A Shorewood High School graduate who led marches on gun law reform now wants action on climate change

More than a year since she was involved in marching for gun law reform, Katie Eder is continuing her political activism — this time on climate change.

Eder, a 2018 Shorewood High School graduate, is working as the executive director for Future Coalition, a national network that fosters community and collaboration among youth leaders and youth-led organizations, according to its website. She is also one of the organization's founders.

The group helped organize Strike With Us, a Sept. 20 event in which young people and adults went on strike across the United States and the world "to demand transformative action be taken to address the climate crisis."

Eder, who was in New York City for the rally, is passionate about climate change; in fact, it was the issue that first got her involved in social justice and organizing.

"I feel very grateful and lucky to be able to have the opportunity to be a part of this movement and to help create space for collaboration for youth-funded organizers across the country," Eder said. 

Eder also took part in a CNN town hall on climate change Sept. 4 with fellow Future Coalition members, where she asked former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden a question.

Future Coalition

The idea for Future Coalition grew out of Eder's organization 50 Miles More, which organized a four-day, 50-mile march to Janesville in April 2018 to advocate for gun reform. Janesville was the hometown of then-House Speaker Paul Ryan. 

"After 50 Miles More happened, we launched a campaign to do 49 more marches in all 50 states, and that kind of launched us into the national gun violence organizing space," Eder said.

While working on that issue, Eder and other organizers noticed a gap. 

"There's all these really great youth organizations doing amazing work, but nobody was talking to each other, and nobody really knew each other," Eder said. "We started the Future Coalition to essentially provide a connection to and a community for youth-led organizations and youth organizers and then also to be able to work to provide them resources that traditionally have only been available to adult-led organizations."

After a nationwide #WalkoutToVote campaign centered around last year's mid-term elections, the group's focus shifted to climate change, with a big focus on planning the U.S. portion of the Sept. 20 global Climate Strike protests.

Leading up to the event, Future Coalition members were speaking with a variety of people in different sectors of society about how everyone can play their part to raise awareness about climate change. That helped lead Eder and her fellow climate strikers to attend the CNN town hall, where Eder asked her question. 

Eder's question to Biden 

At CNN's climate crisis town hall featuring 10 Democratic candidates for president, Eder asked Biden how future young voters can trust him with their futures. Specifically, she asked, "Older generations have continued to fail our generation by repeatedly choosing money and power over our lives and our futures, so how we can trust you to put us — the future — over the wants of large corporations and wealthy individuals?"

Biden answered, "Because I've never done it." He added, "I've never made that choice. My whole career. Simple. I mean, look, I got involved back in 1986. I introduced a climate change plan that was said to be a game changer. I've been involved in everything from making sure we go with back in the '90s, everything I've done has been done to take on the polluters and take on those who are, in fact, decimating our  environment. I mean, it's been my career." 

Her thoughts on Biden's response

Recalling her experience at the town hall, Eder said she was trying hard not to make a facial expression, and said when politicians answer questions, they answer as politicians. She said she was looking for more of an authentic answer and what he was planning to do moving forward.

"He referred to a lot of what he had done in the past," Eder said. "The past is very different than the times we're living in now.

"He has made mistakes in the past. Looking at anyone's past, it's hard to trust them totally from that. It's important that we understand what are the plans going forward and that isn't top of mind in what will be the future of his role or anyone's role."

The reasoning behind her question

Eder said CNN reached out to her and other climate strikers and asked them to submit questions to politicians. She was told when she arrived that her question, the one broadcast on CNN, was approved to be asked.

She said her question came from her group's work on climate change. Adults haven't had the courage to say action is needed on climate change, leaving the responsibility to youth in advocating about the issue, she said.

"When the opportunity arose itself to ask the candidates the question, they are all adults. It's really important that they understand that not only do they need the youth vote in order to be elected, but they also need to listen to young people and our needs and our wants," Eder said. "I think it's important to ask upfront and really understand how are they prioritizing the voice and needs of young people and our generation, and will they put that above other things that will be beneficial to them in the short term."

Eder said she was grateful she was a part of the town hall.

"It was a really great event, and it was amazing for CNN to do that and put that on," Eder said. "To hear from politicians talking about it and using the language — even seeing the 'climate crisis' on screen for however many hours it was that evening. I think it was a big step in the right direction."

Looking ahead

Eder is living in Los Angeles, having moved there before last year's midterm elections. She said it's been a great opportunity to be a part of a different community, meeting other people and experiencing life in a different place.

"It's been really awesome, and I feel, again, really grateful to do the work there and with the people I get to work with," she said.

After taking two gap years between high school and college, Eder said she plans to attend Stanford University starting in fall 2020 and wants to study sociology or political science.

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.