Being young and making an impact
-
0:01 - 0:04My mom is a strong black woman
-
0:04 - 0:08who raised her kids to have
the same sense of strength and pride. -
0:08 - 0:11This spirit was epitomized
by a single wall -
0:11 - 0:14in our small, two-bedroom apartment
on the South Side of Chicago. -
0:14 - 0:15Two pictures hung proudly:
-
0:15 - 0:19one larger-than-life photo
of my siblings and I -
0:19 - 0:20and the other a picture of my mom
-
0:20 - 0:22at 12 years old
-
0:22 - 0:24staring into the eyes
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -
0:26 - 0:29When I was younger,
I used to stand on my tippy-toes, -
0:29 - 0:30stare at that picture,
-
0:30 - 0:33close my eyes tightly,
and just pretend that it was me -
0:33 - 0:37gazing up at the man who revolutionized
the Civil Rights Movement, -
0:37 - 0:39who marched on Washington
and who transformed a generation -
0:39 - 0:41by his words, "I have a dream."
-
0:42 - 0:43But I did get to meet him.
-
0:43 - 0:45Now, obviously, I didn't meet Dr. King,
-
0:45 - 0:47but I met a man named Dr. Vincent Harding.
-
0:48 - 0:50He worked with Dr. King from day one
-
0:50 - 0:53and even wrote some of his
most iconic speeches. -
0:54 - 0:56You see, this was a really
important moment for me as a kid, -
0:56 - 0:59because it was the first time
that I realized -
0:59 - 1:01that it wasn't just Dr. King
who led this revolution, -
1:01 - 1:06but he was surrounded by a movement
made up of anonymous extraordinaries. -
1:07 - 1:11Anonymous extraordinaries are people
who work selflessly and vigorously -
1:11 - 1:12for what they believe in,
-
1:13 - 1:16people who are motivated by conviction
and not recognition. -
1:16 - 1:19It took me a long time to realize
the significance of this moment, -
1:19 - 1:20until I was much older.
-
1:20 - 1:22And like I said, I grew up in Chicago.
-
1:22 - 1:24I grew up in a rough, poor neighborhood,
-
1:24 - 1:26but it didn't really matter to me as kid
-
1:26 - 1:29because I literally have
the most incredible family in the world. -
1:29 - 1:31Two things that I did
struggle with a lot -
1:31 - 1:33growing up was one --
-
1:33 - 1:35that my dad has been sick my whole life.
-
1:35 - 1:37He suffers from Parkinson's
and pancreatitis, -
1:37 - 1:41and as a kid, it was so hard
for me to watch my hero -
1:41 - 1:42in so much pain.
-
1:43 - 1:45And my other issue was with me.
-
1:45 - 1:47I guess you could say
I had an identity crisis. -
1:48 - 1:50I had to move four times
during high school, -
1:50 - 1:53and my freshman year I went
to an extremely racist high school. -
1:53 - 1:54Kids were so cruel.
-
1:54 - 1:56They gave us hate letters,
-
1:56 - 1:58wrote terrible things on our lockers
-
1:58 - 2:00and because I'm biracial,
they would tell me, -
2:00 - 2:03"You can't be both.
You have to choose, black or white." -
2:03 - 2:05And in the end
I just resented being either. -
2:05 - 2:08And then all of a sudden,
my senior year rolls around, 2008, -
2:08 - 2:11and being mixed, being racially
ambiguous is this new cool fad, -
2:11 - 2:14like, "Natalie, now it's OK
for you to like you. You're pretty now." -
2:14 - 2:17I was over it. I was tired of caring
about what other people thought -
2:17 - 2:19and I just wanted to hurry up,
-
2:19 - 2:22go through my classes,
whatever school I was going to be at next, -
2:22 - 2:23and graduate.
-
2:23 - 2:26It wasn't until I was 17
-
2:26 - 2:28and I saw a film
called "Invisible Children" -
2:28 - 2:30that something happened.
-
2:31 - 2:33Child soldiers,
-
2:33 - 2:35children as young as my nephews
-
2:35 - 2:39being abducted,
given AK-47s and forced to kill, -
2:39 - 2:42not just anyone, but oftentimes
forced to kill their own parents, -
2:42 - 2:44their own siblings --
-
2:44 - 2:49a rebel army committing mass murder
for no political or religious reason, -
2:49 - 2:50just because.
-
2:51 - 2:5225 years.
-
2:53 - 2:5625 years this conflict has been going on.
-
2:56 - 2:57I'm 20 years old,
-
2:57 - 3:00so that makes this conflict
five years older than me. -
3:00 - 3:02One man,
-
3:02 - 3:05one man with one charismatic voice,
-
3:05 - 3:07started this whole thing.
-
3:07 - 3:08His name is Joseph Kony.
