The Millennial thing

By Edmund W. Lewis
Editor

It’s been said many times over the years that youth is wasted on the young. I’m inclined to agree given the many ways young people have failed to seize the day and put their priorities, efforts and activism where their hearts are.

And then there are the Millennials. Ahhh yes, the Millennials. That special brand of young people whose harshest critics say they are sorely lacking in social skills and clueless about the world.

I’m not sure I would go that far but Millennials do seem to have a knack for ticking people off and leaving them scratching their heads. Like when they say they voted for Barack Obama because they wanted to make a difference and later complained about not seeing those changes come to fruition. Or when they simply refused to vote in the last presidential election. Or when some of them recently visited the White House and justified doing so by pointing out that President Barack Obama never invited them for a visit to the White House.

I should point out that there have been times when Millennials have stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park. We saw this up close and personal when they were spurred to action by the racially motivated murders of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis, and the officer-involved killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Alton Sterling and Philando Castille.

In taking their anger and dissatisfaction to the streets, they played a major role in the formation and success of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Still, we have seen some things that make us wonder and have talked to others who also don’t really get the Millennials and what they are all about.

If we are going to be fair and truthful, some of these Millennials’ parents — who happen to be my peers — are equally lost and what some might call “throwed-off.” Some of them spend every free moment on social media looking at pictures and listening to morning talk shows that do little to promote social justice, democracy, or the empowerment of Black people.

Like some of these Millennials, some of their parents are flying through life by the seat of their pants, have very little knowledge of U.S., civil rights or world history and could care less about efforts by the richest 1 percent of the world’s inhabitants to “turn back the clock” and resurrect a world where only wealthy white males rule or matter.

We should remind ourselves from time to time that Millennials are not robots or creatures hatched in eggs. They are our sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and are worthy of our love, compassion and patience. We need to make certain they feel the sense of kinship and the connection that have not only made our survival possible during the Middle Passage and beyond but also to pass on to future generations wisdom, insight, our collective history, sense of purpose and the understanding that “I am because we are.”

In the end, we may find that Millennial is just another word used to describe young people who are trying to find their way.

Let’s make sure they do. Harambee.

This article originally published in the November 26, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.