The final piece of the first season of This Brave Nation, the Brave Nation Young Activist Award was designed to celebrate a next generation of progressive activism.

A collaboration between The Nation and Brave New Films, This Brave Nation comprises five episodes featuring intergenerational conversations between historic figures discussing the issues and movements that have inspired and informed their work.

Participants include Pete Seeger, Majora Carter, Dolores Huerta, Tom Hayden, Naomi Klein, Bonnie Raitt, Van Jones, Carl Pope, Ava Lowery and Anthony Romero, who all share their ideas, lessons and experiences so as to inform, enlighten and inspire a new generation to seize the moment.

The Brave Nation Award was designed in recognition of that new generation. We asked people to nominate local heroes making a difference in communities coast to coast. Five remarkable finalists were eventually chosen from among more than 350 nominees and the eventual winner--Cristina Lara of Fair Lawn, New Jersey--was selected in an online vote conducted on the Brave Nation site.

Lara started her own organization, Society of Young Leading Women, which is currently awaiting non profit status. She started and edits an underground newspaper in her high school, called Uncensored, while also writing for her local newspaper. On top of that, Cristina joined the Fair Lawn High School's football team. She lifted weights with the rest of the all-male players, while having to endure the awful stares and criticism. While her coaches tried to undermine her abilities, Cristina made it clear that she is tough by showing up to every practice, and every game.

She's a feminist, a football player, a writer and a straight-A student and this video shows her receiving the first Brave Nation Activist award from Robert Greenwald and Tom Hayden. The ceremony took place at the Brave New Films studio in West LA this past Sunday, July 13.

We hope to create more original conversations as well as making those episodes we've already produced widely available to students in the fall. If you want to help make this possible, please click here to donate $15 and in return we'll send you TWO DVDs containing the entire first series, all five episodes, of This Brave Nation -- one for you to watch and one for you to pass on to friends, family or public institutions.

Comments (19)

1. . On top of that. Cristina joined the Fair Lawn High School's football team. She lifted weights with the rest of her all-male players, while having to endure the awful stares and criticism. While her coaches tried to undermine her abilities, Cristina made it clear that she is tough by showing up to every practice, and every game.

   posted by Peter Rothberg on 07/17/2008 @ 4:51pm

   If only you had left this part out.

   Posted by Benchrest at 07/17/2008 @ 5:26pm

2. I think this shows something about her -- but maybe the "tough" line is a bit much....

   Posted by Peter Rothberg at 07/17/2008 @ 5:34pm

3. What a `man' Cristna is!

   BTW, PETER, is your standard of being "tough" is simply "showing up to every practice, and every game"?

   OK, then, I am the damn toughest student! I had perfect attendance throughout junior and senior HS and at graduation, in a class of over 600, there were like, two of us `Toughest Student' on stage!

   Here, MASK used to be the toughest blogger, showing up on every thread, and every day.

   My do, is the toughest dog....he shows up for every meal and every time I open some snacks.

   Posted by 2HAPPY at 07/17/2008 @ 5:37pm

4. Posted by Peter Rothberg at 07/17/2008 @ 5:34pm

   That's why we like you!!!

   Posted by 2HAPPY at 07/17/2008 @ 5:38pm

5. Here, MASK used to be the toughest blogger, showing up on every thread, and every day.

   Posted by 2HAPPY at 07/17/2008 @ 5:37pm

   ah, the good old days. I think he got fed up and left. Too many 'technical difficulties'.

   Posted by Benchrest at 07/17/2008 @ 5:51pm

6. This young leader seems fine, though it seems odd she insisted on playing on the boys' football team, but does The Nation recognize non-female young leaders ever? I don't recall having seen a male young leader.

   (And really, if she's running an underground paper *and* is a straight-student with athletic capabilities at her age, she's quite an impressive specimen of personhood!)

   Posted by Zero at 07/17/2008 @ 6:56pm

7. HAPPY -- Was it Woody Allen who said that showing up is half of life, or some such thing.

   ZERO -- Maybe not the same thing but I got a few feminist complaints when four of the five student journalism winners in our contest were young males.

