Oral History Interview with Stormy Stewart

Title

Oral History Interview with Stormy Stewart

Interviewee

Stormy Stewart

Interviewer

Madelyn Smythia

Description

Stormy Stewart is a senior English and Creative Writing double major at Sewanee: The University of the South. She was born November 30th, 2001 in Portsmouth, VA. Stormy has lived in several states throughout her life as her father was in the military. She has lived in Virginia, Connecticut, Maryland, Alabama, and D.C. She plans to continue her education in New Mexico after graduation. She has lived through the Black Lives Matter movement and has seen its effects through social media and the news. Stormy worked to spread information for the BLM movement to help get her community better informed.

Transcript

Madelyn Smythia (00:00):
I don't, anyway. All right. So this is Madeline Smith. Yeah, from Suwanee, the University of the South. It's February 14th, Wednesday of 2024. I am with Stormy Stewart.
Stormy Stewart (00:14):
Hello.
Madelyn Smythia (00:15):
Thank you, stormy, for being here. We're just going to start with a couple baseline questions. I know you traveled a lot to your family because you're from a military family, but what state were you born in?
Stormy Stewart (00:24):
I was born in Virginia.
Madelyn Smythia (00:26):
Okay. And I know you traveled around a lot. What kind of states did you live in growing
Stormy Stewart (00:32):
Up? We've also lived in Connecticut. We were living in Italy for a minute. Yeah, my family's been in Washington and New York and Alabama.
Madelyn Smythia (00:46):
Okay, so what were those different states? Those are a lot of different states.
Stormy Stewart (01:00):
I've heard different stories from the different family members, but most of the focus has always been Alabama. We lived in a trailer and dad was going to school and trying to support two kids and a wife on a military paycheck. And then Washington was similar. We didn't live in a trailer, but we were not much better off, and that was right before I was born, so they were about to have three kids. Yeah,
Madelyn Smythia (01:39):
Those are, like you said, a lot of different places. Where did you find community? What kind of groups did your family hang out with at school?
Stormy Stewart (01:51):
It was kind of different for all of us. Lucian, my oldest sibling, tended to hang out with people who were not super driven to work hard in school and things like that. And that's not as a negative. That's just as a Lucian wasn't that way. So he didn't hang out with people who were that way. And then Chloe was a special case. She went to a magnet school for opera, so she had a whole clique of theater friends, basically. And I just kind of always found other quiet kids who had a hard time making friends. We all three kind of had different responses to moving around, so Lucian always had an easier time making up friends immediately just because he was a little bit less high strung than my sister and I. But Chloe was really outgoing, so she also made friends pretty easily once she found an activity, and I just kind of waited until I found people.
Madelyn Smythia (03:12):
So we're just going to keep on this little pattern. Where do you find your community? Because I know obviously there was a long way to get to where you're,
Stormy Stewart (03:20):
Yeah, so it's been interesting. I think the most community I have here right now is the sorority, but a micro group within the sorority.
Madelyn Smythia (03:39):
Yeah, no, of course.
Stormy Stewart (03:41):
Just from people who are understanding and patient, I've got quirks that not everyone is too keen on. And then I've just got things I can't do for money reasons or memory reasons.
Madelyn Smythia (04:09):
Everyone has that kind of thing. So we're going to transition into some of the main content of the interview now. So we're just going to start with a baseline. How do you get your news? How do you learn about what's going on? You get it through social media, through the grapevines. Not the best term, but
Stormy Stewart (04:25):
Yeah, I typically see something first on social media, and then I immediately go and research it. So I'll see a headline and immediately I'm like, I don't know if I fully believe that. And then I will go to a search engine and look up different sites. I will hit some of the both ends of the spectrum. I'll hit Fox News, I'll hit C Nnn, I'll hit B, B, C sometimes just to see if I can triangulate what's actually happening.
Madelyn Smythia (05:07):
Okay. Yeah. So you did mention social media. What is your experience with it? Excuse me.
Stormy Stewart (05:14):
I think it's a blessing and a curse.
