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It is both a delight and a headache some days leading an organization of growing young professionals and aspiring civic leaders.
In recent months, in my capacity as president of The Exchange at the Indianapolis Urban League, I have had the pleasure of easily engaging community leaders and elected officials as well as candidates for elective office.
In this role, I am strictly non-partisan and serve to educate and provide access to information. That is the joyous part! The headache is when invitations go out to candidates and they return crickets (which also happens to other organizations I am affiliated with).
Let me explain. Inspiring young leaders and providing guidance to more established ones is the greatest feeling in the world. Providing the key that unlocks the door of possibilities unleashes a person with interest, passion and dedication to improve the world for others. When parties, elected officials and candidates don’t engage with those who are newly excited about politics, it’s like finding out Santa isn’t real. That’s especially true if the public official or candidate is one that a newly engaged person felt sure he or she aligned with.
Imagine that you decide to get involved, work with an organization to create an opportunity for some candidates or elected officials to meet an audience that has had virtually no interaction with them, and they choose to ignore you or not make time for you.
Alternatively, perhaps, being empowered, you decide to go meet your elected officials and realize there is no one who looks like you helping them to make decisions in their office. You quickly begin to realize they might want your vote, but that’s all. Just your vote.
Leading a nonpartisan, young-professional auxiliary of a social-justice organization puts me in a position to teach regular civics lessons and that voter engagement is a two-way street. We can teach, provide access and host events for engagement. But it’s up to the candidates and elected officials to deem our engagement necessary to their success.
Should these growing leaders take it personally if they are ignored? Absolutely! As a part of several voting blocs, I personally aspire for my preferred candidates to care about each demographic I represent equally. It’s that inclusion that makes them a great fit for my moderate wishes.
Many millennials are finding themselves at a crossroads in the current environment. They are finding there is no silver bullet. No one party, no one set of candidates that cares more than the others. Voters have to do the actual work to identify candidates and elected officials that align with their interests.
Good news: That means their hearts and minds are open.
Bad News: Elected officials and candidates cannot ignore invitations from groups that haven’t supported them in the past.
A few words of advice that can help you help me (and the countless others who are relying on a heightened level of engagement from new constituents in the years to come):
1) Court us equally. You might be pleasantly surprised.
2) Be prepared to engage with people who don’t look like you.
3) Be prepared to hear insights that might differ from what you know to be the truth. And don’t discount someone else’s narrative—it’s theirs!
The future of our great city is reliant upon engaged citizens and future civic leaders to take us where we’ve never been. Without engaging everyone inclusively, we’ll continue to do more of the same.•
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Slash is a diversity and inclusion consultant in the health care industry and is president of The Exchange at the Indianapolis Urban League.Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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