MARBLEHEAD — White privilege is something that Molly Blander has become especially attuned to as a result of her social justice efforts over the past year.
Blander, who turned 13 in December, has spent a good part of her year marching in Black Lives Matter protests, sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer last May.
It was at one of those North Shore protests that Blander first heard human rights activist, Rev. Dr. Andre Bennett speak about the BLM cause, an occasion that she said truly resonated with her.
“He speaks in a way that it’s not necessarily in anger, but in exhaustion, (just) being tired of everything,” said Blander. “It’s really interesting to hear him speak. It makes me realize how easy I have it.”
For example, Blander said that because of her white skin, she does not have to worry about every-day things — such as driving around or walking into a store — resulting in a potential tragedy.
Instead of choosing to remain apathetic to the racism and injustice occurring around her, Blander decided this year that she could not sit back and observe any longer.
“It seemed wrong to sit back and observe while people’s lives are being taken away,” said Blander. “I decided I couldn’t sit back and watch anymore.”
For her advocacy and social awareness efforts, Blander, a student at Veterans Middle School, is the Essex Media Group’s 2020 Person of the Year for Marblehead.
“I am very excited,” said Blander. “I am very thankful that with all of the little things I have done, I’m getting this publicity. I think it’s very important when kids my age do their part in fighting for equality and fighting for social justice.
“We’re the next generation. Whatever we can do now to set us up for a just future (is important). I think we’re the most important generation in fighting for justice right now.”
Some of those little things that Blander is referring to may not seem so small to others, especially when her age is taken into consideration.
This past summer, Blander was a finalist in an international Pulitzer Center poetry contest — the youngest of the 18 finalists out of the 1,000 people who applied.
The contest was called “Fighting Words,” and it asked young people to think about how journalism and poetry can help make sense out of today’s events. Students wrote poems or essays based on stories not often reported that were picked from the Pulitzer site.
Her poem, “Home Sweet Home,” which was focused on the plight of asylum-seekers, was meant to be an oxymoron about immigration and ended up being published on the Pulitzer website, Blander said.
Much like her participation in Black Lives Matter protests, Blander said the poem was another way she could do her part in bringing awareness to injustice in the world.
Blander, who is Jewish, has also been focused on fighting anti-Semitism, a pervasive issue that has presented itself with multiple incidents involving swastikas, a Nazi symbol, in Marblehead over the past several years.
Much of her advocacy efforts involve trying to educate the people around her, which is sometimes as simple as urging her friends to watch the news more often.
Blander is thankful for her parents, who have allowed her to grow up in an environment where she was encouraged to educate herself on the kinds of issues she has taken more of an active role in this year.
She said she is looking forward to 2021, which she hopes will feature changes in the country’s presidential administration brought on by President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
While she is encouraged by more people choosing to get involved with the fight against racial and social injustice this year, Blander said there is still a lot of work to do, particularly around issues such as immigration, COVID-19 and anti-semitism.
Blander hopes that more people will choose to get involved, noting that there are a lot of people who could have a lot of influence with helping others because of their white privilege.
“I think we should all be able to speak out and speak up about all of these issues,” said Blander.