Madelyn Smythia (05:17):
Yeah,
Stormy Stewart (05:20):
It was very helpful on getting people to start looking into things to start learning more, but I feel like a lot of people stopped after that and keep doing the work. So they'll see something on Instagram or TikTok, and that's the full truth now for them, which at least they know that something's happening. But
Madelyn Smythia (05:47):
Yeah, I mean there needs to
Stormy Stewart (05:50):
Be. Yeah.
Madelyn Smythia (05:52):
Okay. So what was your first encounter with the Black Matter movement? Was it through social media? Because I know a lot of people had exposure that way, or did you experience any of it firsthand?
Stormy Stewart (06:04):
I think the first time I remember being exposed to Black Lives Matter was, I don't remember the year, but it was the year that Colin Kaepernick got fired from the NFL
Madelyn Smythia (06:18):
20 16, 20 18, something
Stormy Stewart (06:21):
Like that. It was somewhere in the teens. But yeah, I remember everyone arguing and fighting about that, about him kneeling at the game, and I remember immediately being, I feel like that's an understandable thing to do with this is what he's talking about. If everything they're saying, I was in middle school. I remember now I was in middle school. Okay.
Madelyn Smythia (06:48):
Definitely. Probably
Stormy Stewart (06:50):
2015 ish.
Madelyn Smythia (06:52):
Okay. Yeah, that's a good timeframe. I just want to make sure that that's stated
Stormy Stewart (06:57):
For
Madelyn Smythia (06:58):
Future audiences.
Stormy Stewart (07:01):
So I was in middle school and I remember being just shocked that people were so angry at him doing something. That was, I think what made me the most angry was everyone was like, that's super un-American. And I was like, protesting is the number one American thing to do. This is a crazy thing to be upset about, especially if what he's bringing attention to is what's actually happening, being police brutality, which it obviously is happening and still is and needed the spotlight, but, so that's how I think I got introduced to it was football of all things.
Madelyn Smythia (07:47):
So obviously there was a bigger spike in attention during 2020. So what was your community's reaction to the movement when it started really getting public attention?
Stormy Stewart (07:59):
It was somewhat split because the area we were in, and I actually moved during 2020. Yeah.
Madelyn Smythia (08:10):
What area were you? Because you lived in multiple states?
Stormy Stewart (08:13):
Yeah, I lived in Virginia again, we were back in Virginia. They kept sending us there, but I started out living in Chesapeake and then moved to Norfolk, which is moving from a white rural area to a black urban area of the southeastern corner. So seeing the shift even in, because I would drive around a lot and I would put local radio stations on and hearing the shift from people talking about riots, looting, dah, dah, dah, dah, and switching over into living in Norfolk and hearing we're organizing, we're preparing this march, make sure you're on this Facebook group so that you can be there. It was a very stark change. And I think we were already aware that Chesapeake had some issues. I mean, I had a neighbor out in the country that had a confederate flag in his truck, and his horn was Dixie.
Madelyn Smythia (09:22):
I feel like everyone who lives himself at least knows of someone who has the Dixie horn.
Stormy Stewart (09:31):
So a lot of the people I was surrounded with initially were not responding very well. You
Madelyn Smythia (09:37):
Join any of those Facebook groups, did you end up participating in the demonstrations?
Stormy Stewart (09:42):
I did. I joined a couple of the 7, 5, 7 Black Lives Matter Facebook groups. I started spreading information as best I can to friends and people who would be able to get to marches. I couldn't because I was, my parents are not, they're loving parents, but I have issues with them, and my mother is a very controlling person, and so I could not leave the house even if I wanted to, so I could not go out even though I wanted to. I had tried to sneak out a couple times to go to marches, but people were like, that's not safe. Just keep spreading information. It's better to do that than risk this.
Madelyn Smythia (10:42):
Yeah,
Stormy Stewart (10:42):
Of course. But yeah.
Madelyn Smythia (10:46):
Has the movement on that topic, has the movement affected how you talked with your family and friends?
Stormy Stewart (10:52):
Oh, for sure.
Madelyn Smythia (10:54):
In what ways was it positive, negative, a blend, hitting on
Stormy Stewart (11:00):
Who
Madelyn Smythia (11:00):
You were talking to?
