WASHINGTON, July 24,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Justice + Joy National
Collaborative (Justice + Joy), an intergenerational gender and
racial justice advocacy nonprofit, released insights from Fixing
Democracy, a national study and youth civic engagement
initiative focused on marginalized girls, young women, and
gender-expansive young people of color aged 16-25. The full report
and on-demand briefing are available here.
"It's not enough to save democracy; it's
time to fix it." - Jeannette
Pai-Espinosa
Focus group participants viewed democracy as a dysfunctional
system that doesn't work for people like them. True democratic
reform means liberation and freedom from the current oppressive and
exploitative systems, focusing on local change over national
politics. They expressed fear of civil war and how deeply they need
and value safety, human rights, community, and mutual aid.
From the pandemic to Supreme Court decisions affecting
homelessness and the loss of reproductive rights, young people of
color who have experienced chronic adversity have been
disproportionately impacted by political events and systems yet are
often invisible in mainstream polling, funding, and discourse.
Fixing Democracy elevates the voices of an overlooked
segment of the Gen Z electorate and creates a model for systems
change and intergenerational activism.
"Young voters of color feel democracy has failed them, and it's
true," said Jeannette
Pai-Espinosa, President of Justice + Joy, formerly National
Crittenton, on the findings. "In their short lifetimes, Gen Z
has experienced many traumatizing events from COVID-19 to the
insurrection on January 6th,
increased mass shootings, and the attempted assassination of a
candidate for President. Violence is being used to solve problems,
and systems have been weaponized against them. From abortion rights
to civil rights, they are fighting for freedom and to regain basic
autonomy. As we near a critical election year, our research finally
puts them at the center of the conversation. It's not enough to
save democracy; it's past time to fix it."
"It's time to make space for young voices, not simply use us to
fill it," added Genisus Holland, a 21-year-old youth advocate,
in an open call to policymakers. "If a cohesive, just, and
strong future is truly what you want, then you must make a path
that all of us can walk together. Support us in being leaders in
the fight for our future. Let's change the world together, or it
won't change at all."
Key Findings Include:
- Young voters of color fear civil war and think the country has
reached a breaking point, especially because of political division,
the unaffordability of life, and everyday needs not being met.
- Gen Z voters of color think democracy works in theory but not
in practice. Liberation resonated more with transgender
participants, while freedom resonated more with cisgender
participants.
- Their dream candidate is a woman of color who is an
unapologetic advocate for issues that matter to them, including
gender justice, the working class, and a ceasefire in
Palestine.
- Local change feels more achievable than national change to
young voters of color.
- Participants are driven by community, family, mutual aid,
collective power, and political actions to help each other meet
their needs.
- Young voters don't feel that politicians, especially Trump and
Biden, represent them or listen to them.
- Young voters of color are deeply cynical about the power of
voting, particularly at a national level.
- Despite systemic oppression, Gen Z voters of color are
resilient and committed to striving for better for themselves and
others.
- Young voters of color think adults and politicians hold
negative views of young people; at best, they are apathetic or view
them as invisible; at worst, they are considered subhuman and
exploited in the media and for political gain.
Fixing Democracy is conducted in partnership with
Lake Research Partners and HIT Strategies.
"This is by far one of the most comprehensive and in-depth
studies on system-impacted young people of color," said
Celinda Lake, Principal at Lake
Research Partners, and Roshni
Nedungadi, Co-founder and Chief Research Officer at HIT
Strategies, in a joint statement. "Other studies include these
voices, but this initiative centers them. We constantly have to
dispel myths about young people. They are cynical about the system
- for good reasons - yet they desperately want to be involved in
creating change. We are at a crossroads and these voices are
critical for progressive change and having true freedom."
The multi-phase initiative consists of nationwide focus groups
to gauge the issues and values important to this group of voters of
color, message testing, and a toolkit and civic engagement campaign
for young adults, activists, policymakers, and philanthropic
leaders. Fixing Democracy is supported by The New York
Women's Foundation and Tides Foundation Advancing Girls Fund.
About Justice + Joy
Justice and Joy National Collaborative (Justice + Joy) is an
intergenerational, gender, and racial justice advocacy and
organizing nonprofit advancing social, economic, and political
equity with and for girls, young women, and gender-expansive youth.
Our goals are to achieve collective power to advance justice,
establish affirming social narratives, and build ecosystems of
support. We envision a world where all girls, young women, and
gender-expansive youth of color can achieve their potential and
live unapologetically joyful lives without fear of violence or
injustice. www.justiceandjoynatl.org.
About Fixing Democracy
Fixing Democracy is a one-of-a-kind study and civic engagement
initiative that centers the most marginalized girls, young women,
and gender-expansive Gen Z young people of color in partnership
with Lake Research Partners and HIT Strategies. From February to
March 2024, Justice + Joy conducted
nationwide in-person and virtual focus groups among cis and trans
girls, young women and gender-expansive young people of color aged
16-25. All participants identified as Black, Latina/Latine,
Native/Indigenous, Asian, and Pacific Islander, or immigrant or
refugees who are eligible to vote, and volunteered that they live
in low-income situations. Fixing Democracy will uncover their issue
priorities, values, and perceptions about democratic reform, work
with young people to mobilize their peers to the ballot box, and
promote intergenerational activism with pathways for young people
to step into their power as catalysts for change and lead sustained
civic engagement movement.
About HIT Strategies
As Washington's leading
millennial and minority-owned public opinion research company, HIT
Strategies helps leaders and organizations translate their target
audiences' values into real-time insights. We understand America's
fastest-growing electorate and consumer groups and specialize in
targeting communities under-represented in public opinion data,
including Black Americans, Latino Americans, Millennials + Genz,
LGBTQ+, Women, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders. For more
information, visit hitstrat.com and follow @HITStrat on
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
About Lake Research Partners
Lake Research Partners (LRP) is a nationally recognized
qualitative and quantitative research firm with offices in
Washington, DC, New York, and California. We have over 25 years of
experience in all phases of public opinion research for public
entities and private enterprises—from survey research design to
analysis and reporting. Our principals are leading strategists with
experience serving as tacticians and senior advisors to a wide
range of government agencies, advocacy groups, universities, labor
unions, non-profits, and foundations across the United States. LRP is a Woman-Owned
Small-Business (WOSB) and is certified through the U.S. Women's
Chamber of Commerce.
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SOURCE Justice + Joy National Collaborative