This issue represents the second part of our ambitious project to bring the voices of young people into the discourse about where the city is now and where it needs to go. In it, you will find what the young people we surveyed care about and want from elected officials. You’ll find information about the issues voters will weigh in on as they head to the polls and a bit of context about why these issues matter.
When we began work on our first youth voter guide, which we published last April, we got a sense of how much work we needed to do to connect with and elevate local youth.
We wanted to ask local young people what they thought about various issues but realized that we needed to figure out how to get to them. To be in proximity to young people in the city, we had to think outside of the box as journalists. We had to strengthen the connections that we already had with youth organizations in Baltimore and then stretch outside of ourselves to get to know more. We enlisted the help of dancer and artist TSU Terry, whose dance videos get thousands of clicks online, to help us spread the word. Additionally, we attended local events and contacted our networks to encourage young people to fill out a survey where we asked nearly 200 young Baltimoreans for their thoughts on certain issues. You’ll find the results of those surveys on pages 7 and 8.
Our brand of journalism means that we want and need to be in and of our community to tell stories about our community.
For years, young people in Baltimore, especially young Black people in Baltimore, have been political punching bags. They are spoken about as problems to solve and people to fear. We know they are more than that, and we know that this city does not have a future without investment from everybody, including young people.
“Some may think that the young people in ‘urban communities’ are too ‘ignorant’ or ‘unaware’ of what’s going on in politics,” Morgan State University student Keniera Wagstaff wrote in an op-ed for our first youth voter guide. “That could be true for some due to the lack of resources in those communities. However, from my experience, I can say that our young people are interested in what’s going on in politics, but it’s simply hard for them to share their perspectives with others who don’t understand them.
Wagstaff, along with her organization Truth Avenue, will host a youth-led town hall on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism & Communication.
Thank you for reading.
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