Up in northern Bergen County, hundreds of people called in to a July 1 Northern Valley Regional school board meeting after a photo surfaced of one of the board members wearing blackface at a Halloween party 13 years ago. The controversy elicited comments from hundreds and pushed that meeting beyond seven hours, almost all of it devoted to public comment on the issue.
O’Donnell was one of the people pushing for the board member to resign (he did, two days after the meeting). She said she has seen a rise in interest in local government that she credits both to the virtual nature of meetings and to the social activism of her generation, which she said is “dedicated to not making social movements a fad.” O Donnell is 21.