Home
Archive
Columnists
Video
Blogs
Discuss
About
Search
Donate
Advertise
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Register to Vote: Rock the Vote, powered by Working Assets Wireless
Advertisement
  • AlterNetYour turn

Support AlterNet
Do you value the information you're getting from AlterNet? Please show your support with a tax-deductible donation.


Feedback
Tell us how we're doing.

A Call to Black Youth

By Moya Bailey, WireTap. Posted February 16, 2004.


If everyone voted change could come. The kind of change we want to see in this country could be realized -- we just have to make it real.

Share and save this post:
Digg iconDelicious iconReddit iconFark iconYahoo! iconNewsvine! iconFacebook iconNewsTrust icon

More stories by Moya Bailey

Get AlterNet in
your mailbox!

 
Advertisement

ella baker
Ella Baker

In my intro to women's studies course at Spelman College, our class watched a video detailing the work of Ella Baker in the civil rights movement. It captured the tenacity and clout she had when working with many groups and leaders including SNCC and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The film was so powerful it provoked an outburst from a student wondering if the situation surrounding minorities is hopeless. She said that Ella had done so much, and yet black people are still discriminated against in this country. She seemed resigned to the status of black people as second class citizens. Another student joined her and expressed she didn't even see the point in voting because the candidates said little to address the issues faced in her community. It was disheartening to hear the concession of defeat in their voices for a battle they had not even fought.

Apathy among black youth is widespread. Negative images dominate the media and airwaves with portrayals of blacks as drug addicts, dealers, hyper-sexual beings at worst and achievers of a sliver of the American dream that hangs in the balance from paycheck to paycheck, game to game, or album to album, at best. In a society that is both racist and patriarchal, feeling a sense of agency is almost impossible if you aren't in the dominant groups in society. We are buying into negative images of ourselves and with drugs in our communities, hoop dreams, and other diversions keeping us from focusing on the way our rights are being chipped away.

The reality is the circumstances are not as bleak as they appear. There are significant numbers of black youth working to better their communities across the country, but these are not the images we see on TV. The solutions and those working on them do not seem to be as interesting as the problems.

The black community is faced with serious issues. 10.4 percent of the country's entire black male population between the ages of 25 and 29 are in prison (1), and discriminatory judicial practices stemming from the government's war on drugs are to blame (2). In addition, racial profiling and other tactics scrutinize black people more than other groups. The disenfranchisement of felons has a very real effect on the strength of the black vote. 1.4 million, or 13% of all black men are unable to vote despite having completed sentences, but their right to vote is not restored because they have been convicted of a felony (3).

AIDS is affecting the black community at a rate unparalleled by any other group. Black women ages 18-24 are leading the pack in new cases of HIV (4). And while more black students are going to college (5), education has not been the cure-all our parents hoped it would be. Educated black people have less access to adequate medical care and have higher mortality rates than their white counterparts (6).

voter registration
Registering voters back in the day.

Voting is not a cure-all, but it's a step in the right direction for alleviating these conditions. Politicians work for active responsive constituencies to create policies to serve these groups. More cynically put, when you vote for people they do stuff for you so you'll vote for them again. Constituents influence the actions a politician takes when in office, and a strong black voting base translates into actions that can improve health care, imprisonment, and education in our communities.

Digg!

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »

In Biggest Oil Sale Ever, Iraqi Government to Put 40 Billion Barrels of Reserves Up For Grabs
War on Iraq: BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are being given access to eight oil fields, which represent some 40 percent of Iraq's oil reserves.
By Terry Macalister, Nicholas Watt, The Guardian. October 13, 2008.
Amid Wave of Violence, Iraqi Christians Fleeing Mosul
War on Iraq: Attacks on Christian minorities in the otherwise peaceful city of Mosul have led to an exodus of Iraqi Christians.
By Jareer Mohammed, Azzaman. October 13, 2008.
Stop Being a Narcissist -- It's Time to Quit Facebook
Election 2008: In the end, what does all this online, arms-length self-promotion ultimately provide?
By Carmen Joy King, Adbusters. October 13, 2008.

Advertisement