We Are The Radical Monarchs
Black Lives
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1h 26m
Directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton • Documentary • 2018 • 86 minutes
Set in Oakland, a city with a deep history of social justice movements, WE ARE THE RADICAL MONARCHS documents the Radical Monarchs - an alternative to the Scout movement for girls of color, aged 8-13. Its members earn badges for completing units on social justice including being an LGBTQ ally, the environment, and disability justice.
The group was started by two fierce, queer women of color, Marilyn Hollinquest and Anayvette Martinez, as a way to address and center Anayvette's daughter's experience as a young brown girl. Their work is anchored in the belief that adolescent girls of color need dedicated spaces and that the foundation for this innovative work must also be rooted in fierce inter-dependent sisterhood, self-love, and hope.
The film follows the first troop of Radical Monarchs for over three years, until they graduate, and documents the co-founders' struggle to respond to the needs of communities across the US and grow the organization after the viral explosion of interest in the troop's mission to create and inspire a new generation of social justice activists.
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