A billion people will celebrate this Earth Day. The youth will march to remind them why.

When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat it sparked a revolution in Montgomery, Alabama that would change the course of history for the United States forever. However, it wasn’t just the bus boycott that was effective, it was a confluence of factors including the collaboration of organizations, and a lawsuit filed against bus segregation that tipped the scales.

The climate movement echoes many of the challenges of the civil rights movement. However, in our scenario, we are all on one bus and we are all forced to stand. The effects of climate change are getting more serious and yet the US government not only won’t take action, almost nobody is taking it seriously. Fossil fuel lobbyists occupy the halls of Congress so it is up to us--the youth--to make sure the government hears not only from them but from us as well. At this moment in history, I ask you to consider one question: when will your Rosa Parks moment come?

This Earth Day, youth will take to the streets for the iMatter “Choose Your Future” march at the “Mobilize the Earth” event on the National Mall in Washington DC. Last year, iMatter mobilized youth marches in 160 locations, in over 40 countries and 40 US states. On that one day, youth around the world marched with one message: “Live as if the future matters.” That week, a group of teenagers from iMatter signed on as plaintiffs in a historic and unprecedented lawsuit against the United States government for failing to protect the atmosphere as a public commons for all generations.

Yesterday, the National Association of Manufacturers signed on as co-defendants in the lawsuit against these youth. Now it is the federal government plus one of the richest lobbying organization fighting for the 1%, versus five youth plaintiffs fighting on behalf of youngest generation and future generations for a stable and livable planet.

This April 22, show whose side you’re on at the “iMatter March to Choose Your Future”. It is up to us, the nation’s youth to choose the future we want or else it will be determined for us by the status quo, by the National Association of Manufacturers and the rest of the “Fossil Fools.”

Make a sign or a “Fossil Fools” mask, gather your friends, and join the iMatter March at 11:30am on Sunday, April 22 at 12th and Madison Dr. NW on the National Mall. Wanna get more involved? Email Lucy@kvgw.org to volunteer.

If you’re not in DC, don’t worry, your voice will still be heard. Organize your own iMatter March in solidarity. Grab some friends, make some signs, and march down your local streets or hit your nearby Earth Day!

We have a chance at this moment in time, in this time in history, to make a decision and refuse to give up our seat. It’s going to take all of us to fight so that the Status Quo doesn’t Choose Our Future....it’s up to us.

Visit the iMatter Facebook and Twitter feed and share a story about the future you choose.