Stormy Stewart (11:03):
I think it kind of clicked in my brain to not just be aware of some of the less than ideal language that would pass around in families. And instead, it was just an acute turning point of going, okay, well, you can't say that. It was absurd. I even feel like I watched some of my family become more racist, and I just became an incredibly combative person in the family because family members would say things like the N word or say things about them, just them being black people, but they would just call them them being all thugs or whatever. And I would immediately be like, that's not true. That's not okay to say. And they'd try to fight me on that, and I'd be like, you're not going to change my mind. This isn't Okay. Yeah. So I've kind of become the hothead of the family when it comes to that, but I don't mind. I'd rather do that than have to listen to them. Yeah,
Madelyn Smythia (12:20):
No, I totally understand that. Was it just a combination of the movement with the election pause that schism, or was it more the movement? I feel like most families had a schism around that time.
Stormy Stewart (12:35):
Yeah, I feel like it was a lot of things compounded for the family. It was like, I want to say only two years, maybe even one year after my grandmother had died. So my grandfather was on his own in Ohio, and then Covid happened, so he was extra on his own in Ohio, and that happened for a couple of different family members. So they were just watching and they lived, a couple of them lived in urban areas, and a couple of them lived in very rural areas, and I feel like those were the places that got the most polarized by it. So they were watching what was going on and getting mad that marches were happening, that protests were turning violent, even if it was not the protestors causing the violence. And then the election picked up and I don't know, something just happened to their brains.
Madelyn Smythia (13:55):
It was a bit of a chaotic time to say the least. How has it changed the way you interact with people of color? Has the movement impacted? Because you said that it changed the way some of your language. I know you were referring to family members speaking that earlier.
Stormy Stewart (14:14):
Yeah, I think it's made me focus a bit more on educating myself beyond just what people are saying and more of what people of color are saying about this. So certain shifts in language that are pushed by white liberalism that actually are not championed by the black community or championed by communities of color. So I feel like it's just been a lot of listening and getting out of my head a bit. I feel like there was part of me that was always scared I would say something wrong, and I've started to let that go and just talk to people. And I don't know if that's even to do with race or more just I have anxiety and have since been medicated.
Madelyn Smythia (15:27):
Yeah, I mean, I'm sure that the education probably influenced that a tad. I know that I'm a similar way impacted.
Stormy Stewart (15:38):
Yeah.
Madelyn Smythia (15:39):
Okay. So how do you think within your area, or if you want to do nationally, how do you think the movement succeeded in what it was trying to do?
Stormy Stewart (15:49):
I think it succeeded by forcing people to pay attention. Again, back in middle school when the protest to the national anthem happened, that got some people's attention, but it wasn't enough to keep it going. I feel like the protests and even some of the violence was necessary to really make people see what was happening in our country. And I think that that's something that social media was definitely a good piece of. There was videos were coming out and you could not escape seeing what was happening.
Madelyn Smythia (16:43):
So are you saying in that sense social media was actually a positive influence?
Stormy Stewart (16:48):
I do think so for a minute, and then it turned into just constantly oversharing the videos.
Madelyn Smythia (16:54):
Yeah. How specifically, I know the main turning point was George Floyd. Did you experience the flood of videos? How did that work for you? Because I know that that was not the start of the movement because it had been going on for a decade or more at that time, but how did that specific moment
Stormy Stewart (17:21):
Impact? I remember seeing it hit the news because that was all that was on at that point in the house, because we didn't know what was happening with the shutdowns and everything. So it hit the news and immediately I was researching online and Instagram, it was the video of him being suffocated was there, and TikTok, the video is up and running and you would be able to watch it get taken down like seconds after it was you'd watch it, scroll, scroll back, it's gone. Because yeah, it was just a flood of different parts of that. I think it was eight minutes that it was going on.
Madelyn Smythia (18:23):
I never saw the full, but I remember seeing clips of it and seeing obviously those truths of sending awareness. I'm assuming it was similar for you. I dunno if you saw the full video, if that went around in your area.
