| 词条 | Draft:Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny |
| 释义 |
Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny (2007-), also known as “Little Miss Flint”, is a young activist from Flint, Michigan, a city of just over 100,000 residents, many of whom are impoverished and Persons of Color. When she was eight years old, Copeny wrote a letter to President Barack Obama in order to draw attention to the Flint Water Crisis in her hometown. Her letter prompted the president to visit Flint and see first-hand the devastation to the lives of Flint’s citizens as a result of their lead-poisoned water supply. That visit resulted in the declaration of a federal state of emergency in January 2016 and contributed to a nationwide awareness of the city’s critical situation. Since then, measures have been taken to help eradicate the problem, but effects continue to be felt by Flint’s residents and necessary repairs to infrastructure will not be complete until 2020 at the earliest. Subsequently, Copeny has continued her activism, focusing on ongoing issues with the water supply, as well as improving the lives of the children in her community in other ways. Prior to the opening of the school year in both 2016 and 2017, she partnered with Pack Your Back, a non-profit organization established in 2016 by Central Michigan University students, and raised money to help students from Flint. Copeny collected donations to provide backpacks filled with school supplies. In 2016, she raised enough money for 100 backpacks, and, in 2017, she raised $10,000 to fund 1,000 backpacks for local children. Rising to a national platform, on April 13, 2017, she addressed a large crowd at the “Stand Up to Trump” rally in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., telling them that, during his 2016 campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump promised the people of Flint, including herself personally, that he would fix the water crisis. She declared that President Trump has not fulfilled his campaign promise. Not limiting her advocacy to her own hometown, she also spoke against Trump’s immigration policies. In an effort to keep Flint’s continuing struggles in the public eye and to provide still-needed safe water, in 2018, Copeny and Pack Your Back teamed up again for The Little Miss Flint & PYB Water Drive, a GoFundMe crowdfunding effort to raise money for bottled water, as the state’s free bottled water program for Flint residents had been discontinued by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. Close to $50,000 was raised during the month-long campaign, enough for over 200,000 bottles of water. She continues to look for ways to help those in her community and beyond. She initiated another GoFundMe campaign as part of the #BlackPantherChallenge, raising more than $16,000 in order to provide the opportunity for hundreds of low-income children to see 2018’s blockbuster film, Black Panther and to obtain movie merchandise, with the hope of providing the mostly Black audience with positive self-image and aspirations. She is currently using her social media Twitter account to spread word of her many ongoing initiatives, including the Dear Flint Kids project, a request for letters of encouragement to the children of Flint; another successful crowdsourcing effort to distribute free copies of the book, A Wrinkle in Time; Christmas parties and Easter baskets for the underprivileged; and supporting local school systems to provide anti-bullying programming. ReferencesChan, Melissa. “Flint Letter Girl Wanted Obama to 'Know What Was Going On'.” Time, Time, 27 Apr. 2016, time.com/4310492/8-year-old-flint-girl-letter-obama/. Estepa, Jessica. “'Little Miss Flint' Says Trump Broke His Promise.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 14 Apr. 2017, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/04/14/little-miss-flint-says-trump-broke-his-promise/100463596/. Klein, Allison. “10-Year-Old 'Little Miss Flint' Helped Hundreds of Underprivileged Kids See 'Black Panther' over the Weekend.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 Feb. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/02/20/10-year-old-little-miss-flint-helped-hundreds-of-underprivileged-kids-see-black-panther-over-the-weekend/?utm_term=.b017737e9fed. “Little Miss Flint Launches Campaign To Provide Free Bottled Water For Flint Residents.” Vibe, Vibe, 1 June 2018, www.vibe.com/2018/05/little-miss-flint-launches-campaign-to-provide-free-bottled-water-for-flint-residents. Mason, Heather. “Meet Smart Girl Mari Copeny Aka 'Little Miss Flint'.” Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, 22 Aug. 2017, amysmartgirls.com/meet-smart-girl-mari-copeny-aka-little-miss-flint-4131419a31bd. Mckenzie, Joi-marie. “Meet the 10-Year-Old Who Donated 1,000 Backpacks to Flint Students.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 10 Aug. 2017, abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/meet-10-year-donated-1000-backpacks-flint-students/story?id=49133870. Person. “Getting to Work With Little Miss Flint.” Shondaland, Shondaland, 23 Mar. 2018, www.shondaland.com/inspire/a19485789/getting-to-work-with-little-miss-flint/. |
| 随便看 |
|
开放百科全书收录14589846条英语、德语、日语等多语种百科知识，基本涵盖了大多数领域的百科知识，是一部内容自由、开放的电子版国际百科全书。