Most people who live in this country feel that the nature of politics is to have dishonest representatives and inflexible partisan conflicts and disagreement. But I would like to raise the question to everyone what if politics did what it is really in place to do, that is to aid in the general welfare and natural equality of a group of citizens. Government and politics are supposed to represent the interest and ideas of the citizens through the elected officials, but as we have seen elected officials have been bought out by the big businesses interest on increased profits.
The political atmosphere is shaped by education and youth involvement and both are central to maintaining the historically racist status quo of America. Young Black peoples lack of concern and participation in voting is a cocktail of institutional barriers, lack of education on the political process and socioeconomic issues. Our African youths cannot go along ignoring politics while being played as the victims of political policies in everyday life.
During the 2008 presidential election of Tomahawk Obombya (statistics from CIRCLE staff) the youth voter turnout was 52% of all registered voters, with 27% of those Black youth that overwhelmingly elected Americas first neo-colonial African President. Political youth organizations will be fundamental to the advancement of the African liberation movement into a vanguard force in society. Political organization combined with youth involvement in education could aid us to combat the oppressive colonialist educational process.
The aging bourgeoisie ‘Baby Boomer’ population of this country will soon pass away and the political power is now the responsibility of the millennial generation (18-29 years old). The Black youth that make up this generation are growing more and more aggravated with the racist, anti-African undertone that is American society. Recent youth census statistics inform that 39% of Millennial identify as non-white, making them the most diverse generation in American history. The vast majority of young people are not in college; in fact, only an estimated 25% of 18-24 year-olds attends a four-year college full time according to the youth census statistics of 2008. Youth Community involvement and engagement is the only solution to the problems that plague our Black Communities all across this hostile global environment.
The youth of yesteryear are growing up to inherit the political successes and failures of their parents generation, so now youth participation in politics is fundamental to any successful progressive movement. Youth in American public schools and working class African youths in particular have been failed by the oppressive colonial mis-education process in this country. Youth have always been central to all styles of revolutionary organizing, for example the youth of Montgomery, AL in 1955 bus boycott or the 1960 Birmingham, AL Jim crow segregation sit-in protest and the more recent Occupy movements sweeping across the nation. Solutions to the problem of educating our African youth will come from within the communities who own the problem, not from the outside institutions driven by a profit motive.
In conclusion, the Black youth of today have little or no faith in the present political environment of this country. The politics and politicians of today are not representative of the genuine interest to resolve the problems of its constituents. Politicians today distort information or misinform voters in order to protect their lavish lifestyles as “public servants”. Black youths in America are fed up and tired of having their intelligence insulted, and now our African youth eyes have been opened to the influence and power of unconventional political participation and grassroots movements both globally and domestically.
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