-
3:10 - 3:12When I saw this film, something happened.
-
3:12 - 3:14Something started
kind of stirring inside of me, -
3:14 - 3:16and I couldn't identify what it was.
-
3:16 - 3:18I didn't know if it was rage,
if it was pity, -
3:18 - 3:20if I felt guilty
because this was the first time -
3:20 - 3:22I'd heard about a 25-year-long war.
-
3:23 - 3:24I couldn't even give it a name.
-
3:24 - 3:27All I knew is that it kicked me off my ass
and I started asking questions. -
3:27 - 3:31What do I do? What can one 17-year-old do?
-
3:31 - 3:32You've got to give me something.
-
3:33 - 3:34And they gave me something.
-
3:35 - 3:37The founders and filmmakers
at Invisible Children told me -
3:38 - 3:39that there was this bill,
-
3:39 - 3:41that if we could
just get this bill passed, -
3:41 - 3:44it would do two things:
one, it would apprehend Joseph Kony -
3:44 - 3:46and the top commanders in his rebel army,
-
3:46 - 3:49and two, it would provide funding
for the recovery of these regions -
3:49 - 3:51that had been devastated
by 25 years of war. -
3:51 - 3:53And I was like, done. Let me at it.
-
3:53 - 3:55I swear I will do whatever I can
to make this happen. -
3:56 - 4:00So myself and 99 other
idealistic 18- to 20-year-olds -
4:00 - 4:03hopped on a plane to intern
in San Diego with Invisible Children. -
4:04 - 4:07I was postponing college.
We weren't getting paid for this -
4:07 - 4:10and you could call it irresponsible
or crazy -- my parents did. -
4:10 - 4:13But for us, it would have been
insane not to go. -
4:14 - 4:17We all felt this urgency,
and we would do whatever it took -
4:17 - 4:19to pass this bill.
-
4:20 - 4:22So we were given our first task.
-
4:22 - 4:25We were going to plan an event called
the Rescue of Joseph Kony's Child Soldiers -
4:26 - 4:29where participants would come
in a hundred cities worldwide -
4:29 - 4:30and rally in their city center
-
4:30 - 4:32until a celebrity or a political figure
-
4:32 - 4:35came and used their voice
on behalf of these child soldiers, -
4:35 - 4:37and at that point each city was "rescued."
-
4:38 - 4:41But the catch was, we weren't
leaving the cities until we were rescued. -
4:42 - 4:44I was given Chicago and nine other cities
-
4:44 - 4:46and I told my bosses, I was like,
-
4:46 - 4:49"If we're going for big-name people,
why not go for the queen bee? Right? -
4:49 - 4:51Why not go for Oprah Winfrey?"
-
4:51 - 4:55They thought I was a little idealistic,
but I mean, we were trying to think big. -
4:55 - 4:56We were doing an impossible thing,
-
4:56 - 4:58so why not try to reach
more impossible things? -
4:59 - 5:01And so we had from January
to April to get this done. -
5:02 - 5:05This is the number of hours
that I spent on logistics, -
5:06 - 5:08from getting permits
to rallying participants -
5:08 - 5:09and finding venues.
-
5:11 - 5:13This is the number of times
that I was rejected -
5:13 - 5:16by celebrities' agents
or politicians' secretaries. -
5:18 - 5:21That is amount of money
that I spent personally -
5:21 - 5:24on Red Bull and Diet Coke
to stay awake during this movement. -
5:24 - 5:25(Laughter)
-
5:25 - 5:27You can judge me if you want to.
-
5:28 - 5:30That is my hospital bill
from the kidney infection I got -
5:30 - 5:34from an overconsumption of caffeine
due to this event. -
5:34 - 5:35(Laughter)
-
5:35 - 5:38These were just some
of the ridiculous things that we did -
5:38 - 5:39to try and pull this event off.
-
5:39 - 5:42And so April 21 rolls around
and the event begins. -
5:42 - 5:44A hundred cities around the world.
They were beautiful. -
5:45 - 5:48Six days later, all the cities
were rescued but one: -
5:48 - 5:49Chicago.
-
5:49 - 5:52So we were waiting in the city.
-
5:52 - 5:54People started coming
from all over the world, -
5:54 - 5:56all over the country to be reinforcements
-
5:56 - 5:58and join their voice with ours.
-
5:58 - 5:59And finally, on May 1,
-
5:59 - 6:01we wrapped ourselves around Oprah's studio
-
6:01 - 6:03and we got her attention.
-
6:03 - 6:05This is a clip from a film
called "Together We Are Free" -
6:05 - 6:08documenting the rescue event
and my attempt to get Oprah. -
6:11 - 6:13(Video) Oprah Winfrey:
When I drove into the office, -
6:13 - 6:16there was a giant -- when you came in,
was there a group outside? -
6:16 - 6:17Crowd: Yes.
