don’t need to wait for young people to become changemakers — we already are changemakers. We are actively shaping the world through activism, raising our voices and organizing — and it’s time for politicians to take us seriously.
As a young person, I know that we are already challenging the status quo and reshaping the organizing sphere. I have witnessed the success of including young people in organizing from a young age when, at 16, I started working on disability accessibility in my home state of New Mexico. This led to furthering policy that helped support students with dyslexia, which I also have. Organizing around disability accessibility led to the state funding more money for testing for youth with disabilities.
Including youth voices in organizing is essential to adapting our current landscape to the needs and aspirations of those entering the space — something often overlooked in discussions about necessary steps toward building an inclusive economy that centers working people and families and treats those people with dignity.
Organizers face many challenges, but I want to focus on solutions. Transformational change in organizing must begin with a genuine interest and commitment to creating a long-lasting impact. Increasing diversity within organizing is a crucial first step. This goes beyond checking boxes across race, faith or gender; it means building a bigger table that includes young people.
Gen Z is unapologetically authentic and consistently shows up for our communities. The necessity to adapt is an important quality that youth leaders bring to the ever-changing field of organizing. We are digital natives, adept at using technology to amplify our voices and connect with others globally. Being fluent in this rapidly changing landscape allows us to organize quickly, spread awareness and mobilize support in ways previous generations could only dream of.
Intergenerational organizing, like the program Faith in Action and NM CAFe are building through Rising Youth, provides a home for youth who are interested in creating social and political change but aren’t typically in communities that allow space for them to get fully engaged.
Youth organizing spaces shift the current sphere of thinking to focus on issues that have often gone overlooked and under-prioritized. By listening to and empowering young voices, we can change the narrative to one that represents future leaders.
Youth have become boisterous champions of environmental justice, gun reform, LGBTQ+ rights and racial equity. In New Mexico, youth led the successful effort to be part of building the world we want to see, through working on immigration reform, mental health initiatives and creating a national platform for youth to be connected and empowered through organizing
Young people are demanding their voices be heard and will mobilize to ensure the issues that matter most to them aren’t swept under the rug. Young voters' political and social opinions are pivotal in driving change in this country. We are becoming more civically engaged than the country has seen in the last few decades.
Elected officials and candidates are joining platforms like TikTok and X to reach young voters because they want to build a base of young supporters. However, we don’t just want to be reached through social media; we want to be included and have a voice in the issues that impact us daily.
It is crucial that we continue to support and amplify youth-led initiatives, ensuring that young leaders have the resources, platforms and opportunities that we need to succeed. This means investing in youth programs, fostering intergenerational collaboration and creating spaces where young voices are not only heard but valued. The future is shaped by our actions today, and with youth leading the charge, we can create a more just, inclusive and vibrant world for all.
By listening to and empowering young voices, we can create a better future now. Our generation is ready to lead, and the time for change is today, not in the distant future. It's time for society to recognize and embrace the potential of the next generation as the driving force for positive change.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a“ Steel Across America” event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on Sept. 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C. President Trump welcomed 9/ 11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’ s“ Steel Across America” event featuring a 16,900- pound, 21- foot steel beam recovered.
For Trump, even 9/11 is an opportunity
There was a reason organizers of the 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan told President Trump he could not speak at this year’s memorial service.
A good one, it turns out.
Because in a speech he gave on Tuesday in Washington, he did exactly what they were presumably worried about — he made it about himself.
According to The New York Times, Trump had wanted a speaking role at the service, but the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, said no, as they’ve maintained for the past decade-plus that the venue and event should be nonpartisan.
Trump has long used awful tragedies to either puff himself up, trash political opponents, or sell lies to the American people.
He blamed a deadly plane crash at Washington National Airport last year on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. He blamed Puerto Ricans for the devastation they endured after Hurricane Maria in 2017. He reportedly considered withholding disaster relief after the California wildfires based on the way affected regions voted. In an interview on Fox News meant to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, he used the occasion to slam former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…with graves of the dead behind him.
And now, as we approach the 25th anniversary of what many New Yorkers consider the darkest day in modern history, Trump has done it again.
He told a rambling, nonsensical story — one he’s told before — about going to Ground Zero just after terrorists flew two commercial jets into the twin towers. In the story, which no one has been able to verify, despite multiple attempts, he says firefighters had to carry him out of One Liberty Plaza, also known as the U.S. Steel Building, because they thought it was about to collapse.
As CNN fact checker Daniel Dale notes, there’s no evidence Trump went into this building, especially at a time when NYPD and NYFD had locked down the area. There’s no evidence that building was collapsing — in fact, it was deemed structurally sound and reopened within two months of the attacks. There’s no evidence he was carried out of it by firefighters.
But the lie isn’t even the worst part. Pretend it was all true — why would the leader of our country, and a New Yorker, decide to make that tragic day about himself?
Because that’s who Donald Trump is. He’s a malignant narcissist.
He’s also, incidentally, a terrible and ineffectual president, who’s made ill-fated decisions that he has to keep defending, and there’s nothing he won’t do to make himself look and feel better.
Within the first two minutes of his speech, he was cravenly using 9/11 to justify and promote his dumb war in Iran — two events separated by 25 years and 6,000 miles.
“And I will tell you, we’re right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon, they were very close to getting it, and now they have no chance at getting it. They will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve been punished greatly. As you know, we’ve really taken it to them.”
As a New Yorker who lived through 9/11, still one of the worst days of my life, I’m utterly sickened by Trump’s crass, political, and self-promotional framing of that awful day.
And I’m relieved he won’t be given a platform to do it again on Friday’s anniversary in lower Manhattan.
Because for Trump, everything is his for the taking, and absolutely nothing is sacred.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.