Many Venice High School alumni have used social media and podcasting to participate in social justice movements.

Mya Edwards ’20 said that “Gen Z is powerful,” referring to the generation of recent Venice graduates and current students. In recent months, Edwards has participated in protests supporting BLM as well as worked with LA Students Deserve to help make a change in the community as related to social justice.

Movements such as the Black Lives Matter protests stemmed from social media.  Often, students will spread information about these movements on social media platforms like Instagram to share about when protests were happening, as well as how to stay safe during them.. 

Podcasting has proven to be another way Venice community members have used social media to work towards social justice.

“Gem Z,” a podcast hosted by Tori Corpus ’19, where they talk to guests and share Gen Z stories. These range from their experience at boarding school to how they feel about social justice topics. Recent guests have also included Edwards.

With the global pandemic shutting down society in many ways, social media has become a way to expedite social awareness, Corpus said.

Corpus said that social media can be used to “amplify others’ voices.” 

Edwards stressed a message of togetherness to help push systemic change.

“It’s you, me and our siblings,” Edwards said. “If we unify ourselves, we are going to make a shift in this world.”