Keten Abebe

By Jacob Ogles

Keten

Abebe hasn’t graduated high school yet, but already boasts connections to national leaders in the progressive movement. She worked on U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost’s successful campaign for Congress last year, helping elect a man eight years her elder as the youngest Congressman in the country.

She also interns for state Rep. Anna Eskamani, worked on Charlie Crist’s campaign for Governor and organized a vigil in Orlando for Tyre Nichols, a Memphis man who died after a beating by police captured on video.

“I’ve always been inclined toward politics,” Abebe explained.

The 18-year-old speaks with the authority of a politico pro with years of experience and the conviction of someone whose life experience exposed her to threats against human rights. Indeed, both statements are true. Born in Ethiopia, her family fled violence there and ultimately left Africa for a life in the United States.

She moved to Florida in 2018, where she was startled at the mundane acceptance of shooting drills in school. “I was in eighth grade and I remember feeling so confused why the teacher was turning off the lights, telling us to hide under the table, and wondering why this was normal,” she recalls.

That year brought a vivid explanation why such drills occur when a school shooter killed 17 people, most students, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day. That prompted Abebe to action. She started attending March For Our Lives rallies, where she heard Frost speak years before he ran for office.

Now a student at University High School, Abebe serves as president of the Black Leaders of Tomorrow chapter at her school, which is why she organized the Nichols vigil. She has also spoken out in media against legislation like the Stop WOKE Act.

She holds a special interest in immigration and has enjoyed interning in Eskamani’s office because it gives her the opportunity to directly help some individuals struggling to navigate those bureaucratic processes.

She hasn’t decided yet where to attend college, but she plans to pursue political science and law.

The young activist, having worked on the legislative and political sides of the process, hasn’t decided exactly what career path to pursue. She enjoys learning about the grit of crafting real policy, like a popular tax exemption on diapers sponsored by Eskamani and embraced by conservative Gov. Ron DeSantis

But she professes a “deep love” of the campaign trail. “I love canvassing and meeting people where they are,” Abebe said.