Stormy Stewart (18:38):
Yeah, I have seen every part of it. I don't think I ever saw it eight minutes straight,
Madelyn Smythia (18:50):
Saw it cut,
Stormy Stewart (18:52):
Cut into pieces, and then people would do these videos unpacking what was going on, and they would make their videos the same length as what had happened. And remind you at the end, this is how long he was begging for air.
Madelyn Smythia (19:10):
Yeah. Did any social media, perhaps, which one sent that information the most, do you think that you were the most impacted by? Because I know they were on, I know it was all across Twitter, Instagram, TikTok,
Stormy Stewart (19:26):
Facebook. I think the most impactful would've been TikTok because it was kind of the wild West for a minute of you could post anything there.
Madelyn Smythia (19:41):
Yeah, because it did, correct me if I'm wrong, it did start, yeah, was officially uploaded in 2019. Right. I gained popularity in 2020.
Stormy Stewart (19:53):
Yeah, I want to say 2018 is when it hit the app store, and then everyone again, it was locked in their houses before
Madelyn Smythia (20:05):
Moderation. Yeah.
Stormy Stewart (20:06):
Yeah. So yeah, I feel like that was where most of the video evidence or visual prompts were. And then Instagram had a lot of those infographics to try to spare people from the real horror of what had happened, and that was helpful because again, it started a conversation for some people, but
Madelyn Smythia (20:41):
Yeah. Okay. So on that same token, do you think there was ways that the movement failed in what it was attempted to do or ways that it was underscored by what was going on? Because I know we've kind of mentioned that social media started as a very good resource and turned quickly into one that was maybe not as accurate and beneficial.
Stormy Stewart (21:04):
So with the social media aspect, some of the things that started to break down was, again, you can only share so much through these avenues. You're not going to get the full story and you're not going to get the full education that you need. And then also there was an issue cropping up of torture porn, essentially, of just posting and reposting and reposting these videos to make sure everyone saw it, not because it was important to the movement anymore, but because you needed to watch the violence of it. And that was detrimental, I feel. Do you
Madelyn Smythia (21:52):
Remember what point in the media cycle that happened? I was younger when this was going on. I was maybe 15, 16 years old.
Stormy Stewart (22:01):
I think it started to really turn when, I can't remember his name, it starts with an A, but there was a runner who was shot and killed in a neighborhood. I don't even believe it was by police. It was a citizen's
Madelyn Smythia (22:19):
Amari.
Stormy Stewart (22:20):
Yeah. Yeah.
Madelyn Smythia (22:21):
Okay. I remember seeing clips of that too, because my local news circuit ad showed that,
Stormy Stewart (22:30):
And that was one of the ones that it really started being less of a, this is a thing that happened and more of a watch how gruesome this was. And that's when you started to see more of the videos that were closer in with the George Floyd incident and a bit more visceral that focused more on the darker parts of what had happened instead of this is a systemic failure that has killed another person.
Madelyn Smythia (23:06):
I know I can speak for me, but I know in the area, which I have lived for most of my life, but those kinds of things were not shown or spoken about in the wake of George Floyd until after. Was it similar for you or you, I don't know if you got your news from, I know you said social media and then you could do research, but in terms of a radio or tv, did you go more local or national at the time you watch that?
Stormy Stewart (23:34):
We typically kept it on, our family was kind of victim to the 24 hour news cycle, so the way our channels would run it would be like, here's the local news, here's the national news, back to local news, back to national news. So you kind of just got everything. Okay. What
Madelyn Smythia (23:57):
News provider was it? I know Station I think was Fox.
Stormy Stewart (24:03):
Yeah, our local news was Fox, and then we would also switch between CBS. We had some local, there was a Christian news group. I think it's the 700 club or something that was run in the local area, so that would come on sometimes too. We jumped around a lot when it came to news because none of us could stand newscasters for very long.
Madelyn Smythia (24:39):
Did you notice the difference in the way it was portrayed through those types of media as opposed to social media? And do you think that impacted the way you perceived how the movement was going on, thinking as if you only got it from one source or someone who only got it through maybe the local or national news?
Stormy Stewart (24:58):
I think the local, the news in general, they were a bit less intent on outrage. There was a lot less anger, at least on the types of news sources we were getting from. Because again, Fox was our local news, and then we'd watch something like CBS for national news, which is a lot more tame of a program. So it would be a lot more of a just reporting of events, sanitized language, and then local news, it was typically, here's a memorial going on, here's a visual that's being held. These are the people who turned out, here's a video of everyone holding candles.
