Zanagee Artis (born 1999) is an American

climate activist The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to take action (also called ''climate action'') addressing the causes and impacts of climate change. Citizens and environmental non-profit organizat ...

. He is best known for co-founding the youth-led climate activist group

Zero Hour Zero Hour may refer to: * Midnight, or 00:00 * Zero hour (1945), the capitulation of the Nazi government at midnight May 8, 1945 * Zero Hour (military designation), the scheduled time for the start of some event, especially a military operation ...

in 2017. As of 2021, Artis was Acting Policy Director of Zero Hour.

Biography

In high school, he started his high school's Sustainability Committee, which evolved into its Green Team. In the summer between his high school junior and senior years in 2017, he attended a summer program at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. Artis states he began to start thinking beyond his local community after talking with fellow program participants

Jamie Margolin Jamie Margolin is a Colombian-American climate justice activist. She is a co-founder of Zero Hour (USA), a climate-focused youth organization that is part of Future Coalition. Education Margolin attended Holy Names Academy. She studied fil ...

and Madelaine Tew. They and other youth activists formed

. Zero Hour names

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

, and

patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...

as the core causes of the climate crisis. Zero Hour organized the a Youth Climate March in July 2018 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with satellite marches held worldwide. Artis, as logistics director, planned the main event and coordinated with the

United States Capitol Police The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States an ...

. Artis states, "That was a real launching point for our movement, and it also inspired young people around the world.

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3January 2003) is a Swedish climate activist, climate and political activist initially known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action to climate change mitigation, mitigate the effec ...

Fridays for Future Fridays for Future (FFF), also known as the School Strike for Climate ( ), is an international movement of school students who skip Friday classes to participate in demonstrations to demand climate change mitigation, action from political le ...

was actually inspired by the Youth Climate March." Subsequently, Artis worked with the

Sunrise Movement Sunrise Movement is an American 501(c)(4) political action organization that advocates political action on climate change alongside other progressive causes. When launched in 2017, the movement's goal was to elect proponents of renewable energ ...

on the September and November 2019 climate strikes. In September 2020, he stated that Zero Hour has shifted its focus to education. During the

2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...

, as policy director, Artis led the #Vote4OurFuture campaign. The campaign focused on

swing state In United States politics, a swing state (also known as battleground state, toss-up state, or purple state) is any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often refe ...

s like

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, with the goal of increasing voter turnout in support of the

Green New Deal The Green New Deal (GND) calls for public policy to address climate change, along with achieving other social aims like job creation, economic growth, and reducing economic inequality. The name refers to the New Deal, a set of changes and ...

. Artis stated, "We want climate change to be a top priority on people’s minds when they’re going to the polls in November because of the way it will impact people of color and people living in those cities." Also in 2020, Artis was a keynote speaker at Verdical Group's annual

Net Zero Conference The Net Zero Conference is one of the largest annual conferences in the world dedicated to Net zero emissions, net zero design. The conference provides tools, knowledge and inspiration for ways that buildings, products, and corporate operations ...

. In 2021, Artis published his first book, ''A Kids Book About Climate'', with co-author, Olivia Greenspan, another environmental activist. Both felt that there weren't any resources to understand climate change and its implications in a way that wasn't overwhelming and created this book for both children and adults. In 2022, Artis worked briefly at

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

in their financial crimes division, but left in 2023 to spend more time working at Zero Hour. He is also currently a Fossil Fuels Policy Advocate for

Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States–based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicag ...

(NRDC).

Personal

Artis grew up in

Clinton, Connecticut Clinton is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population of the town was 13,185 at the 2020 census. The town center along the shore line was liste ...

and credits his childhood spent in Hammonasset Beach State Park with inspiring his interest in

environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...

. Artis entered

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 2018 and earned a bachelor's degree in political science and environmental studies. At Brown, he served as the Secretary of the Black Pre Law Association, the Chair of Campus Life for the Undergraduate Council of Students, and the Vice President of Zeta Delta Xi.

References

Living people People from Clinton, Connecticut 21st-century American people Activists from Connecticut American climate activists Youth climate activists 1999 births {{environmentalist-stub