Justine Calma, 24, Long Beach
An Obama defeat would be a scary prospect for young people of color, especially those from working class or low-income backgrounds. Romney has already been caught showing disdain for 47 percent of the country he believes is “dependent on the government”… This all points to a [Romney-Ryan] administration that is completely out of touch with working class communities of color, a president who believes that if you’re poor then it must be your own fault, a president who doesn’t hold his government accountable for conditions that perpetuate poverty.
An Obama victory, however, should not send the message that we now live in a color-blind society or that people of color as a whole have broken the glass ceiling. Yes, it’s important to have people of color in positions of power, and yes, children should look at Obama and think, “I can be like him one day.” It’s also important to recognize that while people of color are 30 percent of the population in the United States, we account for 60 percent of those imprisoned. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in three black men can expect to go to prison in their lifetime. So while young people of color can hope to be the president, they are still going to have to overcome a hell of a lot of structural racism and inequality before they get there.
Angela Or, 17, Long Beach
The majority population of low-income families is made up of people of color and many of us depend on health care and MediCal … Many young people of color have worked hard to succeed. Half of us weren’t born into a high- or middle-income family. An Obama defeat would cause stress and extreme worry for our future.
If Obama were to win, young people of color won’t have to worry as much about financial aid and health care becoming difficult for their families to receive. It would give hope and more of a reason to work hard and succeed for those affected by the DREAM Act.
Nyanah Haliburton-Gatto, 10, San Jose
If Obama won, it would mean hope for me. I would feel like it would be a better future for me anywhere I end up.
If Obama lost, I would feel worried. I would be sad for a few days, then have hope that the other president would make good decisions.
Kamea Haliburton-Gatto, 13, San Jose
If Obama lost to a man that wants to send more money into the military instead of schools, it would give teens and kids a worse education.
If Obama won, it would mean a better education, and the troops in Afghanistan will get to come home. It [would also] give kids that are African-American a better chance at a career.
Tyree C., 13, San Jose
If Obama loses the election, people [of color] all over America will be sad because for four years we were the best. The years we had were the greatest years of our lives.
If Obama wins we would say we won, because for once in our lives we had a man [of color] running America, and that means a lot.
In 2006, over 25 youth began participating in weekly after-school writing workshops where they congregated in the hallway of a two-story building in West Fresno and learned the essentials of creating media and telling their stories. The group evolved over the next five years and is now proudly recognized as The kNOw Youth Media.
Through our program, we create opportunities for our youth participants, who in turn create long-term positive change in their communities. Our approach weaves youth development and youth media innovation to produce our biannual youth publication, multimedia projects, and community forums.
The kNOw began as a project of New America Media, which was the country’s first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000 ethnic news organizations. In 2018 The kNOw became a project of Youth Leadership Institute.