Madelyn Smythia (25:56):
Do you think that the tone, I mean you were kind of referencing this, that the tone of the way they display these events were different. It sounds like it was more positive you, you're focusing on the nicer parts of what was going on.
Stormy Stewart (26:08):
Yeah, more
Madelyn Smythia (26:09):
Community bonding is what I'm saying. It's like all of us going together to do this visual, all of us going together to do this demonstration.
Stormy Stewart (26:17):
There was definitely a lot more emphasis on moving the focus away from the flashpoint of what had happened onto here's how we're responding. So just that degree of separation from what actually happened to what's being broadcast. Because obviously local news wasn't running the video of this man dying.
Madelyn Smythia (26:51):
There's protocols they have to follow that social media can sometimes get away with.
Stormy Stewart (26:56):
Exactly.
Madelyn Smythia (26:57):
I know that sometimes even now, videos get out on the internet and they can't get it down for a long period of time. So I know there's a lot more moderation. So we've talked about a lot about your experience. Did you know anyone who had maybe slightly different experience maybe who wasn't as informed as you learned later? As you seem to be more aware of it and more cognizant of it from an earlier point than a lot of people I think can say?
Stormy Stewart (27:26):
Yeah, I feel like I watched a lot of my friends kind of pick sides, and it's not that any of them jumped to suddenly racist. It was just some of them stayed quiet and then I'd watch others slowly start to pick up what was happening and learn what was happening and talk about it and share what everyone else was sharing and talking about. Yeah, I feel like most of my friends, most of the people in my life had a similar experience as I did, with the exception being some of my friends and family were able to then take the step further because they were free to move around so they would be able to attend protests. My girlfriend went to one in Richmond, Virginia. That cops showed up too, and it was a difficult night.
Madelyn Smythia (28:40):
So I know a lot more of the demonstrations and stuff happened up towards North. I'm not saying that there were not some, because I know several that occurred in Nashville, for example, but do you think that there was a lot in your area, or at least in your state?
Stormy Stewart (28:53):
I think there was a decent amount in the state because we border dc.
Madelyn Smythia (29:00):
Yeah.
Stormy Stewart (29:01):
So especially as you got closer and closer to dc, so Richmond and up there was a lot more ability to pull people together. I feel like the south side of Virginia is still a bit behind the times, both technologically and ideologically. So I don't think there was anything that happened in Chesapeake. I couldn't find anything that happened in Chesapeake. There were marches in Norfolk, but none of them were more than, again, just more of a vigil than a protest,
Madelyn Smythia (29:43):
More of just a awareness building thing unless
Stormy Stewart (29:46):
Yeah, remembrance of what's happened. Yeah.
Madelyn Smythia (29:51):
So we've talked about the past a lot. So what do you think is the future of Black Lives Matter, the way it's progressing? Because I know it's been shown progressively less and less in the media and occasionally it'll come up again. I don't know if that's been your experience as well. So I'd like to hear some more about that.
Stormy Stewart (30:10):
So at least as far as social media, I still see a decent amount of it because of however tiktoks algorithm works, it just keeps coming back. So I do see a decent amount. I see a lot about the construction of the police compound in Atlanta that's being built, that's going to level a forest and train more police to be more violent in a incredibly highly populated area. So I see a lot about that. I think that's going to be the next big flashpoint that we see as far as the progression of the movement is as it gets closer and closer to that becoming a reality, we're going to hear more and more about it and going to be able to do more things in response and to try to stop it. Because right now there's not much to be done beyond signing some petitions. And if you're not in Atlanta, you can't really go to protests because it's not a nationwide thing yet. It hasn't become a problem for everyone,
Madelyn Smythia (31:39):
I can say. For me, I wasn't even aware of that new development. So what do you think, has there been changes in the past couple of years? I know there's a lot of awareness brought, however positive or negative it may have been. That was, I mean, if we're just talking from the scope of George Floyd, that was nearly four years ago, and then Colin Kaepernick was, I think if the year is 2016, which that might need to fact check. For anyone listening to this, that's eight year difference. So that's a big scope of time. So if you've seen any changes, we could go from the scope of your hometown or if you want to talk about here in Swanee as well.
