Photography courtesy of Scarlette Maier.
Maier siblings
Scarlette Maier and her brother, Kaden, proudly display homemade signs at Monday's protest. Scarlette organized the event, along with help from peers.
So far, Scarlette Maier has not been having what most would consider typical summer for a teenager. The 14-year-old has her mind on other things, like organizing her first protest.
On June 29, Maier and other Ladue teens organized a protest, advocating for the Black Lives Matter movement, in which roughly 25 community members, all with signs in tow, gathered at the St. Louis County Library. The demonstration also received overwhelming support from those driving by. Maier's gathering is just one of numerous protests being held across the St. Louis area since the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery.
"If you’re a human being, you deserve equal rights,” Maier says.
Photography courtesy of Scarlette Maier.
Scarlette parents
Maier's stepmom, Kasey, and father, Matthew, pose at Monday's protest.
She attributes much of her activism to how she was raised. As a child, her parents took her to many demonstrations for equal rights, and once she hit middle school, they supported her decision to join a leadership club that frequently discussed issues such as oppression and prejudice. Maier says her dad especially helped her to find her voice at a young age.
“[When I was growing up,] we would have conversations about what’s going on in the world and in the news, and usually, he would make me tell him where I stood before he mentioned where he stood, so that way I would form my own opinions,” Maier recalls. “When I had certain opinions, he would have debates with me so I could try to back up what I was thinking. He’d play devil’s advocate of sorts just so I’d know how to structure an argument to defend what I believe.”
Maier plans to continue to advocate for change in the future and hopes to bring her values to a profession in the Navy or as a homicide detective. “I want to protect all people equally, and not just certain people because they're viewed as better or above another group," she says.
For now, Maier wants to encourage her peers to join her in advocating for change: “You’re never too young to fight for people’s rights to basically exist in your home,” she says. “There are always ways you can help, whether it’s going to a protest, organizing protests, explaining to your family how you feel, hearing someone make a racist comment and telling them it’s wrong to say that—anything is good.”
