By Chenhotep Freeman
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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