-
6:17 - 6:20OW: Holding up signs
asking if I would talk to them -
6:20 - 6:21for just five minutes,
-
6:21 - 6:23so I was happy to do so.
-
6:23 - 6:26And they are with a group
called "Invisible Children," -
6:26 - 6:28and I told this group outside
-
6:28 - 6:32that I'd give them a minute
to state their case. -
6:32 - 6:34Man: Oprah, thank you
so much for having us. -
6:34 - 6:40Basically, these folks out here
have seen the story of 30,000 children -
6:40 - 6:44abducted by a rebel leader
named Joseph Kony. -
6:44 - 6:45And they're out here in solidarity,
-
6:46 - 6:49and they have been out here for six days.
-
6:49 - 6:52This started 100,000 people worldwide.
-
6:52 - 6:54Now it's down to 500 standing strong
-
6:54 - 6:57so that you can raise
the profile of this issue -
6:57 - 7:01and we can end the longest-running
war in Africa and rescue those kids -
7:01 - 7:04that are child soldiers
still in East Africa. -
7:04 - 7:06Oprah, I have to say
this girl Natalie here, -
7:06 - 7:07she's 18 years old.
-
7:07 - 7:09She was an intern for us this year,
-
7:09 - 7:12and she said, "My one goal
is to get Oprah." -
7:12 - 7:14She had 2,000 people come out on Saturday,
-
7:14 - 7:16but it rained.
-
7:16 - 7:18She stood here in the rain with 50 people.
-
7:18 - 7:21When they heard she was here,
hundreds started coming. -
7:21 - 7:23People are here from Mexico, Australia.
-
7:23 - 7:25Natalie's 18.
-
7:25 - 7:26Don't think you're too young.
-
7:26 - 7:28You can change the world any day.
-
7:28 - 7:29Start now.
-
7:29 - 7:30Start today.
-
7:30 - 7:33(Cheers)
-
7:36 - 7:37Man: Was it worth it?
-
7:37 - 7:40Crowd: Yeah!
-
7:41 - 7:46Natalie! Natalie! Natalie!
-
7:46 - 7:49(Music)
-
7:52 - 7:55Together we are free!
Together we are free! -
8:00 - 8:05(Applause)
-
8:05 - 8:08So you would think
that this is the moment in my life, -
8:08 - 8:10the pinnacle that
made me an extraordinary. -
8:11 - 8:12And it was an awesome moment.
-
8:12 - 8:14I mean, I was on top of the world.
-
8:14 - 8:16Ten million people
watched the "Oprah Winfrey Show." -
8:17 - 8:18But looking back, that wasn't it.
-
8:18 - 8:19Don't get me wrong.
-
8:20 - 8:21Like I said, it was great moment.
-
8:21 - 8:24It made for a heck of a profile picture
on Facebook for a week. -
8:24 - 8:25(Laughter)
-
8:26 - 8:28But I had been extraordinary all along,
-
8:28 - 8:29and I wasn't alone.
-
8:29 - 8:32You see, even though
my story was featured in this film, -
8:32 - 8:34I was just one of a hundred interns
-
8:34 - 8:37who worked their tails off
to make this happen. -
8:38 - 8:39I'm up in the air,
-
8:39 - 8:41but the guy that I'm sitting
on his shoulders, -
8:41 - 8:42he's my best friend.
-
8:42 - 8:44His name is Johannes Oberman
-
8:44 - 8:46and Johannes worked with me
from day one in Chicago, -
8:46 - 8:49just as long hours,
just as many sleepless nights as I did. -
8:50 - 8:53The girl on the right,
her name's Bethany Bylsma. -
8:53 - 8:55Bethany planned New York City and Boston,
-
8:55 - 8:58and they were seriously
the most beautiful events that we held. -
8:59 - 9:01The girl on the left, her name's Colleen.
-
9:01 - 9:03Colleen moved to Mexico,
-
9:03 - 9:04moved, for three months,
-
9:04 - 9:06to plan five events there,
-
9:06 - 9:08only to be kicked out
the day before the events -
9:08 - 9:10because of the swine flu.
-
9:11 - 9:13And then there was this family.
-
9:13 - 9:16This family, they didn't
get to come to the rescue. -
9:16 - 9:17They couldn't make it out,
-
9:17 - 9:19but they ordered
a hundred boxes of pizza for us, -
9:19 - 9:22delivered them to the corner
of Michigan and Randolph -
9:22 - 9:24where we were all silently protesting.
-
9:24 - 9:27You see, it was people like this
doing whatever they could, -
9:27 - 9:29simultaneously, single-mindedly,
-
9:29 - 9:31without a care to who was watching,
-
9:31 - 9:33that made this happen.
