How a Troop of Grade School Girls Are Fighting for Justice

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(uplifting music)
(chanting)
- I want my daughter and the rest of the Monarchs
to grow up in a world that sees them and affirms them
and that gives them the space to be able to show up
as their full selves to celebrate who they are
as young girls of color.
(upbeat music)
My name is Anayvette Martinez,
and I am one of the co-founders of the Radical Monarchs.
- And my name is Lupita Martinez, and I'm a Radical Monarch.
- [Narrator] The Radical Monarchs
is a progressive scouting troop for young girls of color.
The troop's mission is to create opportunities
for the girls to form a fierce sisterhood,
celebrate their identities
and contribute radically to their communities.
- I launched the Radical Monarchs in December of 2014
because when Lupita was in fourth grade
she wanted to join a local scouting troop.
I felt like the traditional scouting group
wouldn't really speak to her experience
as a young girl of color and as a girl
that's been raised with really radical politics.
And, so, I had this idea of what would it look like
to start a different kind of troop
where girls could earn badges,
but that the badges they earned
were based on social justice issues and topics.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] The Monarchs earn badges for each unit
that they cover, and each badge has an activity
out in the community, like participating in marches,
meeting with legislators and talking with activists
who came before them.
- Some of the badges that we've earned are Radical Roots,
Radical Bodies and then our newest one today,
which was Radical Media.
For the Radical Healing badge,
we learned about different ways of healing,
healing with plants, healing with herbs.
And then, for the Black Lives Matter badge,
we went to the Martin Luther King march.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] The Radical Monarchs recently started
their second troop and hope to expand
to reach even more girls.
- My vision and dream for the Monarchs
is that we have troops and chapters
wherever we're needed and wanted.
As it is right now, we get requests constantly
from all over the country, all over the world even.
Especially in today's climate,
I think that is needed now more than ever.

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How a Troop of Grade School Girls Are Fighting for Justice

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