Jamala Rogers is a community activist who has done extensive work for black causes and youth development in St. Louis. She is also a columnist for the St. Louis American and has lived and worked in several major cities. In an interview with Occasional Planet (OP), Rogers (JR) discussed youth activism and her experiences with young people.

OP: From 1993 to 2001, you were the director of St. Louis’ Office of Youth Development. After having such heavy involvement in black causes, what made you want to take on this role? How has youth involvement in the city of St. Louis changed since 2001?

JR: Well, I’ve always been involved with youth. My formal training in teaching lead me to be involved with youth development. I’ve always been drawn to youth issues so, for me, it wasn’t a quantum leap.

There are  ebbs and flows with youth activism, even on college campuses. I often go to campuses to speak on particular issues, and [the amount of activism] depends on what’s going on in the world and the capacity of leadership. If young people are passionate about something, they’ll organize. There’s a void because we haven’t had young people step up and address issues.

OP: What drives you to work with youth, in an age when young people are uneducated and apathetic toward what’s going on in their communities and the world?

JR: Young people  have raw energy, raw creativity and raw truthfulness, and these are qualities I admire. The fact that this generation and the generation before have combated so many issues and obstacles that have nothing to do with them, yet they’ve found a way not to get bogged down, is a testament to what they’re capable of accomplishing.

OP: As a young person, you were an activist for black issues during a time of great racial inequality. What do you feel is the greatest struggle for today’s youth?

JR: I still think access to social, political and educational opportunities is the biggest challenge. Even middle-class kids have varied levels of opportunity, because their parents have the capital to make these opportunities known to them. But the poor start at negative ten. The education system isn’t prepping them for opportunities, and our communities as a whole aren’t prepping them. In this age, a very technological age, when people are insensitive and callous about helping people along, you have to find a way to navigate toward your destiny with or without help from a social support system or family support system.

OP: You’ve worked in numerous cities. How does St. Louis compare to these cities and other cities you’ve lived/worked in? How does youth activism in St. Louis compare?

JR: I don’t think that St. Louis is any different from other urban cities. The same situations exist: Schools are in crises, unemployment is high, and there’s a high crime rate. It’s the same everywhere, but there may be more of one thing than the other.  It’s really a lack of cohesion and vision. If you look at St. Louis, there’s no political leadership for African-Americans saying: “The community needs this, and this is what we’ll fight for.” There’s a major lack of cohesion in terms of a plan.

I’d say there’s definitely more activism by youth in other cities. I attended the US Social Forum in Detroit, and St. Louis had three young people who attended, while some cities made it their business to bring youth to the forum. I think about Miami, New York, and Washington DC, three cities represented by large groups of organized delegates who found a way to bring issues to the attention of youth. Some organization is better than no organization.

OP: You have advanced degrees in education. What’s one thing you would do to improve the current condition of St. Louis Public schools?

JR: Start by infusing the philosophy that black children can learn. Despite all the slogans, I don’t think there’s a philosophy that our kids are worthy. You have to have the basic belief system that these kids are worth teaching. If not, you won’t do what’s necessary, and the kids feel it, and they won’t be receptive to what’s being taught. Having the proper facility and supplies are necessary, but I’ve seen kids succeed on the notion that “you’re the best, so be the best.” It’s frustrating for teachers when kids aren’t ready to learn. You need to meet kids where they are and take them to where they can be.

OP: In addition to being a contributor to blogs and websites, you’re a columnist for the St. Louis American and a member of the editorial board for the Black Commentator. What inspires you to write?

JR: I do a lot of social justice work, and I write about the issues I see. I witness people struggling in a particular situation, which is inspiring. A recent example would be when Paul McKee  [a land developer with an ambitious plan for North st. Louis] lost in court to a group of people who fought hard to hold onto their homes and their community.  Seeing people fight for human rights, to me, is very inspiring.

The post Q & A with Jamala Rogers appeared first on Occasional Planet.

It’s 8 pm, and I’m leaving the Dollar Store in University City, Missouri. It’s a magnificent June evening: the sun is setting and a refreshing breeze weaves through the branches of the trees that line the concrete islands of the parking lot.

“This would have been a great day for a bike ride,” I think to myself. “Or for swimming. Or a barbeque…”

As I continue to tally the many uses this day could have served, I see a group of about 20 high-school-age kids hanging out in the back of the parking lot. They seem to be enjoying themselves. Some are on bikes. One dribbles a basketball. All are laughing and joking around. I ask myself, why would a group of teenagers hang out in a grocery store parking lot? As I get into my car, a police car pulls into the parking lot, shooing the kids away. They oblige, not taking offense to the officer’s warning and go on about their evening, still laughing and joking. The officer stays in the parking lot until the kids are far enough away that he knows they won’t return once he’s gone.

I’m still confused about why a Dollar Store parking lot would be a teenage hang out as I make my way home, when I realize that perhaps these kids are the aftermath of the new curfew for the Delmar Loop, an eclectic, six-block entertainment and shopping district in St. Louis.

Mayor Shelly Welsch stated in an article on STLtoday.com that U.City officials are up to the challenge of finding suitable activities for the 16-and-under crowd. A reader commented that the kids who city officials want to keep out of the Loop after hours are the same kids who “terrorized” (his word, not mine) the Metro-Link stations last summer, before Metro Transit increased security presence on platforms. It seems that Mayor Welsch and company need to find something to occupy these adolescent “terrorists,” before they become too attached to their grocery store parking lot.

The Delmar Loop curfew change is only one small contributing factor to the potential issue of kids being disruptive and finding other places to hang out. By the end of summer, they’ll migrate west and become a nuisance to Centennial Commons, a recreation center recently built in University City. St. Louis needs to take a cue from other cities and address its lack of opportunities for youth activism.

