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‘Waltham Forest has a rich history of rebel youth, let the new generation have their turn’

13 December, 2022 12:00 am
2 Min Read

Social historian Esther Freeman on the borough’s long line of forward-thinking young people
By Waltham Forest Echo

Jane Conor (right), local young feminist (courtesy of Esther Freeman)
Jane Conor (right), local young feminist (courtesy of Esther Freeman)

Scrolling through Facebook, a post from a local page caught my eye. It read: “Very sad the younger people of today think the world owes them something.” It got a lot of likes.

Have these people not watched the news recently? If young people think the older generations owe them something, it’s because we do.

I have a tween and she’s already missed out on schooling because classrooms were dangerously hot. By the time she is my age, she may be missing home instead; according to Climate Central, large parts of London will be underwater. Wherever she ends up, I can’t see her ever owning a house and she may struggle to even rent one. I break out in a cold sweat thinking about her job prospects in a world where workers’ rights are being throttled by the gig economy. 

The only thing that stops me falling into a pit of despair is knowing how amazing young people can be. Throughout history, youth have challenged the status quo, something that can feel uncomfortable to the rest of us.

Rock Against Racism in Trafalgar Square (credit: Sarah Wyld)

Back in 1978, Walthamstow’s Roger Huddle wrote a letter to the NME calling out Eric Clapton’s racist rant at a Birmingham gig. From that letter, the Rock Against Racism movement was born. Around the same time, another local Jane Conor was shaking things up in the Women’s Liberation Movement, launching a fanzine that aspired to be to the feminist alternative to Jackie. 

Our borough’s young people continue to push at boundaries today. I recently met students from Willowfield School who’d organised a protest in solidarity with Palestine. In 2019, local children held a school strike for the climate in the town square and, in 2015, Walthamstow’s Arifa Nasim went to a UN conference in New York to speak about violence against women and girls.

If you were born before 1981, you’ve probably had it easier than many young people today. Instead of moaning, get out and join their demonstrations and picket lines. We owe them that much. 

Esther Freeman runs podcast Rebel Women – her latest series focuses on rebellious youth

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