   Posted by Peter Rothberg at 07/17/2008 @ 9:36pm

8. Woody Allen: "Eighty percent of success is showing up."

   "The talent for being HAPPY is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don't have. "

   Posted by 2HAPPY at 07/17/2008 @ 9:55pm

9. Peter - really? OK, point taken. Between my complaints and their complaints you must get the impression that nobody in the world is satisfied with you.

   Did I mention how highly I regard The Nation for being the only media outfit to team up with the ACLU on the FISA lawsuit? Male, female, young, old, or otherwise, that's leadership. It's a shame the big players like NYT/WaPo etc. couldn't demonstrate that in this case.

   Posted by Zero at 07/17/2008 @ 11:14pm

10. Sorry Peter; This article reads like an issue of MAD magazine. I can see the cartoon rendering now of her in the football uniform cramming feminist literature down the throats of the opposing team, and they do nothing to dispel the feminazis- "dike wanna be image" this female epitomizes!

    Posted by RedRiver_. at 07/18/2008 @ 2:48pm

11. Cramming feminist literature down peoples throats? I would never partake in this. I must say, some of you are quick to criticize. And it's a shame.

    God bless.

    Posted by clara2010 at 07/19/2008 @ 10:23pm

12. PETER ROTHBERG,

    She probably did take some abuse from the others on the team: That's just kids reacting to divergence from the "way it is". People get over that.

    However, PETER, you make the blanket statement about the coaches undermining her abilities.

    In what way exactly did they undermine her abilities?

    Be Specific, please.

    WH

    Posted by william.harry13 at 07/21/2008 @ 08:33am

13. Thats what I thought

    Posted by william.harry13 at 07/21/2008 @ 12:10pm

14. William,

    I am Cristina Lara and my question to you is: what point are you trying to make? That I did not deserve the award because I joined my high school's football team? Or that I didn't deserve the award because the coaches didn't undermine my abilities? Had they verbally criticized me, would I then deserve the award? You said "That's what I thought" as though you made a point.

    Also, I understand the entire "football" achievement is interesting, but that's only activism in it's simplest of forms. The underground newspaper is--in my opinion--more indicative of activism.

    Every second you waste criticizing agents for change, you lose time to start your own movement.

    God bless.

    Posted by clara2010 at 07/21/2008 @ 9:36pm

15. Posted by clara2010 at 07/21/2008 @ 9:36pm

    Congratulations on your award.

    The football component of Peter's summary on your bio is controversial simply because it is a team sport, where the success of the team takes precedence over that of the individual. If you contributed to the teams' success, then good for you.

    If however, it was for "activism in it's simplest of forms" and not to help the team, but just to make a point, then you made a mistake.

    Posted by Benchrest at 07/21/2008 @ 11:21pm

16. I'm a part of the football team and I don't regret my decision.

    Even if I thought I made a mistake, why do you seem oddly concerned about it? I appreciate your concern and I assure you, I will continue on the team.

    And I made a statement by joining the team. If I'm not mistaken, two females are trying out for the team this August. This is activism in it's simplest of forms.

    Posted by clara2010 at 07/22/2008 @ 12:46pm

17. And I made a statement by joining the team.

    Posted by clara2010 at 07/22/2008 @ 12:46pm

    And what specific statement would that happen to be?

    Posted by Benchrest at 07/22/2008 @ 12:56pm

18. I must admit: I do not know why you are so persistent in trying to prove me wrong.

    Females can be just as successful in football as males. That was the statement. Was the statement really that far fetched? Excuse me for this next line but, I'd appreciate it if you stopped interrogating me. Your attempts to bring me down clearly aren't working.

    God bless! I hope everybody enjoyed the Brave Nation series. I have copies of the DVD if anybody would like me to send them over!

    Posted by clara2010 at 07/22/2008 @ 4:12pm

19. Females can be just as successful in football as males. That was the statement. Was the statement really that far fetched?

    Posted by clara2010 at 07/22/2008 @ 4:12pm

    Yes.

    Posted by Benchrest at 07/22/2008 @ 5:24pm