In 2008, a group of Chicago business owners recognized that the violence in Chicago was not only becoming increasingly deadly, but for the most part caused by the youth population. They organized a youth-driven and youth-directed social action group that aims to help divert potentially violent energies toward working for social change on a local and global scale. Youth Struggling to Survive also provides an online forum where members can discuss and find solutions to issues in the Chicago area as well as organize community events to promote social change.

Seattle’s Young People’s Project (SYPP) is a youth-led empowerment organization that provides students with a voice to catalyze social change. Since 1992, SYPP has organized social justice education where youth have the opportunity to voice their experience and solutions to issues of inequality.

In addition to building safer communities and schools, Boston’s Center for Teen Empowerment has a mission to education urban youth on human rights. Students and adults work collaboratively to find solutions and provide necessary tools to confront the most difficult problems in their community to foster positive change. Teen Empowerment works to bring authentic youth voices into dialogue about improving communities and mobilize the energy of urban youth to create meaningful change. Teen Empowerment currently works to open neighborhood-based sites to improve their community presence and foster creative initiative for young people.

Some might argue that unlike Washington DC and New York City, two areas deemed the mecca for youth activism, St. Louis doesn’t have the resources to provide and sustain organizations similar to ones in Seattle and Boston. Centennial Commons is a fantastic addition to University City, but a recreation center should be the start of including young people in a process to improve their neighborhoods, with hopes that they’ll become knowledgeable, effective community organizers.

On my way back from the Dollar Store, I pass a group of boys I regularly see playing basketball on most summer evenings. But today, instead of playing their usual game of two-on-two, they’re being searched by police. One boy leans against a squad car as an officer handcuffs him. Two others are being searched. Their hands rest against the side of a house while their faces register anger and embarrassment. One stands off to the side, awkwardly holding the basketball as if he expects the game to pick up where it left off. As neighbors and other drivers assess the disheartening scene playing out on the street, I wonder if these boys were the victims of empty summer days. Days where the end of school ushered in unlimited daylight hours and innocent mischief eventually transformed into illegal activity.

The post Getting it right for teens appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Dismally low voter turnout among eligible citizens between the ages of 18 and 24 is a perpetual cause for despair. The numbers are particularly disturbing, say voting-rights organizations, “because people under 30 constitute the most progressive generation in memory. So, it stands to reason that encouraging younger voters to become politically active is a major part of advancing progressive reform.”

One solution is to engage youthful voters early,by giving them a path to voting and by eliminating obstacles–such as  citizen inertia–to registration. And by “early,” election-reform advocates mean 16.

FairVote, a non-profit that bills itself as “the center for voting and democracy,” proposes that:

states establish a uniform initial voter registration age of no older than 16. These advance-registered voters would be automatically added to the voting rolls when they reach voting age. Ideally, they would also be sent information about the mechanics of voting and the timing of the first election for which they are eligible. Evidence collected from different states suggests this change will usually have no fiscal impact.

Fair Vote’s website includes a fact sheet explaining the rationale for youth pre-registration:

• A significant disparity exists between the percentage of young people registered to vote and the percentage of the general population.
  • 71% of eligible voters are registered; 59% of eligible voters age 18-24 are registered

• A uniform voter registration age often does not exist.
  • In some states, all 17-year-olds and some 16-year-olds can register. In other states, some 17-year-olds and no 16-year-olds can register. In many states it changes year to year based on the date of the next election.
  • The lack of uniformity creates confusion and makes it harder to run effective voter registration and education programs in schools and at the Division of Motor Vehicles.

• A uniform advance-registration age does not require a new registration database system.
  • In many states, advance-registered voters already are inputted into the voter registration database as “pending.” A State’s Board of Elections transfers “pending” voters to “active” status when they become eligible to vote.

• Lowering the advance-registration age does NOT change the voting age.
  • The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution sets the voting age at 18-years-old.
  • Local and state jurisdictions can lower the voting age if they so choose, but it is a separate question from voter registration.

• Why is 16-years-old a sensible age for advance-registration?
  • When applying for a driver’s license, a 16-year-old can register to vote at the DMV.
  • 16-years-old is the compulsory school attendance age in most states.
  • Many states already allow 16-year-olds to register during parts of the election cycle.

• Why aren’t the current registration programs in high schools good enough?
  • Registration drives typically do not focus on anyone other than seniors.
  • Registration drives have much higher registration rates in presidential election years.
  • No statutory requirement for voter registration in schools exists.
  • A standardized voting curriculum would encourage students to learn about the mechanics of participation (i.e. requesting absentee ballots).

• Does registering to vote at a younger age have long-term benefits?
  • Some states have already recognized the importance of early participation by allowing 17-year-olds to serve as full-time election judges.
  • Registration boosts turnout: in 2008, 83% of registered 18-24-year-olds voted.
  • Academic studies and electoral analyses show that voting behavior is habit-forming. If you vote, you will likely keep voting. If you don’t vote, you probably won’t start.

Another rationale for youth pre-registration comes from participation numbers for the 2008 presidential election. According to Progessive States Network:

After two presidential election cycles where we saw steady increases in youth voter participation, 2008 was the year that young voters really roared.  The primary season saw increases in youth voter participation outstrip the large increases in general participation with turnout tripling or even quadrupling among young people in some states. In the general election youth voted at a rate not seen since 1992 and have increased their turnout 11 points since 2000.

To date, five states have implemented a policy enabling pre-registration for voters under the age of 18. They are Maryland, North Carolina, Hawaii, Florida and Rhode Island.

A further step in modernizing the US electoral system would be to have universal voter registration, in which all citizens are automatically registered to vote. More on this idea in a future post…

The post To get young people to vote, let them pre-register at 16 appeared first on Occasional Planet.