What does it take to get a room full of teenagers together on a Tuesday morning for a meeting with local activists? Turns out, it is not the promise of munchkins, but rather a deep-seated passion for change and civil discussions. On November 4th, leaders of local activist movement Indivisible Hingham/Hull came to speak to a small group of members from Hingham High School’s Activists United club. The ideas and the actions have not only inspired those in attendance at the meeting, but also the thousands of Hingham and South Shore residents whom Indivisible has reached.

Much like many clubs at HHS, Indivisible Hingham/Hull is part of a larger national movement that splits into local chapters. The movement is relatively new, only beginning after last year’s presidential election put Donald Trump back into the Oval Office.

Upon their arrival at HHS, the three local Hingham activists Laura Burns, Katie Sutton, and Judy Sneath, longtime community pillars and local leaders, made the values their movement strives to uphold very clear to the students in attendance; the preservation of democracy, dignity, and community during a time of widespread anxiety is imminent. With their current goals focused on the attacks on immigrants, scientific research, and women’s rights, the activists proclaimed that the best local course of action was that “We need to be out in the streets, out in the streets, out in the streets.”

Though their primary audience seems to adhere to the ideals of the Democratic party/those who believe in left leaning politics, the activists made it clear that their intentions in creating their chapter of Indivisible wasn’t to split the community or advocate for only a certain portion of the local population, but rather to come together with all people of all different political beliefs and backgrounds to create a bi-partisan defense towards autocracy. In fact, the women argue that their intentions aren’t geared toward the ideals of any political party at all but rather the institution of a cooperative society as a whole stating that “Our goal is not partisan. We seek the restoration of our representative democracy, and a civil society where every individual is respected and supported as a human being. We strongly believe these values are bedrock for Americans from all walks of life, and not liable to change in the way that policy goals are.”

Their determined spirit and honorable actions have not fallen on deaf ears from community members. Through their consistency and persistent calls to action, Indivisible Hingham/Hull has spurred a movement much larger than they originally predicted. For example, the turnouts to their two No Kings Day protests held at Hingham’s Bathing Beach far exceeded expectations. Even though 200 people were expected at the time, the June ‘No Kings Day’ protest hosted by Indivisible received over ten times the number of people expected, surpassing two thousand attendees. The massive community response represents a defining pillar of American democracy unable to be deterred by the present minefield of the political landscape – the practice of unity.

Unity is arguably the one of the most important features to establishing authority as a successful movement and turning uninformed citizens into passionate townspeople. In fact, at the meeting with HHS students, Sutton even asserted that one of their main goals is to “eradicate fear between people by trying to unify to defeat the autocratic playbook.” The idea of creating a unifying force to spur government response resonated with several of the Hingham High students in attendance and specifically with HHS Junior and Activists United club member June Rogan. June stated that one of her biggest takeaways from the meeting was the emphasis on “the shining focus on unity first and using that unity as action to work towards one cause and come together as a community.”

Despite Indivisible’s huge success in creating a close community of townspeople with common ideals, crafting a multi-generational outreach has proved challenging. Much like the Stand Up and Speak Out protests in Downtown Hingham, Indivisible has primarily reached a demographic of protestors over the age of sixty. The question remains: How do we inspire the younger generation to build upon the grassroots of civic engagement? And how shall we as a community abolish the principles of indifference and the mindset of “it doesn’t affect me so why should I care?”. These questions were heavily debated at Tuesday’s meeting and it proved difficult to come up with a definitive answer. Junior Ashley Sinkus also found the questions difficult to categorize stating that her biggest takeaway from the event was that “most of the people who attended the protests were over the age of sixty.” 

Standing up for what you believe in is a fundamental importance of a successful democracy and an importance that the leaders of Indivisible Hingham/Hull truly embody. As Indivisible’s movement continues to grow, so will their impact. They provide another example of the dedication necessary to allow small ideas to form large movements. In their own words, “Anyone who wants to stand up and be heard can find an action to take.”

To get in touch with Indivisible Hingham/Hull you can visit their website at https://indivisiblehinghamhull.org/ or talk to Ms. Jope in room 180 for more information.