Stormy Stewart (32:20):
Yeah, I think all of the change has been social so far, which that is a hard won fight, and it is great that people have come as far as they have. I feel like our generation specifically is a lot more aware and a lot more intent on being vehicles of change and starting conversations about this kind of thing. We haven't seen much systemic change. We haven't seen much reformation of the police system, of the military industrial complex and everything. None of it's really been affected yet, but I don't want that to be a disheartening thing because social change is how that starts. We have to get a popular majority before we can start moving in the right direction. So it's slow, but it is progress.
Madelyn Smythia (33:24):
I mean, four years sounds like it's a long time, but in the scope of change, a lot of movements take four or five years to truly get going. So people have to become aware of the problem to be able to go to lawmakers to make this change. I'm sure you can agree with that. And you also mentioned generational impact, which was one of my questions that I was going to ask you. So you have given me the perfect leeway into that. So what generation out of the ones currently living, I know Generation Alpha is quite young, but which one of those do you think was most affected by the Black Lives Matter movement, whether that be a positive or negative effect?
Stormy Stewart (34:08):
It's hard to say because I feel like there was such an impact in opposite directions for certain generations. So for say the baby boomers, I feel like there was a negative impact there and that it pushed a lot of the older generation towards bigotry, even if they weren't outspoken about it before, or they didn't even really know they had these problems before. And I feel like for our generation, gen Z, because we saw it all happen during the end of our teenage years, there's something, there's a correlation between how our brains develop and when this happened.
Madelyn Smythia (35:12):
Yes.
Stormy Stewart (35:13):
That it is going to have a lasting impact on our ability to navigate social situations and understand the complexity of race. That's a very, I don't want to say optimistic because that makes it sound like it's not true, but I feel like it is an optimistic standpoint that is actually happening to believe that our generation really is making change because of what we witnessed and because we witnessed it
Madelyn Smythia (35:59):
So
Stormy Stewart (35:59):
Directly.
Madelyn Smythia (36:00):
I think you can kind of see that impact as more and more of us were finally reaching voting age, because now I think this upcoming year people, yeah. Oh, okay. I just made myself feel slightly old, but it's not a good deal. They were maybe 13, 14 when this was going on so that we, as science has said, that's a very impactful time. And I mean that's around the time you learned of the movement in general through calling that Cabernet
Stormy Stewart (36:31):
You stated
Madelyn Smythia (36:31):
Earlier. So yeah. So you think that baby movements were affected in a more negative way. What about some of the more older generations, maybe not the silent generation, they're a bit smaller in number, but maybe what do you think with X and millennials, their impact? Because I know millennials aren't that old either.
Stormy Stewart (36:56):
Yeah, no, millennials, I feel like, and this is based less on data and more of interactions with millennials.
Madelyn Smythia (37:05):
You know what I'm asking for? I'm wanting your personal experience.
Stormy Stewart (37:11):
I just felt like that was an important thing before I make this general.
Madelyn Smythia (37:15):
Based on your personal experiences, what do you think? I feel
Stormy Stewart (37:20):
Like millennials fall into the trap of, I learned about it. That's great. I did my job. I am a good white person. I'm a good ally because I read this or I posted this.
Madelyn Smythia (37:42):
Okay. You're saying that you think that they believed that their job was over once they started and did their education?
Stormy Stewart (37:50):
Yeah. I feel like, again, there's a lot of white liberalism among millennials, which that term is typically used to describe a false sense of progress of painting something as progressive, but it's more central or even right leaning. I feel like that's an issue with the millennial generation is thinking they've done what they're supposed to do and that's the end of it. And with Gen X, it's hard to say, my parents are Gen X and they had a surprising reaction in my opinion, to what was going on. They did not react positively. They've kind of learned to stop picking that fight with me because they're going to get an argument and I'd like to think that I changed their minds, but I don't think that's the case. I think they're a fairly stubborn crop of folk. So if they've decided they're right, they're right. And it doesn't matter if the facts are one thing,
Madelyn Smythia (39:32):
In your opinion is another.
