Youth panel discuss what 'being prophetic' means

By Mary Stamp

Brianna Dilts, the Eastern Washington regional organizer for Faith Action Network, moderated a panel of youth and young adults at the recent Eastern Washington Legislative Conference. They discussed working across the generations to advance social justice.

Panelists were Molly Milton, a senior at Gonzaga University in political science, religious studies and dance; Micaela Figueroa, a senior in social work at Eastern Washington University (EWU) and intern at Nuestras Raíces; Nikita Habimana, a junior at Shadle Park High School and member of the NAACP Spokane Youth Council, and Tevita Fakasiieiki, an EWU student studying international affairs and member of the Pacific Islander Community Association (PICA) Youth Council.

Brianna opened asking for their comments on the conference theme: "What does it mean to be prophetic in today's world?

Molly, who is Catholic, was uncertain what a prophet was other than Old Testament prophets. When she asked, a religious studies professor told her that historically prophets are disliked "because they make people uncomfortable by pointing out inconsistencies in their behavior."

She noted that prophets remind people to return to their faith and to love everyone to make a more positive world.

"It relates to my participation in social justice," Molly said, noting that "young people are learning how to do that."

Micaela at first thought that prophecy was about looking into the future, saying what will happen, seeing the future in a positive way and reinforcing a positive mindset.

Nikita, who moved to Spokane a year ago from South Africa and attends a Pentecostal church, said that "religiously and historically being prophetic is speaking out against injustice. Prophets speak truth to power. They leave people uncomfortable because they speak the truth and advocate for people who can't advocate for themselves. They speak for justice for all people."

Tevita, who is involved in the United Church of Christ, said the Pacific Islander culture uses the terms, "wayfinder" or "navigator." He added, "To be prophetic means to speak truth to power and interweave ideas in the community. Navigators used the stars to journey throughout the Pacific Ocean to find and connect people."

Brianna asked how their faith influences their work for justice or prophetic action.

Molly said her experience with social justice has developed as a student at Gonzaga University, a Jesuit institution that focuses on the whole person and teaches courses on social justice. She values having the university "guide us on social justice and different ways to participate in our community to bring effective change."

Nikita said she has started speaking truth to power by joining the NAACP Youth Council, writing for The Black Lens and volunteering with other organizations that help people.

Tevita has been informed by his ancestors, family and friends who have done community work. He worked with church youth to learn about and challenge the downtown Spokane statue of John Monaghan, who was killed while participating in a genocidal, colonial raid when fighting Samoans in 1906.

"With PICA and my church, I spoke at several City Council meetings for it to be removed," he said. "It's important to converse on these issues."

Brianna then asked them how they build and nurture supportive networks.

Tevita pointed out the need to work with others in the community. Through PICA leaders he has learned that many Marshall Islanders who were exposed to radiation from nuclear testing now live in Spokane and struggle with health issues.

In her internship with Nuestras Raíces, Micaela has learned how people in her Hispanic and Latino culture help each other, build each other up and share information by word of mouth—telling people that the agency is there to help them.

For Molly, "community and social justice go hand in hand, but there's a lack of intergenerational collaboration. Gen Z is passionate, but we don't know how to get involved in organizations to act on our passions…I think social media, used positively, can be a great tool to involve young adults. We hope organizations will bridge the gap between adults and the youth to benefit social justice initiatives."

Nikita also believes community is important for social justice and belonging. She encourages young people to be involved in the community so people "nurture our voices, help us be the best people we can, and support youth by listening to try to understand us." She spoke of the South African proverb "ubuntu," meaning, "I am because you are" and "a person is a person among other people."

By engaging in community, she said, people help each other and make the world better.

Brianna next asked the young people how to bridge the gap between different generations of leaders—learning from the wisdom of elders while making their unique paths today.

Micaela suggested "collaborating with each other and working with each other," inviting young people to set aside misconceptions that elders are stuck in "an old-school mindset," because many, many elders have fought for justice and freedom. "We can ask what protests they went to, what their passions are, what they advocated for and what may not have worked then that may work now," she said.

"We should understand each other's generations," said Nikita. "We need to chat. Older people grew up in a different time with a different mindset and a different world. Young people can be stubborn in the way we think of other generations. We need to put our grievances aside and learn from each other. That way we can work together to help the community because we have different gifts. Young people have strength with social media being one of them and older people have wisdom and skills relevant in their time. We need to communicate more effectively, rather than arguing about who's right, because in a way, we all are."

Tevita said. "We used the word 'we' a lot, but every individual is different." To understand each other, he invited people to communicate about how they are navigating this journey called life.

"We have to gain experiential knowledge from everybody by getting to know one another, interweaving ourselves with one another," he said.

Brianna asked how they maintain resilience and hope in the face of injustice, especially in today's political climate.

"I maintain hope and resilience," said Micaela, "by working with Nuestras Raíces, because my culture and the population I work with is targeted now. I let them know their rights, because many come to us scared and feel hopeless. I let them know we're here to help them."

Seeing people at their lowest strive and progress to a better future makes her feel there is hope.

Sometimes overwhelmed by events of the world, Molly said that dwelling on it makes it hard "to see through the fog of this craziness and chaos. Sometimes we have to put on our hope glasses and look for those little moments that fill up our hope tank." Seeing the number of people gathered at the conference who are interested in addressing issues and learning from each other gives her hope.

"Our practice and participation are the best ways to get through the daunting nature of social justice in all the chaos in our world," she said.

Nikita said it's sometimes hard to maintain hope. She finds strength in the community, being with people who "uplift me and choose joy. We need to choose joy sometimes. Joy is also a form of resistance."

Being religious, she takes time alone to pray, read the word of God and focus on her mental health so she is able to fight for social justice. "There are many injustices, and many people are being wronged. So we have to uplift each other, even those we don't agree with," she said. "We need to put our grievances aside and understand we're all human and trying to live a better life."

Tevita finds hope in "the 3R's—resistance, respect and resilience. We are to resist oppression, be resilient in the face of oppression and respect our elders."

He sees hope in youth joining protests, in their taking wisdom from elders and using voices through social media.

Brianna asked, "What is one thing you hope people in the audience do today as a result of our conversation?"

Molly said, "learn from, absorb and appreciate what young adults add to the conversation."

Micaela said, "be open-minded and learn new things because things are changing always."

Nikita said, "understand people and their values, know how your words may affect people who do not have the same benefits and may be harmed by your words."

Tevita hopes people will have conversations with one another to deeply understand each other.

For information, call 535-4112.

Links to the Legislative Conference videos at https://www.thefigtree.org/ewlc2025videos.html