Commentary: Gen Z – Battleground For Defending America’s Future

By David W. Marshall
(TriceEdneyWire.com)

Nine years ago, millennials (aged 29-44) reached a major milestone when they became America’s largest living generation. Gen Z (13-28) are now the second largest generation and  will become the largest generation in the coming years.

This population shift will have major political and social implications.

Gen Z will not only be a rising influence in future elections, but in the age of smartphones and social media, young people have been given a louder voice than ever before. Due to core issues such as climate change, racial and gender justice, mass shootings, economic inequality, healthcare access, and LGBTQ+ issues, along with unprecedented access to digital tools, many Gen Zers are motivated to start social activism at an earlier age.

Generation Z’s early and passionate embrace of activism reflects both a reaction to the challenges of their era and a proactive commitment to making a tangible impact. As a young gun control activist and Parkland, Florida, mass-shooting survivor, David Hogg tweeted: “I’m not powered by hope. I’m powered by the fact I have no other choice.”

Generation Z is the ideological battleground, and groups like the Proud Boys know it. The Southern Poverty Law Center has called the all-male neo-fascist group an “alt-right fight club” and a hate group that uses persuasive devices to obscure its true motives. The group was tied to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Several months ago, a roadside billboard was placed in Clinton County, Illinois, as an attempt by the Proud Boys to recruit teenagers. The billboard, using the words “faith, family, freedom, and brotherhood,” was located 1,000 feet from the entrance to Central Community High School. The billboard listed a local recruiting phone number. After strong community opposition, the sign was removed after a few days.

David Cunningham, a Washington University professor who studies white supremacy, said extremist groups often use billboards to try to normalize their presence. “They’re sort of using phrases related to freedom, faith, these kinds of things,” Cunningham said. “This was never in the Proud Boys lexicon prior to the current presidential administration … this is really an attempt to rebrand themselves in a more mainstream way.”

The Proud Boys are organizing at the grassroots level, as is Turning Point USA. Turning Point USA is an organization, founded by the late Charlie Kirk, that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses. Turning Point USA is a political organization that aims to elect conservative leaders.

According to its website, they are a movement rooted in faith, freedom, and love of country. They built a well-organized infrastructure of more than 900 college chapters dedicated to defending America’s future.

I admit that I admire how Turning Point USA has strategically built a nationwide movement focused on young people and America’s future. While I am impressed with the grassroots machine, I know this is another organization that uses persuasive devices to obscure its true motives (white supremacy). Behind the powerful words of “faith, freedom, and love of country” is a national network that promotes anti-Blackness, anti-diversity, anti-equity, and anti-inclusion under the umbrella of Christianity.

I believe communities of color committed to inclusion, justice, and fairness need a similar Turning Point network, focused exclusively on young people. The battleground is Gen Z, and we may be losing the battle.

David W. Marshall is the founder of the faith-based organization, TRB: The Reconciled Body, and author of the book “God Bless Our Divided America.”