Lindsay Peoples Wagner — The Pandemic & Black Lives Matter: How Young People Are Building A New Normal

The Boston Public Library welcomes Editor-in-Chief of New York Magazine’s The Cut and former Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue Lindsay

 Peoples Wagner for an online conversation moderated by BPL President David Leonard. This program, presented in partnership with the Kirstein Business Library and Innovation Center and the GBH Forum Network and sponsored by the Friends of Kirstein, is part of the BPL’s Repairing America Series.

Adults yearn to get back to normal. Young people, on the other hand, see issues that generations before them have failed to change. In this time of crisis and social upheaval, they also see an opportunity to start over and collectively build something new and better, whether it be about Black Lives Matter, climate change, #MeToo or human rights. According to Lindsay Peoples Wagner, it has to be younger people who drive lasting change because they are the ones most affected. “You see that with Greta [Thunberg], you see that with Malala [Yousafzai] and so many of those that have appeared on Teen Vogue’s covers,” says Peoples Wagner. “Young people—especially young people of color— are starting a revolution and saying that things aren’t good enough. We’re refusing to accept what older people are willing to give us because it’s unacceptable.” In this inspiring speech celebrating the power of young people to create real and lasting change, Peoples Wagner rouses audiences to action and provides powerful insights for adults and educators. “This is the only way change is going to happen,” she says. “We just have to keep doing it.”