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Subhead: Dara Swan talks with Zerlina Maxwell about the challenges of being a role model to siblings in the final installment of their "A Seat at the Table" conversation. "It's not always easy to throw out your opinion, especially when others aren't necessarily gonna support me," says Swan. Byline: Nicole Deniflee
Dara Swan, a teen leader at YWCA-NYC, prepares for this video conversation with Zerlina Maxwell.Credit: Charlotte Cooper
(WOMENSENEWS)-- Learning to be outspoken can be difficult for all women and girls. Political commentator and activist Zerlina Maxwell says she learned how to be assertive from her mother.
"If [my mom] is experiencing micro aggressions and I'm 8 and I'm watching how she responds to it, that's a lesson that has informed my public persona," Maxwell told Dara Swan, a teen leader at YWCA-NYC. "Life is too short to be silent."
This video conversation explores the importance of speaking up for oneself and being a role model for other women. It's the third installment of "A Seat at the Table," an occasional Teen Voices series that brings together female leaders from the teen-adult worlds.
This story is part of Teen Voices at Women's eNews. In 2013 Women's eNews retained the 25-year-old magazine Teen Voices to continue and further its mission to improve the world for female teens through media. Teen Voices at Women's eNews provides online stories and commentary about issues directly affecting female teens around the world, serving as an outlet for young women to share their experiences and views.
Nicole Deniflee is an editorial intern for Women's eNews and a student at Rutgers University and Douglass Residential College. Follow her on Twitter @nicole_deniflee.
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