-
9:33 - 9:35It wasn't about us getting on Oprah,
-
9:35 - 9:37because when I got down
from their shoulders, -
9:37 - 9:38the war hadn't ended.
-
9:38 - 9:40It was about that bill.
-
9:40 - 9:42Oprah was just a checkpoint
on the way to that bill. -
9:42 - 9:43That bill was the point.
-
9:44 - 9:46That bill is what we had
our eyes set on from day one. -
9:46 - 9:49That was going to help us
end Africa's longest-running war. -
9:49 - 9:52And that is what brought
a hundred thousand people -
9:52 - 9:54out to the rescue event
from around the world. -
9:55 - 9:56And it paid off:
-
9:58 - 10:0010 days after we were on Oprah,
-
10:00 - 10:02the bill was introduced into Congress.
-
10:03 - 10:06A year after that, it got unanimously
-
10:06 - 10:10267 cosponsors in Congress.
-
10:10 - 10:11And then one week after that,
-
10:13 - 10:15President Obama signed our bill into law.
-
10:15 - 10:18(Applause)
-
10:23 - 10:25And none of us interns got to be there.
-
10:25 - 10:27We didn't get to be there in this moment.
-
10:27 - 10:28Our founders were there.
-
10:28 - 10:30They're the guys
cheesing in the background. -
10:30 - 10:35But that moment right there
is what made all of it worth it. -
10:35 - 10:38It's what a hundred thousand
anonymous extraordinaries -
10:38 - 10:41worked for so hard to make that happen.
-
10:42 - 10:44You know, the Oprah moments,
-
10:44 - 10:47they prove that the supposedly
impossible can be done. -
10:47 - 10:49They inspire us.
They boost our confidence. -
10:49 - 10:51But the moment isn't a movement.
-
10:51 - 10:55Even a lot of those moments
strung together don't fuel a movement. -
10:55 - 10:58What fuels a movement are
the anonymous extraordinaries behind it. -
10:59 - 11:02You know, for me, what kept me
pushing on through the rescue -
11:02 - 11:04was the thought of those child soldiers.
-
11:04 - 11:07It became personal.
I was able to go to Africa at one point. -
11:07 - 11:08I met these incredible people.
-
11:08 - 11:12I have friends that have been
living in this conflict their entire life, -
11:12 - 11:13and it was personal to me.
-
11:13 - 11:15But that doesn't have to be
what drives you. -
11:16 - 11:19You know, you may want
to be the next Shepard Fairey -
11:19 - 11:21or the next JK Rowling
-
11:21 - 11:23or the next whoever.
-
11:23 - 11:25It doesn't matter, but whatever you want,
-
11:25 - 11:27chase after it
with everything that you have -- -
11:27 - 11:29not because of the fame or the fortune,
-
11:29 - 11:32but solely because
that's what you believe in, -
11:32 - 11:34because that's what makes your heart sing.
-
11:34 - 11:35That's what your dance is.
-
11:36 - 11:39That's what is going
to define our generation, -
11:39 - 11:42when we start chasing and fighting
after the things that we love -
11:42 - 11:43and that we want to fight for.
-
11:43 - 11:47I cared too much in high school
about what people thought about me. -
11:47 - 11:49That's what so awesome
about this conference, -
11:49 - 11:50is so many of you are so young.
-
11:50 - 11:54Find that thing that inspires you
that you love, and just chase after it. -
11:54 - 11:55You know, fight for that,
-
11:55 - 11:57because that is what
is going to change this world -
11:57 - 11:59and that is what defines us.
-
11:59 - 12:00Despite what people think,
-
12:00 - 12:04my Oprah moments,
my being on TED, doesn't define me, -
12:04 - 12:06because if you were
to follow me home to LA, -
12:06 - 12:09you would see me waiting tables
and nannying to pay the bills -
12:09 - 12:11as I chase after my dream
of becoming a filmmaker. -
12:12 - 12:15In the small, anonymous, monotonous
-
12:16 - 12:17every-single-day acts,
-
12:17 - 12:20I have to remind myself
to be extraordinary. -
12:21 - 12:24And believe me, when the door
is closed and the cameras are off, -
12:24 - 12:26it's tough.
-
12:26 - 12:29But if there's one thing
that I want to drive home to you, -
12:29 - 12:32one thing that I can say,
not just to you but to myself, -
12:32 - 12:34is that it is the acts
that make us extraordinary, -
12:34 - 12:36not the Oprah moments. Thank you.
- Title:
- Being young and making an impact
- Speaker:
- Natalie Warne
- Description:
-
At 18, Natalie Warne's work with the Invisible Children movement made her a hero for young activists. She uses her inspiring story to remind us that no one is too young to change the world.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 12:49
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