Young Blacks Unlikely To Rally Behind Democrats
Cathy J. Cohen, BlackNews.com | October 5, 2010

Chicago, IL (BlackNews.com) — When record numbers of young African Americans turned out to vote for Barack Obama nearly two years ago, political pundits predicted the start of an important and positive trend. Socially marginalized young blacks buoyed by the election of the nation’s first black president would supposedly begin to see themselves as newly politically empowered and engaged. They would become as invested in, and optimistic about, their future as their young white counterparts.

So how is it that heading toward midterm elections in November, large percentages of black people ages 16 to 25 continue to feel alienated from mainstream American society and contemplating not who to vote for but whether to bother voting at all?

Clearly, politicians weren’t paying attention to what these young people were saying even in the heady, hopeful days after the Obama election. The Democratic Party that benefited greatly from the votes of these young people was also asleep at the wheel; if not, party leaders would have understood that despite young voters’ genuine enthusiasm for Obama, they were not energized by the Democratic Party nor particularly moved by its agenda. It was Barack Obama and the historic nature of his election that energized young people. (Read the full article)