Voting, civic engagement summit to help metro Detroit youths realize their power

Rochelle Riley | Detroit Free Press

Some of the best news I’ve heard all week is that nearly 1,000 teens, parents and community leaders from across metro Detroit are expected to attend a summit Saturday to discuss civic engagement and the power of the ballot.

Yes, young people are coming to the 2018 Detroit Youth Summit to talk about voting; taking responsibility for their communities and stepping up to change the world.

They’re also coming to hear DeRay McKesson, the activist who rose to prominence in the Black Lives Matter movement and now hosts the “Pod Save The People” podcast. McKesson was active in protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore and has written for The Huffington Post and The Guardian. His first book, “On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope,” comes out Sept. 4.

Other local leaders on a panel with McKesson include Renee Fluker, founder of the Midnight Golf Program; Garlin Gilcrist, executive director of the Center for Social Media Responsibility at the University of Michigan; Michael Fair, a board member at the Sean Anderson (Big Sean) Foundation, and Super Bowl champion Geoff Pope. I will moderate the panel.

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Gilchrist said efforts such as the youth summit are vital because metro Detroit, Michigan and the nation must work harder to get young people involved in our democracy.

“I’m excited about the summit in general because young people realizing their power, and their power to change their communities, is something that I’ve been a beneficiary of for most of my life,” he said. “Anytime I have a chance to help people recognize the power they have, that’s something I want to jump on.”

The free event, sponsored by the Black Awareness Society for Education (B.A.S.E) will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy. Anyone can still register at https://goo.gl/forms/60RAkLVFk0CsaYvD2.

The summit is being held just months before national midterm congressional races whose winners will help determine future policies in communities across the country. It is cosponsored by the Detroit Free Press, which has begun a new initiative to increase voting. It also comes as local voting continues a disturbing trend: less than 22 percent in 2017, 25 percent in 2013, 22 percent in 2009.

Kyle Chandler, assistant principal for student affairs, said the summit was designed to "engage directly with metro Detroit youths, parents and community leaders to provide ... concrete steps our young people can take to get involved right now to ensure they have a voice in the future of their communities and the direction of our state."

Moreno Taylor II, a community organizer who helped coordinate the event, said the panel discussion and workshops won’t be tied to politics.

“So many folks are trying to address issues, but it's being done in silos,” he said. “It's important to get as many folks in one place as possible to start to brainstorm so we can leave with some actions; plans for town halls, community meetings."

Taylor said that young people will have the opportunity to register to vote at the event, and using the free registration, had the opportunity to set the focus for the forum.

“We asked folks what they’d like to see discussed, and one topic was the importance of local elections. So, we're not telling folks how to vote but we will point out that local elections have the most impact on people’s lives. We need to know who our elected officials are and where they stand on the issues and who is bankrolling them."

Taylor said coordinators hope the youth will create actions they can take with them at the summit’s end.

“We want to have everyone come back in the fall when students, teachers and administrators can pass that plan of action along to others. … For instance, there aren’t enough opportunities for recreation, for jobs. When I was that age, I swear every city had a summer jobs program, whether it was to be lifeguards or cutting the grass. Those are the things that taught me life skills like time management and handling money. We have to make sure we're providing the youths with options.”

And sometimes, youths need to provide their own options, which begins with voting.

Questions? Contact: Kyle Chandler at kyle.chandler@uofdesuit.org or Malcolm Teasdale at malcolm.teasdale@uofdjesuit.org.

Rochelle Riley’s columns will appear on Sundays through the summer. Contact her at rriley99@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @rochelleriley. Get information about her book at www.rochelleriley.com.