Stormy Stewart (39:33):
Yeah.
Madelyn Smythia (39:35):
So what you're kind of saying is you believe from your personal experience that Gen X is kind a blend of the reactions of boomers and millennials. I know for my parents were also Gen X, they did not actively demonstrate, but they did a lot of education and spread news and that's where their jobs stopped. So you're just kind of as a generalization, humans are,
Stormy Stewart (40:01):
I would say so I think it's one of those generations that you can tell the two generations it's between. And so you can see some of the older Gen X leaning towards leaning one way and younger leaning towards the other. Yeah.
Madelyn Smythia (40:20):
How do you think this is going to impact the younger generation of generation Alpha? I know a lot of them now. I think the oldest being 11 or 12 growing up through this. I know there's a lot of needs in social change, like you mentioned previously.
Stormy Stewart (40:40):
I want to be hopeful. I want to believe that it will be carried forward that all of the education, all of the awareness will be upheld and built upon. But I'm worried because they are the generation that was born after the iPhone.
Madelyn Smythia (41:11):
Yes. I mean, I was just stating, because obviously you can't really look at behavior of young children and determine how that's going to develop because I feel like it's not really a generalization that everyone's, at least a tiny bit of here is a small child. So I was just wondering when they're our age, if this cycle continues the way it's saying maybe nothing big happens the next few years and the movement continues at the pace it's going, how do you think that would impact them?
Stormy Stewart (41:49):
You can take, that's a heavy
Madelyn Smythia (41:51):
Question.
Stormy Stewart (41:51):
It's a heavy question. And I work with these kids. Yeah,
Madelyn Smythia (41:55):
That's also why I was asking.
Stormy Stewart (41:58):
So again, I want to believe the best of them and they can be so, so kind and compassionate, but they also lack so much social skill that I'm concerned it's going to funnel them towards the, I don't want to say wrong, it's wrong in my opinion, towards the wrong ideas because the online pipeline is a very real thing. And these kids been, have had access to that since they were even younger than we did. And I see them parroting stuff already and I get worried.
Madelyn Smythia (42:46):
Okay. So you're saying that unless we start obviously doing some more change, we could be,
Stormy Stewart (42:56):
We need to really start pulling apart the online algorithm that sends kids to the alt-right? We need to start really picking that apart to make sure it doesn't happen to these kids.
Madelyn Smythia (43:17):
Because are you just stating that you're kind of concerned that maybe social media might lead to some more in Doc connection?
Stormy Stewart (43:25):
Yeah, for sure. I mean, YouTube was already doing it and now they've got something even faster than YouTube.
Madelyn Smythia (43:37):
Okay. So we're kind of reaching the end of the interview. So we've covered a lot of bases, but just to end on, not necessarily a Hyatt, it's a high note. What do you hope happens in the next few years? How do you plan to interact with it in the years to come? It's like a fun looking forward.
Stormy Stewart (44:02):
Yeah. So I'm about to graduate. Obviously I'm a senior and I'm looking forward to really starting to be a community builder and start convincing people that community is possible still, and that is going to be how we make some of these changes. So trying to help build free pantries and find people places to sleep and live, because homelessness is criminalized and poverty is a very real thing, especially in communities of color. So I really want to be an active voice in building these resources until we can move even further and start really dismantling the systems that cause these issues. But again, I think that needs to be a community-based movement, and I am really looking forward to wherever I go next, either joining if it's already happening or being the one to say, let's do this. Why can't we take care of each other?
Madelyn Smythia (45:19):
Have you seen people around you start to take those steps already? Because I know I've already seen a few people that I graduated with already.
Stormy Stewart (45:27):
Yeah. I definitely feel like a lot of the people I surround myself with have a similar mindset of we can just start taking care of each other. That it's not that out of reach to imagine a world that is compassionate. So yeah, I do think that there's a good chance that it picks up as a movement to support Black Lives Matter as kind of an ancillary system of community.
Madelyn Smythia (46:04):
Okay. Thank you so much for taking the time to be interviewing me. My, I.