By Hannah Saunders

An antifascist, international, youth-led movement known as the Youth Equality Coalition (YEC) recently launched five chapters in the Pacific Northwest and is seeking volunteers to assist with organizing direct action and community aid networks. Tacoma, Olympia, Vancouver, Portland, and Seattle have one volunteer each.

“The YEC movement is brand new in the U.S., but there’s several chapters that have been started, including two others in California,” YEC PNW told TtS.

YEC began in the United Kingdom and “unites young activists to combat racism, fascism, and inequality through education, advocacy, and direct action,” it stated.

An article written by 21-year-old Jackson Peace, a student originally from the Isle of Wight, that was published in the Guardian delves into the rise of the far-right movement across the pond. Peace touched on his work with YEC, highlighting how he’s worked with the group for the past five months.

“We put young people in contact with one another and help them organize demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine and asylum seekers, and we’ve been removing flags that were put up by the campaign group ‘Operation Raise the Colours’,” Peace wrote.

Raise the Colours is another movement where members prop up British flags across towns and cities, and an ally of its co-founder Stephen Lennon allegedly has ties to the white nationalist ‘Britain First’ party. Raise the Colours claims these efforts are purely patriotic acts while others state that Raise the Colours is an extremist group, and it has divided Britain.

To connect and empower youth as it relates to political issues and other topics that impact their lives, YEC has a magazine called Youth Now. It focuses on justice, social change, and equality, and each issue contains creative writing, news articles, and interviews. Topics include racism, climate change, digital freedom, and mental health.

To volunteer with the PNW chapter of YEC, reach out to the volunteers on Instagram.

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