Grassroots Leader? This Woman Initiated the Group Jaywalk

In this inspiring story of civic action coming out of Burlington, VT, 24-year-old Emily Kendrick took a major leap yesterday, leading a full intersection of pedestrians into jaywalking together across Main Street.

 

Sources say that before Emily’s arrival, everyone was thinking about jaywalking, but they were hesitating and making anxious eye contact with each other to see who was going to take the first plunge.

 

All it took was a bold woman like Emily to act first – and walk straight into oncoming traffic – for this community to understand what it was capable of achieving when they took collective action and jaywalked at the same time.

 

“When I see an opportunity to serve my community, I go for it,” said Emily. “I saw that everyone here shared mutual goals – the goal of getting a fucking move on – so I led the effort.”

 

Wow! Civic life is still thriving in America!

 

 

“I think it’s incredible what this woman has done,” said Ryan Martinez, a local man who followed Emily into traffic. “We were all waiting for the right time to make a move, but every orchestra needs a conductor. Then Emily came in and said: Now. The moment is now. Jaywalk.

 

“Change always comes from the bottom up,” Emily continued. “Whether it’s universal
housing, workers’ rights, or the right to not wait at crosswalks when we don’t feel like it, we can achieve great things when we coordinate our actions towards shared causes.”

 

“What happened here today shows us that no matter what, people win when they stick together,” Emily told us. “I mean, they can’t run over all of us.”

 

This woman lives and breathes solidarity!

 

“I’ve learned a lot today about what it means to be a good person,” said seven-year-old Zack Haywood, who also followed Emily into coming traffic. “I look forward to following Emily’s footsteps and taking on the powers that be, such as my school’s crossing guard.”

 

Thank you to amazing community organizers like Emily, reminding us that people still have some meaningful power in the world!